Bill 232 explained in plain English
Protecting Seniors’ Rights in Care Homes Act, 2024
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd 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 Protecting Seniors’ Rights in Care Homes Act, 2024, amends Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act and Retirement Homes Act to enhance protections for seniors in care homes regarding transparency of fees, agreements for additional services, and limits on charge increases.
This bill, titled the Protecting Seniors’ Rights in Care Homes Act, 2024, proposes changes to Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and the Retirement Homes Act, 2010. The goal is to provide greater protection for seniors living in care homes. Key changes include requiring landlords to provide clearer information about charges for care services and meals, establishing rules for agreements about additional services, and placing limits on how much and how often these charges can be increased. It also ensures that when a retirement home closes, residents are informed that their tenancy rights under the Residential Tenancies Act continue and that the closure notice is not a termination notice. The bill aims to prevent exploitative fee increases and ensure seniors receive the services they pay for.
- Amends the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to include new provisions for tenancies in care homes.
- Introduces rules for information packages landlords must provide to tenants in care homes about charges for care services and meals.
- Allows for agreements between landlords and tenants for additional care services or meals, with conditions.
- Places restrictions on the frequency and amount by which landlords can increase charges for care services and meals.
- Amends the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 to clarify tenant rights when a retirement home is ceasing operations.
- Ensures consistency in charges for care services and meals among tenants in the same care home.
- Requires landlords to reduce charges if the quantity or quality of care services or meals decreases.
- Specifies rules for marketing discounts on care services and meals.
- Tenants residing in care homes in Ontario.
- Landlords of care homes in Ontario.
- Operators of retirement homes in Ontario.
- Seniors living in care homes and retirement homes.
- Landlords must provide tenants with a detailed information package about accommodation, care services, meals, and their charges before a tenancy agreement is signed.
- Landlords must ensure information packages are accurate, revised as needed, and made accessible.
- Tenants can enter into agreements for additional care services or meals and have the right to reduce or stop these services with notice.
- Charges for care services and meals must be separately itemized and consistent for all tenants.
- Tenants have the right to pay only for chosen services and to have charges reduced if services are reduced in quantity or quality.
- Landlords cannot increase charges for care services and meals more often than once every 12 months.
- Landlords cannot increase charges for care services and meals by more than a prescribed annual percentage, except as allowed by regulations under specific conditions.
- When a retirement home closes, residents must be informed that they retain their tenancy rights under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and that the closure notice is not a termination notice.
- This Act comes into force on the first anniversary of the day it receives Royal Assent.
- It may come into force earlier on a day named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill imposes restrictions on how landlords of care homes can increase charges for care services and meals.
- It requires that charges for care services and meals be consistent for all tenants.
- The bill allows for regulations to permit increased charges under specific conditions, but these increases cannot exceed the cost of providing the services and are capped at a certain percentage over three years.
- Discounts offered on care services and meals must be clearly stated, and if no end date is set, any increase from the discounted price is subject to annual rate increase limits.
- An increase in a charge for a care service or meals is void if it does not comply with the new restrictions or regulations.
- The specific content of 'additional information' that may be prescribed for landlord information packages is not detailed in the bill text.
- The exact percentage for annual increases in charges for care services and meals, as permitted by regulations, is not specified in the bill text.
- The conditions under which a landlord may increase charges beyond the standard restrictions, as provided by regulations, are not fully detailed in the bill.
- The manner in which a landlord must prove that an increase in a charge is justifiable, as required by regulations, is not specified in the bill text.
Introduces new sections and modifies existing ones to govern tenancies in care homes, specifically concerning charges for care services and meals, information provided to tenants, and agreements for additional services.
Source: Part IX of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
Modifies Section 49 to ensure residents are informed of their continuing rights under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and that a notice of closure is not a termination notice when a retirement home ceases operation.
Source: Section 49
Adds new subsections detailing requirements for separately itemizing charges for care services and meals, ensuring consistency across tenants, allowing individual service selection, and outlining rules for discounts.
Source: Section 139
Revises the requirements for the information package landlords must provide to new tenants in care homes, specifying the content and landlord duties regarding accuracy, revision, and accessibility of the information.
Source: Section 140
Creates a new section allowing landlords and tenants to enter into written agreements for additional care services or meals, and specifies rules for charges and tenant's ability to reduce or stop these services.
Source: Section 141.1
Establishes new restrictions on the frequency and amount by which landlords can increase charges for care services and meals, with provisions for exceptions through regulations.
Source: Section 149.1
Includes new sections related to care homes within the scope of the Act.
Source: Subsection 6 (1)
Includes new sections and provisions related to care homes within the scope of the Act.
Source: Subsection 7 (1)
Revises the requirements for the information package landlords must provide to new tenants in care homes, specifying the content.
Source: Subsection 140 (1)
Removes an existing provision from the Act.
Source: Subsection 146 (2)
Makes changes related to agreements for additional care services or meals, allowing parties to agree to different notice periods.
Source: Section 150
Updates references to sections concerning care services and meals, including new sections and regulations.
Source: Subsection 151 (1)
Updates references to sections related to powers to make regulations regarding charges for care services and meals.
Source: Clause 234 (p)
Modifies the ability to prescribe additional information for an information package.
Source: Paragraph 56 of subsection 241 (1)
Adds a new paragraph allowing regulations to govern increases in charges for care services and meals.
Source: Subsection 241 (1), paragraph 57.1
Requires that notices about the end of a retirement home's operation must inform residents of their continued rights under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and that the notice is not a termination notice.
Source: Section 49
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.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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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.
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