Ontario ACORN’s Provincial Day of Action for Rent Control: a Big Success!

Posted March 17, 2022

Over 100 ACORN members came out to actions across Ontario on Wednesday for ACORN’s Provincial Day of Action for Real Rent Control! Actions were held in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton and London to make rent control a defining issue of the 2022 Ontario provincial election. Plus a province wide Zoom phone blitz/ workshop!

ACORN members are demanding: 

• Vacancy control to ensure that rents are not being raised substantially between tenants
• Apply rent control to all buildings. Specifically buildings first occupied after November 2018 which currently have no yearly limit for rent increases
• End AGIs (Above Guideline Rent Increase) seeing that they have become a tool to avoid rent controls

With rents continuing to skyrocket across the province, Ontario is in dire need of vacancy control. There is currently no limit to the amount landlords can increase the rent in between tenancies. At its best this makes moving difficult for low/moderate income people in Ontario, and at its worst, creates an incentive for landlords to neglect repairs and evict long term tenants in order to jack up the rent. 

After he was elected in 2018, Doug Ford even scrapped yearly rent increase limits in rental units first occupied after Novembre 2018. 

While those yearly rent increase limits still exist in older buildings, landlords find ways around them. Many landlords use AGIs (Above Guideline Increase) to raise the rent over the yearly limit. An ACORN survey found that 23% of tenants reported receiving an AGI just in the last year, clearly making rent control non-existent in practice for many low to moderate income tenants. 

Ontario ACORN members are ramping up to the 2022 provincial election by holding a provincial day of action every month on key issues for low to moderate income people until the election. 

Sign the online action for real rent control and share with your Friends on Facebook and Twitter

PRESS

Hamilton Spectator: Hamilton ACORN calls for rent control amid skyrocketing housing market

CityNews: ACORN Ottawa protests at MPP Jeremy Roberts office against loopholes in Ontario rent control laws

CBC News: Ontario housing minister will look into King Edward Avenue evictions

CBC London Morning: Long-term tenants facing N95 eviction notices

London Free Press: Property manager denies tenants being evicted to raise rents

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