Press Hits

Hamilton’s new bylaw won’t apply to the Emerald Street tenants who received N13s before Jan. 1, but their situation demonstrates how new municipal rules could help protect other tenants in the future. The Emerald Street tenants, with support from tenant advocacy group ACORN, are prepared to fight the eviction at an upcoming hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board, said Dick.

Hamilton tenant Amanda Dick’s home of nearly eight years hangs in the balance as she awaits a hearing before Ontario’s rental-dispute tribunal. Dick and dozens of others in the six-storey apartment building on Emerald Street South have received notices from their landlord to clear out for renovations. This is why the time it has taken the city to ready the bylaw has been “disappointing,” said Dick, who credits the advocacy efforts of Hamilton ACORN for pushing for the anti-renoviction measures and supporting her and fellow tenants in their fight against eviction.

Starting January 1st, the criminal interest rate on predatory lending will be lowered, meaning it should be safer to take out payday and installment loans. But these businesses have a tendency to skirt the law, adding unexpected fees and insurance rates to keep borrowers in the hole.

Carrying signs and instruments, a group of tenants facing eviction staged a protest one evening last week in front of a home in one of Toronto’s most upscale neighbourhoods. They said the homeowner was Ontario’s most prolific “renovictor,” Michael Klein.

Debbie Staples vividly remembers the day she was told she would have to leave the Vanier apartment she had called home for 18 years. “I cried,” she said. “I grabbed a garbage bag, started cleaning out my closet and throwing clothes in my bag.” A new landlord took over Staples’ building, promising no changes. A week later, they offered $5,000 in a “cash for keys” deal. A week after that, Staples and her neighbours received N13s.

The maximum interest rate that creditors can legally charge is set to drop in the new year, but consumer affairs experts and advocates are now urging Ottawa to expand the kinds of borrowing costs covered by the cap, warning the lower limit will likely spur high-cost lenders to turn to ancillary charges.