TORONTO: KEEP YOUR RENT (April 1)

KEEP YOUR RENT – TORONTO (Facebook organizing group)

Some of us have run out of money or don’t have much left. Some of us may have barely enough and are hoping things don’t get worse. Some of us may be okay right now and are telling ourselves things will work out. But none of us knows for sure. What we do know is people are getting sick. People are losing their jobs or are having their hours cut. We know schools are closed. We know lines at grocery stores are long. We know we should try to prepare. We know we need to be responsible. We know some people feel scared. We know some people feel alone. We know people need help now, and more will soon.

And we all know rent is due.

We should keep our rent. Our landlords will be fine. We may not be. No tenant should feel forced to hand over so much money when faced with so much uncertainty. You should keep your rent. Whatever you have, hang on to it. Once you give it to your landlord, it’s gone. You won’t have it for food or for medicine. You won’t have it for you, your family, your friends, your neighbours, or your co-workers – no-one. Your landlord will have it. It will go in their bank account and it will secure their investments. While you and everyone you care about stares down the barrel of insecurity.

Sure, it’s against the rules. The rules say that when the calendar says the 1^st, the landlord gets paid. Not this time. We’re keeping our rent. We will not be forced to go without because those with so much say we should. We know what we should do. We should support each other, we should defend each other, and we should provide for each other.

So that’s what we will do. We will keep our rent.

KEEPING YOUR RENT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (FAQ)

Why keep my rent? 

You may need it. COVID-19 may be a long-term public health crisis. The number of people who have lost their jobs continues to grow. The pandemic is already making life harder for the majority of us, and we can’t afford to assume it is going away anytime soon.

There is strength in numbers. Thousands of us deciding to keep our rent gives us the resources to better provide for the health and well-being of our families and communities. Social distancing helps stop the spread of COVID-19. It doesn’t stop us from taking the collective action of keeping our rent.

Aren’t there no more evictions?

On March 19, in response to COVID-19, the Ontario Superior Court suspended all residential evictions “until otherwise ordered by the court”. This means that until otherwise stated, the Sheriff will not participate in the forceful removal of tenants from their homes. In addition, the Toronto Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has cancelled all hearings until at least March 27, 2020. With the eviction system at a stand still, landlords cannot bring tenants to the LTB and they cannot enforce evictions against tenants.

When the eviction suspension ends, won’t everyone get evicted?

No. Only the LTB can order a tenant to move out and only the Sheriff can physically remove someone from their home. Landlords can apply to the LTB to evict a tenant who has not paid rent, but only after the 14-day notice period in a properly served N4 notice. A hearing at the LTB is usually scheduled in 3-6 weeks, and in light of the current crisis, potentially much longer, in advance.

At the LTB hearing the tenant can pay the rent owing and avoid eviction. However, the LTB may require the tenant to pay the landlord’s filing fee of $190. There are some exceptions to this that apply in a small minority of cases. If your landlord has taken you to the LTB before over rent, reach out to us for more information.

What if I can’t afford the $190 fee?

Tenants do not automatically become responsible for a landlord’s filing fees. Landlords apply for this and the tribunal then has to approve it. No-one should accept this outcome, for themselves or others. Attempts to force tenants to pay for their landlord’s legal attacks can and should be fought. 

During the 2017 MetCap rent strike, Parkdale Organize was able to fundraise a defense fund to help cover $190 filing fees against tenants. The force of the rent strikers’ actions defeated MetCap’s attempt to evict them and the money was never used. This is because there were hundreds of tenants involved and MetCap was unable to pursue evictions against everyone at once. If necessary, that money will be made available and it is entirely possible that more money would be fundraised.

Keeping my rent could be riskier for me than for other people. Why should I take part?

Keeping our rent might be riskier for some people than others. Especially if they are forced to go it alone. It’s important to acknowledge that. This makes it especially important for tenants in more secure positions to not just participate but commit to defending one another down the road, if it comes to that. For the most marginalized among us, KeepYourRent is not a choice — it’s a necessity. Either they need that money to feed their family, or they just don’t have it to begin with. If you think you are in a position to choose, please choose to stand with others who aren’t. Marginalized people are most at risk when singled out and isolated. KeepYourRent is about acting together, so that those who are most marginalized are not left to deal with this crisis alone.

