Peel ACORN rallies outside Brampton City Hall to stop the demoviction of affordable housing

Amazing action yesterday at Brampton City Hall! 20+ Peel ACORN members living at 507 Balmoral Dr got together to demand a stop to the demoviction of their building and a rental replacement bylaw that protects tenants across Brampton from displacement.

When Ford was first elected in 2018, he removed rent control on all new developments built after November 2018 – this creates a massive incentive to do demovictions. ACORN’s Ontario Renovictions Report saw a 300% increase in N13 eviction notices for major renovations/demolitions from 2017-2021, highlighting that demovictions are on the rise!

Pulis/ Lankin Investments has filed a development application with the City of Brampton for a three-building apartment complex containing a total of 552 residential units on the property. With no rental replacement bylaw in Brampton, this demoviction will result in mass tenant displacement. Brampton’s sister cities like Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville have rental replacement bylaws so there is no reason except political will for tenants to wait for legislative changes to be made. Peel ACORN is organizing in solidarity with 507 Balmoral residents to protect tenants and hold landlords like Pulis/Lankin investments accountable for their greedy and predatory practices.

Peel ACORN leaders did an amazing job facilitating this action, and a demand letter to Mayor Patrick Brown was delivered that requests an urgent meeting and highlights the key tenets we’d like to see. Stay tuned for next steps because we will continue to put pressure on Brampton City Council!