Report: Dufferin Tenants Visit Starlight

Today our neighbours at 295 Dufferin visited the offices of landlord Starlight Investments to demand they drop the above guideline rent increase at the building and do the repairs in units now. Tenants delivered work order forms from 60 units in longstanding disrepair.

When tenants arrived at the Starlight office they were greeted by landlord hack Public Relations-man Danny Roth. Starlight found out tenants were coming and had hired Roth to run interference with tenants on their behalf. At first Roth insisted that no representative of Starlight would address the tenants. When tenants responded by walking in on and interrupting a boardroom meeting underway at the office, Roth produced a representative of Starlight. Starlight agreed to address the disrepair in units within one week but refused to drop the above guideline rent increase.

After the office visit tenants met to debrief. Tenants agreed that they have Starlight’s attention. That Starlight has paid for outside public relations help shows they are concerned about their organizing. Yet tenants acknowledged that in order for them to win they will need to become even more organized, involve greater numbers of their neighbours, and escalate action against the landlord.