Some Toronto tenants go on rent strike to protest increases

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Beverley Henry paid $ 900 a month in rent when she first moved into her one-bedroom apartment in Toronto nearly a decade ago, but that amount has since climbed to more than $ 1,300.

Henry, a retired senior, says he won’t be able to afford any more rent increases in the future.

“If the rent continues to grow … do I have to pay my rent on time or buy food?”she said in a recent interview.

Henry and a number of her neighbors at 33 King Street in Toronto’s are among tenants in several buildings in the city who have gone on a rent strike to protest what they say is unfair treatment by their landlords.

Henry and several other residents of her building stopped paying rent in June. Tenants in a nearby building – at 22 John Street – joined the rent strike this month.

In the east Toronto neighborhood of Thorncliffe Park, residents in three buildings have withheld rent since May, after their landlord proposed a five percent increase for next year.

In Ontario, landlords are allowed to raise rent up to a government-set threshold each year, but the limit does not apply to rental units first occupied after November. 15, 2018. The rent increase guidance for 2024 was set at 2.5 percent, the same rate as for this year.

Landlords seeking to increase rent above the provincial threshold can apply to the landlords and tenants board for increases above the guidelines. The reasons mentioned may include renovations to improve living conditions in the building.

Henry says the previous owner of her building has successfully applied for some increase in the above guidelines.

“Over the past five years, I’ve seen my rent increase three times higher than rent control,” she says. “It’s a tactic our landlord has used every year to avoid pursuing rent control, and that’s why we’re striking.”

Dream Unlimited Corp. the company, which owns 33 King Street, said it “inherited” a dispute between striking tenants and the previous owner when it bought the building in 2021. He said the dispute is over-guiding increases for 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Michael Cooper, president of Dream Unlimited Corp. and the chief officer in charge said the company is willing to negotiate a “substantial discount” and create an “extended payment” plan for tenants who need support.

“We are accommodating and supporting our tenants as best we can as we resolve these AGIs,” Cooper said, noting that about 12 percent of tenants at 33 King are on a rent strike.

Dream Unlimited also owns 22 John Street, where it said 15 percent of tenants have not paid rent, but notes that the building is not subject to provincial rent guidelines because it was completed after 2018.

Anthony Alao, a resident at 22 John Street, said he did not know the building was not subject to provincial guidelines.

He said a nine percent rent increase has been proposed for his unit this year, but he has decided to pay no more than the 2.5 percent increase that is in line with government guidance.

“Their goal is to try to evict us, so they can obviously replace us with someone who would pay much more, much higher,” said Alao, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment with his family.

“We wouldn’t accept that.”

When asked about the nine percent growth, Dream Unlimited said “inflation has been very challenging” and rental in the building remains lower than current market rates.

The average asking price for a rental unit in Canada hit a record $2,042 last month amid continued interest rate increases and population expansion, according to a new report from Rentals.ca and urbanization.

Toronto ranks third, behind Vancouver and Burnaby, B. C., with the average one-bedroom listed for rent at $ 2,572.

Earlier this month, residents from both Dream Unlimited properties, as well as labor union members and tenant support organizations, held a rally to call attention to the rent strikes.

Bruno Dobrusin, an organizer of the rally, said those protesting want Dream Unlimited to reach a fair agreement with tenants.

“We are asking the landlord to withdraw the above pending requirements-increase guidance for 2019 and 2021 for 33 King and respect rent control for 22 John,” he said.

He said the strikes indicate a tenant movement is being formed.

“I think it’s slowly taking shape,” he said. “Now you have two rent strikes going on in two Toronto neighborhoods.”

Harendran Kumar, who lives at 71 Thorncliffe Park Drive, said many residents of the three buildings in his residential area stopped paying rent after their landlord applied for increases above guidelines for the next three years.

He said the landlord is renovating the building’s exterior, parking lot and vacant apartments. He argued that current tenants will not see improvements in their units.

“They expect us to pay for their renovations,” he said. “It’s not fair.”

Greenadinin Corp. Thorncliffe, the company responsible for building management, could not be reached for comment.