Ontario landlord charging $500 for tent space in ‘private encampment’

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An Ontario landlord posted an ad on Kijiji asking people to pay $500 to put up tents in what was described as a “private encampment.”

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The rental listing — “Help for people in homeless tent encampment private property” — for the Innisfil property, which has since been deleted, appeared to be aimed at those struggling to remain in tents located in parks in Toronto and surrounding areas.

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The ad, which had been screenshot and shared on social media, read: “We are welcoming people who are living in their tents … to set up on our cottage property in the town of Innisfil Ontario,” noting it was on “private property,” according to The Publica.

While the listing doesn’t state the cost of rent, Innisfil Today reported it was listed at $500. However, it’s unclear if that was a monthly or one-time fee.

The ad also said “tenants” would have access to electricity, a bathroom, a community fridge in a common kitchen, could walk to the nearby beach and that there were even “job opportunities” available.

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However, the words “for-profit encampment” rankled many, the outlet reported, while others had issues with Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin unwittingly sending individuals seeking shelter to the 25th Sideroad property.

“This week in the housing crisis: ‘for-profit homeless encampment’ is a phrase I just read,” writer and podcaster John Michael McGrath posted on X.

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Another user asked, “What is a for-profit homeless encampment? I don’t understand.”

National Post columnist Tristin Hopper captured the snafu perfectly.

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“It’s hard to describe to foreigners that Canada is simultaneously a socialist dystopia and a capitalist dystopia,” he wrote on X.

“We’re actively suppressing wages and inflating real estate with needlessly high immigration, and then sending the casualties to private tent encampments.”

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A spokesperson for the Town of Innisfil could not say whether the landlord was violating any municipal bylaws, but added the matter was being investigated.

A spokesperson for Barrie Homelessness and Housing Justice Network called the private encampment plan “well-meaning” but acknowledged it is “pretty exploitative of people in a very vulnerable position.”

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