Manual

THE FEDERATION OF METRO TENANTS' ASSOCIATIONS		Tenant Survival Manual
Chapters Introduction The Residential Tenancies Act Landlord and Tenant Board Are You Covered by the Law? Private Market Housing Social Housing Before You Move In Tenancy Agreements Discrimination Information Package Last Month's Rent Key Deposit Illegal Charges Rent Rent Increases Above Guideline Rent Increases Rent Reductions Automatic Rent Reductions Rent Freezes Trouble Paying Your Rent? Rent in Social Housing Repairs and Maintenance How to Get Repairs Done Working Together Privacy Locks and Keys Harassment Ending a Tenancy Subletting Assigning Evictions Eviction Procedure Reasons for Eviction Conversion, Demolition or Renovation How To File an Application Hearings About the FMTA		Working Together If you are having problems in your building, it is likely that your neighbours are having problems too. Trying to get the property owner to fix something can be a frustrating process, but if you have the help of your neighbours, you can spread some of the work out. We, as tenants, are often each other’s best resource. We know the building we live in better than anyone, but sometimes it takes a bit of effort to get together as a group. Some buildings have established tenant associations, and other buildings just get groups of neighbours together for specific reasons. There is no ‘right’ way to get your neighbours together as a group. Each building has different needs, and you know best what those needs are. The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations has literature available for tenants who are interested in working together. We also operate an Outreach & Organizing team who can come to your building and help you form a group of tenants who are interested in improving their building. For more information, call the Outreach & Organizing team at 416-413-9442 or go to www.torontotenants.org. Even if there isn’t a problem that needs to be fixed in your building, getting your neighbours together can create a community of people who can support each other and make your building a better place to live. It is also important to know that the property owner may not interfere with your right to form a tenant association or join a tenant association. See Section 233. (h) of the RTA for more information. Languages Always take the time to find out what languages your neighbours speak. If you are holding a meeting for all the tenants in your building, try to invite people who can speak other languages who might be able to translate. If you can, bring written material in different languages to your meetings. The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations’ Guide to Tenant Rights and the Tenant Survival Manual, are both available in multiple languages at www.torontotenants.org. We are currently testing this online version of the Tenant Survival Manual: If you notice something that needs to be clarified; if you want more information on a particular subject; or if you simply would like to comment on the Tenant Survival Manual, please click here to send us an email.