Toronto Renters Forum

From Right to Housing Toronto:

Toronto residents continue to face an affordable housing crisis, rents are on the rise, and homelessness continues to grow.  This year’s municipal election is a critical moment for Torontonians to make their voices heard and elect representatives that will work to address their housing challenges.

The Right to Housing Coalition has launched a municipal election campaign to advance the right to housing in the city.  We have developed a pledge with a series of rights-based actions that we encourage all candidates to take to better meet the housing needs of all residents.

In our Campaign Kit, you’ll find:
• The Affordable Housing Pledge for candidates
• Key information about the right to housing
• A set of rights-based housing solutions for Toronto
• A list of candidates running for Mayor and Councillors

Join us in urging all candidates to take the pledge and commit to advance the right to housing for all Torontonians.

For more information:
   https://right2housingto.ca/

Real Estate Lawyers aren't really what this Forum was created to discuss, although tenant friendly lawyers who might be of help to those facing hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) are.

That said, it's very difficult to find a good lawyer for tenant issues.  Legal representatives cannot expect to be paid very much by the majority of tenants hauled before the LTB who tend to have low incomes.  So the lawyers and paralegals who (reasonably enough) want to be paid more usually end-up representing the landlords.

There are terrific lawyers and paralegals* out there who will take-on tenants' cases, but they are somewhat difficult to find.  Sometimes you can find one by consulting your local Community Legal Education Office and asking whether they have a list of lawyers or paralegals that they can supply you.

(* Also note that paralegals are often the way to go at the LTB, because some paralegals have more experience representing tenants there than most lawyers do.  Lawyers generally focus on higher-levels of the law (criminal law, provincial court, etc.) than mere "social tribunals" like the LTB.  Also lawyers tend to be more expensive, meaning that they get hired less frequently by tenants at the LTB, and thus may have less experience at the LTB than more affordable paralegals do.)

Here are some links regarding CLEO (community legal education offices) that maybe helpful:

• https://www.cleo.on.ca/en/publications/ontario

• https://www.legalaid.on.ca/services/legal-clinics/

Announcing the FMTA's tenant summit!

The summit will consist of three online sessions, Sunday 2 to 4 p.m.:
 
November 14 - Tenants and elections:
· What do tenants want? (ex. Laws, policies, vacancy control, end of AGIs)
· What are tenants' obstacles? How does the law work for tenants?
· How can tenants solve their needs? (A critical discussion about how to impress our needs on elected/or to be elected representatives)

November 21 - The Landlord and Tenant Board
· How does it work
· Problems during the pandemic/lack of transparency
· What alternatives do tenants have?

November 28 - Organizing for Strength
· Tactics and tools to organize
· Tenants’ associations and networks
· Using our organizations to achieve our ends
· Relationships with landlords, politicians, media, general public
· Organizing against evictions, demolitions and maintenance concerns
· How to find your landlord

Each session will be presented by an FMTA organizer and a guest speaker. There will be a general discussion and courses of action will be proposed by the great group. Tenants that wish to stay in contact with others for organizing ends will have the opportunity to be connected through a mailing list.

If you are interested in attending the summit, please contact Euridice Baumgarten at  euridice@torontotenants.org and indicate which sessions you would like to attend. Once you are registered you will receive a link for your first session close to the date.

There will be limited space for each session. You can register for one or all of them. People that register for a session and do not attend/do not cancel will be removed from the subsequent sessions in favour of people on the waiting list. If you register for a session and cannot attend, you are asked to let us know 48 hours before the session.

This area of Toronto Renters Forum is for tenants living in Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) buildings to ask questions, make connections, compare notes, and organize themselves.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Rental Demolition board

Welcome to the Heat board

An informative article published in The Leveller:

Squeezing Profits: Timbercreek tenants resist skyrocketing rent increases