Bill 252 explained in plain English
Housing is a Human Right Act, 2021
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Housing is a Human Right Act, 2021, establishes principles and bodies to address housing inequities in Ontario by recognizing housing as a human right and creating a working group and an independent commissioner.
This bill, titled the Housing is a Human Right Act, 2021, states that the Government of Ontario should consider housing as a human right when interpreting all its laws, regulations, and policies. It also requires the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to create a working group to study housing inequities and disparities, and it establishes the Office of an Independent Housing Commissioner to collect data on housing inequities and research eviction prevention strategies. The Act comes into effect on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Recognizes housing as a human right to guide the interpretation of all Ontario government laws, regulations, and policies.
- Requires the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to establish a Housing Inequities and Disparity Working Group.
- Establishes the Office of the Independent Housing Commissioner within the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
- Outlines the composition and expertise required for members of the Housing Inequities and Disparity Working Group.
- Specifies the functions of the Working Group, including studying housing disparities, the impact of evictions, overcrowded housing, and barriers to home ownership.
- Defines the duties of the Independent Housing Commissioner, which include collecting data on housing inequities and researching eviction prevention.
- Requires the Commissioner to report their findings to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
- States that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Government of Ontario (all ministries, departments, agencies)
- The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council
- Individuals and communities experiencing housing inequities, including racialized, newcomer, and refugee communities, Indigenous peoples, individuals based on gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, and socioeconomic status.
- Ontarians facing challenges with affordable housing, rental housing, overcrowded housing, and housing in need of repair.
- The Government of Ontario has an obligation to be guided by the principle that housing is a human right when interpreting all Acts, regulations, and policies.
- The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has an obligation to establish a Housing Inequities and Disparity Working Group.
- The Independent Housing Commissioner has duties to collect data and conduct research on housing inequities and evictions.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. (Section 4)
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine the remuneration and expenses for persons appointed to the Office of the Independent Housing Commissioner, but this only applies if money has been appropriated by the Legislature for this purpose. (Section 3(5) and (6))
- The bill does not specify any penalties or enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance with its provisions.
- The bill does not specify a timeline for the establishment of the Housing Inequities and Disparity Working Group or for the appointment of the Independent Housing Commissioner.
- The specific terms of reference for the Independent Housing Commissioner are to be determined by the Minister. (Section 13(2))
- The bill does not outline how the principle that housing is a human right will be applied in practice when interpreting laws, regulations, and policies.
- While the bill states that remuneration and expenses for the Commissioner may be determined, it notes this does not apply unless money has been appropriated by the Legislature. This implies that the funding is subject to legislative approval and may not be guaranteed.
- The bill does not define what constitutes 'housing inequity' or 'disparity' beyond listing certain characteristics.
Adds a new section establishing the Office of the Independent Housing Commissioner.
Source: Section 3
Requires that these be guided by the principle that housing is a human right.
Source: Section 1
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced