Anatomy of a rent strike: These tenants lost their case at the Landlord and Tenant Board — but they’re not done fighting
- LindaH
- Posts: 1170
- Joined: July 30th, 2014, 7:29 pm
Anatomy of a rent strike: These tenants lost their case at the Landlord and Tenant Board — but they’re not done fighting
When the Landlord and Tenant Board approved rent increases for Thorncliffe Park tenants this past spring, Farkhunda Ateel Siddiqi began to pray.
The single mother who arrived from Afghanistan six years ago imagined she would owe a year’s worth of rent increase payments and consequently be evicted with her three teens.
“It was a difficult moment,” she said.
Ateel Siddiqi is among dozens of tenants at 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe Park Dr. who have withheld rent from their landlord since May 2023 to protest two proposed rent increases beyond the provincial guideline for rent-controlled buildings.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The landlord says the above-guideline increases (AGIs) are for capital investments to keep aging infrastructure safe. Tenants, however, describe renovations as disruptive and say there are issues with basic maintenance.
When the AGIs were approved, the tenants’ lawyers continued fighting. They asked the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to review the decisions, citing concerns over “procedural unfairness,” but the board rejected the request in the fall, and it seemed the renters had lost again.
Finally, tenants filed an appeal to the Divisional Court in October — prompting the approval of the rent increases to be suspended pending a hearing.
It’s the latest move in a public battle between these tenants and their landlord that has been going on for years, with fighting playing out on multiple fronts. The tenants say residents of the buildings are mostly newcomers, disabled people, and people on fixed incomes who can’t afford the proposed increases and whose living conditions have worsened since their landlord purchased the buildings in 2019. Additionally, the landlord has refused to meet with them as a group, they say, prompting them to organize rallies and go on rent strike. But now they face not only a heated court fight against the AGIs, their landlord also wants to have them evicted through separate proceedings over nonpayment of rent.
In an emailed statement to the Star, landlord Starlight Investments said it has spent more than $28.5 million in capital improvements to the buildings.
“We care about our residents and are dedicated to building safe and welcoming rental communities that our residents can live, thrive, and grow in over the long-term,” said Starlight’s vice-president of residential operations, Penny Colomvakos.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/anatom ... 52431.html
The single mother who arrived from Afghanistan six years ago imagined she would owe a year’s worth of rent increase payments and consequently be evicted with her three teens.
“It was a difficult moment,” she said.
Ateel Siddiqi is among dozens of tenants at 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe Park Dr. who have withheld rent from their landlord since May 2023 to protest two proposed rent increases beyond the provincial guideline for rent-controlled buildings.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The landlord says the above-guideline increases (AGIs) are for capital investments to keep aging infrastructure safe. Tenants, however, describe renovations as disruptive and say there are issues with basic maintenance.
When the AGIs were approved, the tenants’ lawyers continued fighting. They asked the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to review the decisions, citing concerns over “procedural unfairness,” but the board rejected the request in the fall, and it seemed the renters had lost again.
Finally, tenants filed an appeal to the Divisional Court in October — prompting the approval of the rent increases to be suspended pending a hearing.
It’s the latest move in a public battle between these tenants and their landlord that has been going on for years, with fighting playing out on multiple fronts. The tenants say residents of the buildings are mostly newcomers, disabled people, and people on fixed incomes who can’t afford the proposed increases and whose living conditions have worsened since their landlord purchased the buildings in 2019. Additionally, the landlord has refused to meet with them as a group, they say, prompting them to organize rallies and go on rent strike. But now they face not only a heated court fight against the AGIs, their landlord also wants to have them evicted through separate proceedings over nonpayment of rent.
In an emailed statement to the Star, landlord Starlight Investments said it has spent more than $28.5 million in capital improvements to the buildings.
“We care about our residents and are dedicated to building safe and welcoming rental communities that our residents can live, thrive, and grow in over the long-term,” said Starlight’s vice-president of residential operations, Penny Colomvakos.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/anatom ... 52431.html
- LindaH
- Posts: 1170
- Joined: July 30th, 2014, 7:29 pm
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