Multiple complaints have been filed with the City of Hamilton’s Integrity Commissioner after news broke of a landlord-tenant dispute involving Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath and her former common-law partner, Ben Leonetti.
A full timeline regarding the landlord-tenant dispute can be found on The Hamilton Independent website.
The story about the Integrity Commissioner complaints was first reported by The Bay Observer.
One of the complaints questions why the City of Hamilton issued an emergency order for demolition of Horwath’s property when landlords would normally have to go through the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Kayla Andrade, a landlord, consultant, and ambassador for Landlord Credit Bureau and FrontLobby, wrote on social media that Horwath “appears to have tried to bypass the entire Landlord and Tenant Board eviction process using municipal authority.”
“If regular landlords tried this tactic to force out a tenant, they’d be crucified,” Andrade continued.
Normally, landlords are required to apply for an N13 Notice through the Landlord and Tenant Board and follow the proper processes.
The Integrity Commissioner has been asked to investigate whether Horwath was given “preferential treatment” by staff and whether “decision-making may have been influenced – explicitly or implicitly – by the identity of the owner [Horwath].”
There are also questions about whether or not Horwath purposely sought to bypass the city’s own Renovation Licence and Relocation By-law through the issuance of an Emergency Order by the city.
According to the by-law, which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, all landlords must apply for a renovation licence (at a cost of $715 per unit) within seven days of serving an N13 notice to tenants to vacate their rental unit if it requires extensive repairs.
Additionally, under the by-law, if a tenant is required to leave their unit during a renovation and has plans to return to the unit, then landlords must secure temporary arrangements for the tenant that are comparable to the tenant’s current unit or provide the tenant with compensation.
Since Horwath bypassed the Landlord Tenant Board and the N13 process, she also bypassed the city bylaw.
Another Integrity Commissioner complaint asks for an investigation into why Horwath did not declare a conflict of interest when voting on the Renovation Licence and Relocation By-law back in 2024, given that she owns a rental home in need of repairs.
It should be noted, however, that Horwath voted in favour of the by-law.
Leading to more questions, Horwath declared a conflict of interest this year when voting on the city’s Vacant Unit Tax since she said that she owns a vacant unit.
She declared the same conflict during the initial vote on the tax back in January 2023.
The Mayor’s Office has not responded to The Hamilton Independent’s questions about that vacant unit.
That leads to more questions about how many units the mayor owns and why one of the units was vacant for so long.
Andrade says that Ontario landlords are “stunned” about the situation.
“Landlords across Ontario are stunned – not because Hamilton made another mistake, but because of the double standard on full display.”
“For years, the city has scolded private housing providers, painting us as unsafe, unregulated, or irresponsible, all while demanding new bylaws, more fees, and heavier oversight. And then this happens.”
“The City tried to remove a tenant and fast-track a demolition without doing the one thing every landlord is required to do: follow the law and follow the proper process. Instead, municipal power was used in a way that would have landed any regular landlord in serious trouble,” she added.
Andrade said she believes the issuance of an Emergency Order by the city is “a blatant conflict of interest issue, a procedural failure, and a misuse of municipal power.”
It remains to be seen if Hamilton’s Integrity Commissioner agrees.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
