Leamington has a problem with the growing number of illegal boarding houses.
Council commissioned a report on the growing number of illegal multi-resident dwellings in the town's urban areas back in May.
The report by Jones Consulting Group points to a need to add regulations for hundreds of dwellings in the near future.
Manager of Planning Services Danielle Truax says housing for agricultural workers "on-farm" is regulated federally, but converted residential space can have a slew of safety concerns that need to be addressed.
"It's one thing to have the space in a basement to create bedrooms, but are those bedrooms created in a manner that the building code requires," she says. "Often we'll look at window sizes, the number of exits, the proper ventilation system."
Another major issue that Truax says residents might find less "sexy" is urban sewers just can't keep up with the influx of people.
"Leamington has some severe constraints within its existing systems, they just weren't designed for streets to accommodate large densities," says Truax. "This really changes how the sewers are used in areas, so we need to make sure that it's appropriate."
The report recommends new by-laws to designate what is and isn't considered a boarding house, registration to keep track of them in the future, and possibly requiring multi-resident buildings be licensed.
Officials have been speaking with property owners and employers to ensure they're involved in the process. She says the goal is to come up with a solution that works for everyone involved.
"Recommendations that both staff can support and enforce and that will work for the growers as well as the communities in the neighbourhoods," she says. "So it's not just a worker housing issue, it's also affordable housing."
Council will be seeking public input at a meeting in September and the hope to get new regulations in place by the New Year.