Establishing a tenant association
Tenants have a right to organize themselves and establish a tenant association. The Residential Tenancies Act clearly states that:
It is an offence to try to prevent a tenant from forming a tenants’ association or taking part in one.”
Under Section 23 of this Act you have a legal right to have your own tenant association. The landlord would be breaking the law and can be fined up to $25, 000 if the landlord obstructs you from organizing a tenant association in your building. You can check out the Residential Tenancies Act Offences for more detailed information on the violation of this law.
Tenants Association Organizing Guide – Tenants can obtain comprehensive information on how to establish tenants associations from the guide published by ONTARIO TENANTS RIGHTS. This publication is titled the Tenants Association Organizing Guide. It contains valuable information on how to establish and maintain a tenant association. The survival of your association will depend heavily on maintaining ongoing communications with tenants through newsletters, posting notices, phone calls, e-mails, etc.
You may find some helpful tips on how to establish ‘tenants associations’ at this link below: http://www.tenant.net/Organize/Lenox/lh-1.html
IMPORTANT NOTE: The “Tenants Association Organizing Guide” contains some cautions and also useful recommendations. For example:
a) Tenant associations should remain politically neutral. Political neutrality in your assocation will encourage greater participation of tenants across the political spectrum. Tenants should be aware that some individuals with a political agenda might use the association for political gain.
b) Be aware that some tenants in your building might be acting as spies for the landlord. These particular tenants might be employed to do odd jobs around the building for the landlord and therefore have a vested interest in destabilizing your attempts to organize. Some tenants might have a close relationship with the landlord and will pass information on to the landlord that will interfere with your efforts to establish your association.
NOTE – We would be pleased to list your website link after you have established your tenant association and launched your website. Contact us at: eastyorktenantsgroup@gmail.com
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East York Tenants Group 
First Part 23 of the RTA does not explicitly refer to setting up a tenant’s committee. It does say that a landlord is not to harass or interfere with a tenant… which would include setting up a tenant’s committee.
Secondly it is downright silly to suggest that tenant committees remain politically neutral. If you aren’t active in seeking change for your members, then what’s the point… tea and cookies in the lobby?
Finally AGIs are best fought with facts and evidence in a hearing. You won’t stop them and I don’t think you want to since they’re your landlords only remaining motivation to keep the building in good repair. YES, many landlords are cheating wildly and some may even be committing fraud before the LTB Adjudicators… but when done honestly there’s no real premise for objection. You do, afteral, end up with a nicer place to live.
My group ONTEN is fighting for change in the way AGIs are processed, seeking fairness in the hearings. Visit the site and you will see… http://onten.ca
Our landlord, Hollyburn Properties, have been approved for over guideline increases five years out of the last ten. Adding approximately $200 +/- to our monthly rents over the course of 14 years. In some cases this has added a debt burden of $35,000 + to vulnerable renters in Ontario. This is happening all over Ontario (and Canada). Millions of dollars are being syphoned out of the pockets of hard working renters into the pocket of these powerhouse corporations. The multi-million dollar owner of Hollyburn Properties has been approved for things such as mailboxes, lobby renovations, landscaping and many other unnecessary “upgrades” and the list goes on. We are trying to organize a group in Ontario to pressure the Liberals to have this provision removed and to protect the people that put them in power. Apartment building owners are some of the richest people in Canada and to expect tenants to fund renovations, with the approval of our government, is unconscionable. We are trying to organize as many tenant associations/apartments that have been affected by this outdated provision, as we are able to bring a strong voice to parliament that the direction they have been taking by allowing this extortion and outright abuse of the provisions afforded under the Residential Tenancies Act must be stopped. We are looking to add your voice to our movement to have the Act changed to protect tenants from predatory landlords that “upgrade” their buildings using money from provided by hard working tenants. We are in the very early stages trying to gather as much support as we can and hope that you will add your voice to our cause. We don’t believe that this is the direction that society should be taking when so many are in jeopardy of losing their housing because of this practice.
We need as many stories from tenants as possible to provide us with the paperwork relating to these above-guideline increases. Please help spread the word to all people affected so we can have our voices heard.
Please visit us and add your voice at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1282837508474422/
Hi, I’m the chair of 70, 80, 90 Heath St W Tenants Association, a Hollyburn property. I’d be happy to chat with you.
Sorry for the delayed reply. Take a visit to https://onten.ca … We’re all over this one.