What might my landlord do?

1. Legal Action

Landlords may issue an N8 eviction notice alleging the tenant frequently paid rent late. Again, the Landlord has to apply to the LTB. The risk of eviction at an N8 LTB hearing is lower than at an N4 hearing for non-payment of rent. At an N8 hearing the LTB could order the tenant to pay rent on time for the next year or be evicted without a hearing.

Landlords also have the option of applying to the LTB to order a tenant to pay the rent owing. In this case there is no eviction, only an order to pay the landlord.

2. Undermine organizing

To undermine tenants collectively keeping our rent, big, corporate landlords will come out with rent deferral or rent relief schemes. These programs will not benefit tenants. Instead, they will put tenants into rent repayment agreements with their landlords. Tenants who make individual deals with landlords weaken the collective strength of keeping our rent.

Individual landlords may directly confront tenants who keep their rent. They may try and intimidate and harass tenants.

3. So, what can we do about that?

Landlords are often real brave when dealing with individual tenants. Not so much when there’s more of us. It’s critical that the people around us know what is going on and that we support each other. Within buildings and on blocks people can keep in touch about what is going on and what landlords may be trying to do. Word can also be spread through social media. Landlord’s phone numbers can be found, and their homes and businesses can be visited just as easily as our homes can be. This is not something they enjoy. But it is very much something we should be willing to do. Together. 

My rent is paid directly by my bank or OW or ODSP. How can I keep my rent?

Tenants whose rent is paid directly to the landlord can still keep their rent. Contact your bank online or by phone and cancel your landlord as a payee immediately. They can be reinstated at a later date. 

Tenants on social assistance can contact their Ontario Works or ODSP caseworker to cancel their rent pay-direct. Tenants whose rent is paid directly to the landlord can still keep their rent. If your caseworker denies your request, contact us for support. Tenants can pressure the local Ontario Works or ODSP office to stop denying tenants’ requests to cancel their rent pay-directs.

I live in a small building. Can I keep my rent?

Tenants in small buildings or single units like basement apartments might feel isolated and less confident in keeping their rent. That’s why we’re creating ways for tenants to communicate online and by phone. Join in and stay in touch! By keeping your rent you make it possible for other tenants to feel more confident in keeping theirs. Ongoing communication will be critical for our ability to respond in cases requiring collective support.  

The government has made lots of announcements. Can’t we just wait for rent relief?

The government has made a lot of announcements but they have not cancelled rent. We have no reason to believe they will. By keeping our rent, we take back authority over our lives and our families’ futures.

Why aren’t we pushing for stronger government action? 

The clock is ticking. April 1st is around the corner. We can make this decision now. This decision will put more pressure on the government than any petition or letter to the editor. AND we guarantee ourselves access to our own money. Two birds. One stone.

What about my Landlord? 

Landlords’ resources will allow them to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic better than most, while tenants are more and more concerned with our daily survival. The government has already announced financial support and mortgage suspensions for businesses and landlords. By keeping our rent we will have more money for groceries, medicine, disinfectant supplies, and other basic necessities. Our landlords will be fine without our rent. We may not be.

Notice: Eviction Stoppage + Supporting Neighbours

1. Eviction Stoppage

Read the story in the Toronto Star

It’s unclear how long outstanding eviction orders will be postponed but they are, for the moment, being halted. Behind most evictions lies a crisis. Whether a tenant’s spouse has died or they lost their job, whether they can’t work without affordable childcare or are unable to work because of a virus – none of these tenants should lose their home to eviction. If there are increased evictions because of COVID-19, Parkdale tenants will need to stand together to prevent these eviction attempts, as we should always stand with our neighbours against eviction. As members of Parkdale Organize, we stand against all evictions in our neighbourhood whatever the reason for them might be.

2. Supporting Neighbours

Contact Parkdale Organize

Over the past few days, tenants throughout the neighbourhood have been reaching out to their neighbours – asking if they need help with groceries, medicine, or feelings of dread and isolation. Working class people in this neighbourhood regularly depend on each other to survive crises in their daily lives. The communication, solidarity and support between people in this neighbourhood has always been our greatest strength. Social distancing does not need to mean abandonment. If you know of anyone in the neighbourhood who needs help, have them reach out to Parkdale Organize.

