There are occasions when tenants need to come together as a group to dispute an application made to the Landlord and Tenant Board by a landlord. For example, applications by the landlord can be for ‘above-guideline’ rent increase, or applications for demolitions or conversion of their building to condominiums. Under these circumstances Tenants can apply for and receive financial support from the Toronto City Council. Certain conditions have to be met to receive for financial assistance. The purpose of the financial support is to offset legal fees charged by legal aid providers hired by the group of tenants. The entire process can be quite daunting and tenants should seek legal advice with regard to representation at the Landlord and Tenant Board and obtaining financial assistance from Toronto City Council.
For more detailed information refer to these City of Toronto website links:
and
https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/rental-housing-tenant-information/
East York Tenants Group 
I just found this group. It’s. Fantastic n so very true. I’m hoping that being in Innisfil I can still get help from this group. Or. Guideness.
I have one question related to proposed plan to stop funding the Tenants Defence Funding that I would like to put before our Mayor Ford and his well-heeled supporters. That is …”Since when does a ‘civilized society’ accept that adding more burdens on the disadvantaged is an enlightened or progressive move.?” It is reactionary. So many of our disadvantaged who are barely managing to survive on their wages (which is eaten up mostly by high rental costs) will have to find money to pay for legal representation at the Landlord and Tenant Board to deal with landlord transgressions and violations! Makes me wonder what on earth is happening to our Canada!
The city is considering gutting much of the Tenant Defense fund the only thing preventing many poor tenants from homelessness.
We all need to be calling our city councillors today to demand no cuts to this and other essential tenant programs.
You need to call today. Call 311 and demand to talk to your city councillor personally. Don’t talk to a secretary demand to talk to your councillor as is our right! Also call up Rob Ford 416-397-FORD (3673) mayor_ford@toronto.ca Let them know we will be protesting at city hall and if they force us at their homes before they make these cuts that will leave thousands of poor helped every year become homeless
The mean spirited landlord group the Greater Toronto Apartment Association takes the money they extort from our overpriced rents and uses our own money to lobby against us. This is from there June 2010 magazine Building Blocks.
Tenant Defence Fund. In 2000, City Council created the “Tenant Defence Fund” of $150,000 per year to fund tenant disputes on above the guideline (AGI) rent increase applications and $150,000 a year to the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) to advocate. Despite the original concept of the program it has morphed into whatever the politicians serving on the Committee want it to be. This is a very “political” fund and needs to be reigned in.
Recommendation: commit to a full review of this program and possibly ending it
We need to be protesting any cuts to these essential tenant programs at City Hall.
We should also protest the
Greater Toronto Apartment Association
20 Upjohn Road, Suite 103 Toronto, ON M3B 2V9
Phone: 416 385 3435 Fax: 416 385 8096
E-mail: samw@gtaaonline.com
It is the lowest of the low to take money out of our mouths and then use it to try to put us all into the poorhouse.