Above Guideline Rent Increases in the Age of Financialization
“Toronto is in the midst of a housing crisis, and around half of the city’s renters are paying unaffordable rents. For tenants living in rent-controlled buildings, annual rent increases are limited to the provincial rent increase guideline. However, landlords can apply for an above guideline increase (AGI) if they incurred costs related to eligible capital expenditures or security services, or if they experienced an extraordinary increase in property taxes. AGIs allow landlords to transfer these costs on to tenants, increasing rents up to an additional 3% for three successive years. This report examines the increase of AGIs in Toronto over the past several years, the impacts of AGIs on tenants, the role of financialized and corporate landlords in pursuing AGIs, and the rationales lawmakers have offered for the policy.”
Refer to this attachment:
CBC – Renters’ advocacy group concerned about Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board’s online transition
Ryan Patrick Jones · CBC News · Posted: Dec 14, 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/landlord-tenant-board-online-1.6283723
Note. This article focuses on the tremendous impact on tenants who either don’t have good access online or simply can’t afford online services in these tough economic times.
THE 2022 ONTARIO RENT INCREASE GUIDELINE IS 1.2%
Refer to these links for details:
Ontario’s 2022 Rent Increase Guideline
https://news.ontario.ca/en/bulletin/1000340/ontarios-2022-rent-increase-guideline
Residential rent increases
https://www.ontario.ca/page/residential-rent-increases
LANDLORD AND TENANT BOARD
https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/contact/
ABOVE GUIDELINE RENT INCREASES
Certain landlord applications to increase rent rose following Ontario’s rent freeze legislation
Lamia Abozaid · Posted: Mar 22, 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/above-guideline-rent-increase-applications-rent-freeze-1.5956415
Above-guideline rent increases in Toronto up 250 per cent in six years: report
Corporate landlords are responsible for 84 per cent of all above-guideline rent increases in Toronto, according to RenovictionsTO
Latest Update – Lockdown Measures To Be Extended
Paula Fletcher
City Councillor for Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth
https://mailchi.mp/toronto/covid19-update-dec-18-2020?e=a6cb297031
People want Ontario to reinstate the residential eviction ban
December 3, 2020
Toronto and Peel have been in full lockdown 2.0 for more than a week now, and residents are wondering why, if so many are out of work once more, a ban on residential evictions hasn’t been reinstated.
https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2020/12/ontario-reinstate-residential-eviction-ban/
RENT FREEZE IN 2021
Ontario Landlords Can Raise The Rent By 0% in 2021 (Rent Freeze!)
https://ontariolandlords.org/blog/category/2021-rent-increase-guideline-ontario/
Ontario Introduces Legislation to Freeze Residential Rent in 2021
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/58396/ontario-introduces-legislation-to-freeze-residential-rent-in-2021
Ontario introduces residential rent freeze for 2021
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-introduces-residential-rent-freeze-for-2021-1.5109278
LEADNOW – URGENT UPDATE
Petition to stop the mass evictions bill.
The Ford government could pass Bill 184 — Ford’s mass evictions bill as early as today — which means we don’t have much time to stop it.
If it passes, Bill 184 could allow the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to issue quick eviction notices and kick people out of their homes as early as August 1st.
We encourage you to go to this link below and complete the form with the required details. You can then be able to place a call Steve Clark, Minister of Housing and voice your opposition to this mass eviction bill:
https://act.leadnow.ca/bill-184-c2c-other/
Government Resources and Support for COVID-19
Brad Bradford, Councillor Ward 19 – Beaches-East York
March 24, 2020
Refer to this link for complete details: https://www.bradbradford.ca/covid19/
ACORN CANADA – News Update
URGENT ACTION: Rent Freeze / Suspension of Rent & End NSF Fees & Internet for All!
The Government of Canada released the Economic Response Plan to deal with the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The response is timely as it lays out a range of benefits for Canadians as well as businesses to stay afloat in these extremely challenging times.
Refer to this link for full details where you can add your voice to support this action:
What the Federal Stimulus Package Means for You
Posted March 20, 2020
We heard the Federal Government releasing an Economic Response Plan to help people deal with the crisis due to COVID-19. Here is a quick summary of what the economic package has to offer. However, ACORN Members and Leaders feel there are substantial gaps between what people need and what they will get with the stimulus package.
Refer to this link for more details:
https://acorncanada.org/what-federal-stimulus-package-means-you
2020 Annual Rent Increase Guideline
The Ontario government has set the 2020 Annual Rent Increase Guideline at 2.2%. The guideline increase of 2.2% for 2020 is the maximum a landlord can raise a tenant’s rent without approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board. This applies to most sitting tenants in private residential rental units covered by the Residential Tenancies Act.
Rents charged to new tenants are at the discretion of the landlord.
The 2020 guideline increase takes effect from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. This 2020 guideline increase of 2.2% is the highest increase since 2013. As noted above, landlords cannot increase rent for sitting tenants above the 2.2% guideline without seeking approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board. The increased is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada.
If the landlord intends to implement an Above Guideline Increase the landlord is required to abide by the regulations of the Landlord and Tenant Board and file an application with Landlord and Tenant Board for an Above Guideline Increase. Refer to this link at the Tribunals Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board:
http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Brochures/2020%20Rent%20Increase%20Guideline%20(EN).html
Detailed information on the 2020 Annual Rent Increase Guideline is available at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing link:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/rent-increase-guideline
East York Tenants Group 
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