Tenants of Weston apartment building vow to fight planned above-guideline rent hike

Beverley Henry, a senior on a fixed income, is worried she might lose the home she has lived in for a decade if another above-guideline rent increase is approved at Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board this month.

Tenants of her apartment building at 33 King St., in Toronto's Weston neighbourhood, say they have seen the building's owners put in applications for half a dozen rent hikes over the last decade that exceed the standard rent increase allowed in a rent-controlled building. 

Henry says her rent has gone up more than $400 in the last nine years, adding she believes the building's owners have used the application process to avoid rent control by applying for an increase more years than not.

"I'm afraid I might become homeless," says Henry. 

The group delivered a petition signed by 120 tenants of Henry's building and 100 tenants of a nearby building owned by the same company, calling for it to drop the latest rent hike application.

Chanting phrases like "Our landlord's name is Dream, but we know that they're a nightmare" and "What do we want? Fair rent", they came hoping the company would change its tune.

Landlord says it's working with tenants

Representatives from Dream Unlimited declined an interview with CBC Toronto. 

But in an emailed statement, Hero Mohtadi, the company's vice-president of residential operations and asset management, said it has used the extra money from rent increases for repairs and renovations. 

Since acquiring the building, she says, the company has increased the number of affordable units exempt from such increases to 40 per cent of the building. 

"We are also working one-on-one with tenants to develop individual payment plans to help alleviate financial pressures, as we understand the challenges that come with rent increases," she said, adding dialogue with tenants is continuing.

But with rents climbing almost everywhere, Henry says, she has no option but to fight the increases she and fellow tenants are facing.

"[The landlord] applies for above-guideline increases and my pension does not go up," she told CBC Toronto, adding she is already cutting down on groceries to pay the rent. 

Tenants 'getting squeezed'

Chiara Padovani, co-chair of the York South-Weston Tenant Union, of which the tenant association at 33 King St. is a member, is helping the group organize. 

Padovani points out the building is among a handful that have had the highest number of applications for above-guideline rent increases in Toronto over the past decade. 

• 'Explosion' of above guideline rent increases pricing out some Toronto tenants, advocates say

"Just because a landlord can do this doesn't mean it's the right thing," she said. "Tenants in these buildings are getting squeezed by excessive rent increases."

If it chooses, Dream Unlimited could withdraw any or all outstanding applications for above-guideline rent increases at the Landlord and Tenant Board, which were submitted by the former owner but only being heard now due to backlogs at the board.

As of now, the tenants have no indication the company will withdraw its application, though they have had some success fighting another recent rent increase.

'No one is willing to give up'

Tenants previously negotiated with the company to see a 2018 rent increase cut in half, Padovani says.

But she says Dream Unlimited has not fulfilled its obligations contained in a related settlement agreement, because it provided ledgers to tenants that she says contained errors. The owners also did not repay tenant over-payments which some tenants made before the rent increase was cut in half, she says.

The company did address those allegations in its statement to CBC Toronto.

Geordie Dent, the executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations, says such increase "are a total scam….What is the original rent money going toward if not maintaining the complex and capital expenditures?"

He says the option to apply for an above-guideline increase undermines the point of a rent control system.

Victoria Podbielski, the press secretary for Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, says above-guideline rent increases allow landlords to "make capital-intensive upgrades to their units."

The measure is "a critical process to ensure that Ontario's housing stock remains safe and well-maintained," she added. 

Padovani says even though the system feels stacked against tenants, they plan to continue taking action in the coming weeks.

"No one is willing to give up," she said.