Landlord Shafik Kassam Hides from Beaty Tenants

Today our neighbours at 40 Beaty traveled to the affluent Hoggs Hollow neighbourhood in North York to the home of landlord Shaffik Kassam. Their purpose was to demand he drop the above guideline increase and do the repairs in tenants’ units now.

Kassam is a real estate investor who has bought up two Parkdale buildings, 116 Spencer and 40 Beaty. He is attempting to push tenants out of both buildings. At 116 Spencer he has issued bogus eviction notices and stolen tenants belongings from their front porch. At 40 Beaty he has applied to raise the rent above the guideline while neglecting repairs in tenants’ units.

Our neighbours attempted to deliver a letter and work orders but Kassam refused to answer the door. Instead he called police. Toronto Police Services arrived to make sure Kassam would not have to face his tenants. When tenants stood their ground and refused to leave, they were finally able to deliver the letter and work orders.

If Kassam fails to meet our neighbours’ demands by their timeline we are prepared to take further action against him and his business interests.

We Won’t Be Ignored – Parkdale on the Picket Line

FACEBOOK EVENT

Friday, Feb. 7, 11:15am, corner of Queen St. West and Lansdowne Ave.

Apparently the government didn’t hear us! Last Monday, over 100 Parkdale tenants, families and teachers showed up to demand quality schools. Next week, we’ll make sure they can’t ignore us. Join Parkdale teachers on the picket line on Friday February 7th at 11:15 AM. Tell your friends, tell your neighbours. If you work nearby, coordinate a lunch-break visit with some co-workers.

Parkdale Supports Teachers!

FACEBOOK EVENT

Parkdale Supports Teachers!
Monday, January 20, 11:15am
Corner of Queen St. West and Jameson Ave.
Bring your kids!

On Monday, elementary school teachers will be out on strike. Let’s show teachers and the government that Parkdale demands smaller classes, more classroom support and better schools for our kids. Parkdale supports teachers fighting back! Bring your neighbours. Bring your kids.

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!

Hannah Beats Eviction (Round One)!

Yesterday Hannah beat the eviction! The Landlord and Tenant Board dismissed the eviction because the landlord failed to pay compensation to the tenant before the eviction date.

At the hearing landlord Patrick Anderson was clearly shaken up and feeling the pressure from yesterday’s phone and email zap. We intend to escalate action against Anderson in the likely event he tries to evict Hannah again.

Background

Patrick Anderson is a landlord who owns the house at 17 Callender Street in Parkdale. Hannah is a Parkdale tenant who has rented the upstairs unit in the house for three years.

In October Anderson evicted Hannah’s downstairs neighbour and moved his adult son in. Days later Hannah received an eviction notice from Anderson. The notice stated Anderson resides in the downstairs unit and needs the upstairs unit for his son. In reality, Anderson spends much of the year living in Ireland. When he visits Toronto he stays at a family home in Etobicoke. He also owns, and presumably rents out, a luxury condo in the building at 1 Bedford Road. The building was named the “Tower of Power” after how many rich Torontonians reside there.

In December members of Parkdale Organize delivered a demand letter to Anderson’s family home which he has chosen to ignore. Anderson is now dragging Hannah in front of the Landlord and Tenant Board to evict her. Hannah’s first date at the Board was January 7, 2020. Hannah is refusing to move out. She now needs the support of her neighbours in Parkdale.

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.

Dufferin Tenants Resolve to Fight Rent Increase

Last night our neighbours at 295 Dufferin held a meeting in their building lobby. The meeting was called for tenants to decide on next steps in their struggle against a rent increase above the guideline sought by their landlord, Starlight Investments.

Starlight applied to raise rent at the building by nearly 6% above the guideline in 2019 and 2020. Taken with the regular guideline increases, tenants faced a total rent increase of almost 10% over two years. The increase comes after years of disruptive construction at the building and Starlight’s bid to buy tenants out of their homes.

“Last week we packed the Landlord and Tenant Board and stood firm, together as a building,” said Katrina, an organizer at the building addressing the meeting, “Starlight has already backed down on $1.1 million of what they are claiming in their case. We need to keep pushing.”

