1475 King Tenants Organize

Last night our neighbours at 1475 King formed a building committee for the defense of their homes. The building was recently purchased by Montreal-based Golden Equity Properties. The new landlord has since issued bogus eviction notices to some tenants and is neglecting serious disrepair in tenants’ units.

Members of Parkdale Organize attended the meeting. We spoke about our experiences beating evictions and rent increases through collective action with our neighbours. One member shared the following:

“When we started organizing against an above guideline rent increase at 1251 King, the landlord refused to recognize us as an organization. They threatened us with criminal charges for knocking on doors in the building. They hired security guards to attend our lobby meetings. They called us outside agitators. How did we respond? We got even more of our neighbours involved and we made it normal to be a member of the building committee. In the end, we won. What landlords fear most is our strength in numbers.“

In the coming weeks our neighbours at 1475 King will be organizing to put a stop to eviction threats and to improve conditions at the building. The tenants will need the support of their neighbours in Parkdale. Let’s show them that Parkdale has their back!