FMTA (Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association) Press Conference On Expiring Rent Increases in Ontario
Published on Dec 3, 2019
Tenants in Ontario are owed $Millions in rent reductions but are not getting their money. We call on the province to ensure tenants get their rent reductions.
FMTA official website: https://www.torontotenants.org/
Posted in Above Guideline increase, Activism, FMTA | Leave a Comment »
Many high-rise apartment buildings around the GTA are currently undergoing major renovations and repairs of balconies. Most balconies tend to be made of metal with concrete slabs and are subject to wear and tear and rusting. Landlords and property owners deem these renovations and repairs are necessary to maintain the infrastructure and revitalize the appearance of the buildings. Hence these renovations are deemed ‘capital expenditure work’ under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Refer to: http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb-december-19-2016-new-approach-applications-rent-increase-guideline/
Given that the Above Guideline Increase regulations of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) deem renovation of balconies as ‘capital expenditure work’, the landlord has rights to renovate their property. The landlord will incur substantial costs from these renovations and the upshot is that the landlord can apply for an Above Guideline Increase and pass these costs on to their tenants. But. are those balcony renovations necessary, essential or cosmetic?
Posted in Above Guideline increase, Affordable rental housing, Balcony renovations, Capital Expenditures, Landlord and Tenant Board, Repairs and maintenance | Leave a Comment »
International Tenants’ Day is celebrated on the first Monday of October each year. This year it is celebrated on October 7, 2019. The International Union of Tenants (IUT) announces a theme each year. Tenant organisations are of course free to choose their own topic/theme for this day. This year’s celebration coincides with the United Nations Special rapporteur’s launch of:
“The Shift” http://www.unhousingrapp.org/the-shift and,
”Push the film” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Q4So4femM
The International Union of Tenants (IUT) has chosen these themes together with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as the recommended themes when Tenants celebrate the International Tenants’ Day around the world. There are the themes:
Sustainable Development Goals
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/:
Refer to the International Union of Tenants (IUT) website for more details: https://www.iut.nu/events/international-tenants-day/
NOTE – The International Union of Tenants (IUT) website is: https://www.iut.nu/
Posted in Activism, Affordable housing, International Tenants Day | Leave a Comment »
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.
The guideline does not apply to:
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
Posted in 2020 Rent Increase Guideline, Above Guideline increase | Leave a Comment »
The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) has released a redesigned version of their most popular guides. These guides are:
Feel free to download the redesigned versions of these popular guides at this link:
https://www.torontotenants.org/
Posted in FMTA tenant guides | Leave a Comment »
Join the FMTA for the 45th Annual General Meeting on Saturday June 29th, 2019 at 10:30am.
Location: 120 Carlton St – Party Room. Corner of Jarvis and Carlton St. Closest station is College Subway.
All FMTA AGM’s include:
2018/19 has seen the FMTA win major victories for tenants with our partners including legislative changes to our main programs, dedicated federal funding to housing, inclusionary zoning, eviction prevention, regulation of AirBNB and other changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.
NOTE: All our Tenant Association members can come to discuss campaigns and achievements in their buildings. The FMTA has received generous funding to be able to build Tenant Associations again and they’ve all got amazing stories.
Refer to this link for full details of the event:
https://www.torontotenants.org/
(To renew your membership in advance of the meeting, or for more information, please call 416-646-1772)
Posted in FMTA Annual General Meeting | Leave a Comment »
G. W. Kassa, Guest contributor
One of the biggest tasks facing the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is providing enough affordable rental housing to accommodate the needs of its growing population. We all know food, clothing, and shelter are the necessities for our survival. However, obtaining and maintaining these needs, and juggling between them continues for many renters in the GTA. This is especially relevant given the current economic climate and the tremendous need for rental housing from an increasing population.
An important part of this discussion concerns families who earn incomes above the low-income guidelines, yet close to considered middle or median income. The inability to find affordable rental housing has become the new reality for this group with the rising costs in the rental market and without the wage increases. Hence many renters resort to sharing rental units with several others in need of affordable housing which resulted in heavily overcrowded rental units. Also, this rental housing crisis has been exacerbated by the lack of TCHC subsidized housing which was further compounded by unheeded need for massive repairs and renovations of TCHC rental buildings.
Posted in Affordable rental housing, Mayor John Tory, Rental Housing crisis | 1 Comment »
UPDATE – 2020 Annual Rent Increase Guideline
Refer to this link:
https://eastyorktenantsgroup.com/2019/07/21/2020-annual-rent-increase-guideline-is-set-at-2-2/
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The Ontario government has set the 2019 Annual Rent Increase Guideline at 1.8%. The guideline increase of 1.8% for 2019 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 2019 guideline increase takes effect from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019. As noted above, landlords cannot increase rent for sitting tenants above the 1.8% guideline without seeking approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board. This 2019 guideline increase of 1.8 is unchanged from the rent increase for 2018. It 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:
http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Brochures/2019%20Rent%20Increase%20Guideline%20(EN).html
Detailed information on the 2019 Annual Rent Increase Guideline is available at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing link:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/rent-increase-guideline
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Posted in 2019 Rent Increase Guideline | Leave a Comment »
East York Tenants Group 