Members of Parkdale Organize joined the meeting to speak about their successful struggles against above guideline increases at their buildings. “The same thing happened when we went on rent strike,” explained an organizer from the 1251 King building committee, “Hoping we would end our strike, our landlord lowered the rent increase. But we decided our strike was bigger than one rent increase in one building. We were fighting for all Parkdale tenants. So we kept the strike going until the landlord withdrew the above guideline increase altogether. For us, any rent increases above the guideline was unacceptable.”

The decision taken at last night’s meeting was to continue to press for Starlight to withdraw its application to raise rent above the guideline. A plan of action was approved and tenants immediately set to work. In the coming weeks our neighbours will be calling on Parkdale for support.

“It’s been like living in hell,” said 13-year tenant Pat, “The rent increase adds insult to injury. We can’t afford the increase. We have to draw the line.”

Under Threat of Eviction? Talk to your Neighbours!

Dave (@dsherwoodb), a member of Parkdale Organize, writes about his experience facing the threat of eviction in Parkdale.

Eviction isn’t just ‘moving’, and it’s rarely an acute event. It’s months or years of stress and anxiety, of disempowerment, of not feeling secure in the most basic ways. And for those of us in recovery — as so many of us are in Parkdale — it is traumatic.

Whether recovering from mental health issues, addictions, violence, colonialism, or from any number of forms of oppression, Parkdale is a neighbourhood of survivors — and an eviction or threat thereof can derail a recovery with devastating efficiency.

When my building was bought a year and a half ago by a notorious ‘renovicter’, and knowing an eviction would likely mean leaving this city — along with my family and support network — I was terrified. I felt utterly powerless.

I remember when the landlord toured my unit — my home — when he was first thinking of buying the place. He commented on how cheap the rent was. How grovelingly I agreed and said how grateful I was for that, knowing even as I said it that my gratitude meant nothing to him.

All the hard work I’d done to rebuild my life seemed like it could go up in smoke at any moment — and not because I’d done anything wrong, but because we live in a society where rich people get to exploit poor people.

At first I flailed wildly, reading landlord-tenant law, contacting politicians and social-justice-minded lawyers & journalists… I even got my first cell-phone & signed up for twitter (ha!)…

My hope was that someone more knowledgeable, more powerful, would come save me — because that’s what we’re trained as poor or ill or marginalized people to want, because everything in our media and culture tells us that’s the only way.

But no one swooped in. Politicians were sympathetic, but jurisdictionally challenged. Journalists were interested… if things got to crisis point. Lawyers were helpful, but couldn’t do much until notice was served — and I’d seen what landlords could get away with at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Friendly as they all were, no one could do anything to help with the stress of knowing that someone far more powerful than me, with money and connections galore, had a target painted on mine and my neighbours’ backs.

Until I saw a flyer, and went to a meeting, and met a group of people — my neighbours — who weren’t looking to anyone else to save them, but to each other.

Absent political favour, funding, influence, or compromise they were building power through sheer force of will and solidarity. As I came to learn, they had already achieved some amazing things.

Over the past year I’ve knocked on more doors than I can count and visited more landlords than I can recall. I’ve done my best to have my neighbours’ backs.

So when I got notice tonight that construction is starting in my building this week, there was an initial pang of panic, but none of the powerless despair I felt in those first months after my home was sold.

Because if this *is* an attempt to push us out, I know we can *do* something about it, and I know we’ve got a neighbourhood behind us. And not just any neighbourhood, but Parkdale. And Parkdale fights back. And that’s a damn powerful feeling.

So here’s my PSA, for anyone who needs it:

If you’re facing eviction or are worried you might be soon; if they’re raising your rent or not doing repairs; if they’re trying to intimidate you or just make living in your building so miserable you move: Talk. To. Your. Neighbours.

It’s not just about your home being saved, it’s about *you* saving your homes, together, and reclaiming the power, dignity, and autonomy this fucked up system takes from you.

If you’re in Parkdale & need help getting started, contact Parkdale Organize. We’re not here to save anyone, but we’re your neighbours, and we’ve all been through it, and we’ve got your back, 100%.