Vanier ACORN Tenant Union rallies to save members’ homes from N13 Renoviction!
Posted July 16, 2021
ACORN members SPOKE UP and FOUGHT BACK today to prevent the N13 renovictions of tenants living in two buildings on Des Peres-Blancs in Vanier!! Their new landlords, OPG Holdings, are threatening to evict them by the end of August for major renovations but as we’ve seen so often, this typically means they just want to jack up the rent for new tenants!
Their intentions to mass evict tenants became known in March when they started knocking on tenants’ doors to demand inspections of their units and that they sign N11s to vacate. OPG only took possession of the buildings 2 days ago, meaning they were aggressively trying to push out tenants 3 MONTHS before they were even the new owners. Unfortunately, many tenants left under the assumption they had to. Thankfully those that remain reached out to ACORN to form a tenant union, understand their rights and will not leave!
Tenants of the Peres-Blancs ACORN Tenant Union spoke up today about why they want to stay in their homes. They’ve been living here for years, for many it’s been decades!! Jude has been living in his unit for 35 years. He’s 81 years old and has difficulty walking and getting around but he’s been able to establish a network of people in the area who help him out. This is about his HOME and his COMMUNITY!! If he is displaced, moving will be extremely difficult and stressful. All of the tenants are also currently paying $600-$800/month in rent, some of them are on ODSP and some of them are seniors, how are they supposed to find housing they can afford elsewhere!?
On top of that, these landlords won’t even tell tenants who they are, where their offices are, and have been avoiding giving tenants proper contact info. There’s no reason that strangers should be able to come in off the street and kick people out of their homes.
It’s time for the City to step up and put an end to renovictions in Ottawa with an Anti-Displacement Policy!!
Thanks also to Councillor Mathieu Fleury and MPP Lucille Collard’s office for joining to share their support for tenants fighting to stay in their homes!
PRESS
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