Between the seven-week period of December 4, 2009 and January 24, 2010, more than eighty tenants were forced to flee from their homes after they were ravaged by fire. By the end of February 2010, the number had more than doubled, with approximately 200 tenants becoming homeless. The cause of many of these fires is still under investigation. Most of the tenants escaped safely but were left with only the clothes on their backs. Unfortunately, very few of them had apartment insurance to cover the costs of their lost belongings or temporary accommodation.

The vast majority of them had not thought of acquiring apartment insurance. For some it was another added expense to an already tight budget (Statistically, tenants have less than half the income of homeowners). Others thought their landlords were responsible to put them up somewhere and compensate them if their property was destroyed or damaged due to fire. Others just thought it would never happen to them. Throughout the recent fires a number of the fire victims were shocked to realize their landlord was not obliged to provide alternative accommodation such as a hotel or to pay for their expenses or lost property.

According to Statistics Canada, 96.7% of homeowners in Canada have household insurance, compared to tenants of whom only 41.8 % have insurance. The average cost for homeowner insurance is $702, compared to $309 for tenants.

In Ottawa, when tenants are burned out of their homes, the Red Cross steps in immediately to provide emergency accommodation for a period of 72 hours. Usually, this means tenants are placed in hotels. If the tenants have not secured housing within that time, the City of Ottawa steps in to ensure the victims have some form of emergency housing, such as a referral to an emergency shelter or authorization to stay in a hotel. Often, tenants will stay with friends or relatives until they can ascertain the damages to their home, and then decide if they will move back or look for alternative housing. If the tenant is displaced for an unspecified period of time, it may be difficult to terminate the tenancy through the Landlord and Tenant Board, although it would be expected the landlord would not be charging rent during the time the premises are deemed uninhabitable. Even if the fire was proven to be due to the landlord’s negligence, tenants discovered it could still be a lengthy process in collecting evidence and bringing the matter before the Landlord and Tenant Board to terminate the tenancy and seek compensation.

One of the most important reasons for tenants to have apartment insurance is if they were in fact responsible for having caused the fire. Apartment insurance protects them if they were careless or engaged in activity proven to have been the cause of the fire. This can save the costs and stress of being sued and/or evicted through the courts and the Landlord and Tenant Board.

For the tenants that have experienced the trauma of losing all their worldly possessions through the recent fires in the last year, it was a brutal lesson to discover the importance of having insurance. Hopefully, however, it will serve as a notice to all tenants to plan ahead in the years to come.

We envision rental communities where tenants live in adequate, affordable, safe housing, free from anxiety, oppression, and discrimination. Through education, support and sharing of best practices, we seek to strengthen tenants’ voices to win housing improvements and develop positive, healthy communities.

Part of the conference is to provide a year-round forum to discuss issues that pertain to tenants in Ottawa. You can read about issues, comment, and interact with other tenants at the Ottawa Tenants Conference Blog.

You can do this by attending the conference which will help you become familiar with the tools and information that address individual housing problems. By increasing your knowledge, you will be able to identify best practices of other associations. You can also assist tenants in building networks and alliances with other tenants and allies. By helping both your fellow tenants and the organizations involved, you can identify gaps in services that could enhance the quality of life for all tenants in Ottawa.

The goal of the Ottawa Tenants Conference is to address the imbalance of power that exists between landlords and tenants by providing a safe environment to engage tenants in dialogue. We strive to reduce the isolation tenants experience in dealing with their housing problems by bringing them together collectively and empowering them to advocate for themselves. We provide education to tenants about structural legislation and systemic policy so they have a better understanding of the broader guiding principles and the decisions at a higher level that impact on their lives.

Learn about the Top Ten Tenant issues in Ottawa