Standing Authority to Solicitor
to Enforce Leases/Licences
The Corporate Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (October30, 1998) from the
City Solicitor:
Purpose:
To obtain standing delegated authority to enforce the terms of leases, licences and similar agreements.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)the City Solicitor be granted standing authority to enforce the provisions of leases, licences and similar agreements, on
the terms and conditions outlined in the body of this report;
(2)this authority supersede and replace any policies, authorities or by-laws which existed in the seven former
municipalities with respect to the subject matter hereof; and
(3)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Council Reference/Background/History:
In some of the former seven municipalities, standing delegated authority had been granted to the relevant Solicitor to
enforce the municipality's rights under leases, licences and similar agreements. For example, the Metropolitan Council, by
its adoption of Clause No. 5 of Report No. 66 of the Executive Committee on December 17, 1963; Clause No. 39 of
Report No. 42 of the Executive Committee on November 17, 1970; Clause No. 8 of Report No. 33 of the Executive
Committee on September 7, 1973 and Clause No. 24 of Report No. 43 of the Executive Committee on September 10,
1974, provided a series of standing authorities to the Solicitor to commence actions for arrears of rent, to engage "skip
tracers" to locate ex-tenants, to bring actions to recover possession, to enforce the non-monetary provisions of such
agreements, as well as to write off "bad debt" accounts in certain circumstances.
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
While there are a myriad of reasons why a tenant/licensee/concessionaire could be in default or other breach of its
obligations to the City, most frequently, it is due to non-payment, or habitually late payment, of rent. However, simply
taking steps to collect outstanding rent, where a tenant remains in possession, may generally be ineffective to protect the
City's interests, because if the tenant merely remains in the property, the arrears continue to accumulate. In addition, it is
generally the case that where rent is unpaid, municipal taxes and operating costs (including utilities) also tend to be unpaid,
some of which ultimately become the legal responsibility of the property owner (i.e., the City).
In the normal course, the time required to regain possession of rented premises can be lengthy (e.g.,three months), and
arrears in such instances frequently continue to increase, often to sizeable sums. Where the tenants do not comply with
certain provisions of the lease/licence or other agreements, the City may also be in breach of its own by-laws for zoning,
housing or health standards. In addition, the property in question may be allowed to deteriorate, ultimately costing the City
out-of-pocket expenses to repair same to an acceptable standard.
Accordingly, the City Solicitor should have authority to take steps as quickly as possible to collect monetary amounts
outstanding (including, but not limited to, rent, taxes or other sums due) as well as to take such other steps to enforce the
provisions in the relevant lease, licence or other similar agreement which, in his opinion, in consultation with the head of
the relevant department or A, B, C, are appropriate in the circumstances, including but not limited to: engaging "skip
tracers"; recovery of possession; termination of the agreement, distraining to realize on amounts owing (commercial leases
only); and writing off "bad debt" accounts where appropriate..
Conclusions:
It is desirable that the City be in a position to expeditiously enforce leases, licences and similar agreements. Adoption of
the recommendations in this report will enable the City Solicitor to act expeditiously to protect the City's interests.
Contact Name:
M. A. Fischer - 392-8054
