The City of Toronto is inviting all residents to share their views on the delivery of services that prevent homelessness and help some of Toronto's most vulnerable residents find and keep permanent housing.

The City encourages all Toronto residents to get involved in the housing services conversation and go online to complete a survey about what services they feel are important, what gaps in service may exist, and what ideas they have about how to better integrate services such as eviction prevention, assistance to find affordable housing, drop-in centres and emergency shelter access.

"Right now our services provide emergency responses to homelessness," says Anthony Perruzza, Chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee. "Our vision is to transform this into a seamless, client-focused, system that creates housing stability for those who cannot do this on their own. Public consultations will feed into the development of a roadmap to guide future decisions regarding funding priorities and how we approach service delivery."

The City will work with input from the public, service users, service providers and interested groups to develop a Housing Stability Service Plan. The plan, which will inform the City government's planning, management and delivery of housing services over the next five years, will be considered by City Council in the fall.

The City of Toronto will spend about $665 million this year on housing and homelessness services, with the majority of it going to social housing subsidies. About $164.5 million is invested through community agencies and City programs to provide housing and homelessness services such as emergency shelter, housing help and eviction prevention services, and other supports.

A website at www.toronto.ca/housing/housingservicesconsultations2013.htm has been created with background information, links to reports and a section called Housing Services at a Glance at www.toronto.ca/housing/housingservicesataglance.html. The web page also offers the content as a workbook that can be downloaded/printed.

The Housing Services at a Glance material provides a convenient summary and will be useful for an understanding of the complexities of housing and homelessness issues. The City will also use the website as a way to report back to the public on the ideas and direction that result from the consultations.

The survey is available at:

https://research.ipsosinteractive.com/surveys/?pid=S1022150&id=&Idtype=real

The City of Toronto is reminding residents to call 311, the City's 24-hour customer service line, to report basements flooded as a result of the intense rainfall in July.

311 is continuing to dispatch Toronto Water staff to investigate each call as quickly as possible. Residents are being asked to remain patient during this time. As of today, the City has received nearly 3,000 basement flooding calls. Due to the high volume of requests, it will take staff four to five days to visit a home once a call is received.

During investigations, Toronto Water staff will inspect the area's sewer system. If you are home when staff arrives, they will work with you to collect information on the cause of the flood. If you are not home, they will leave a door hanger with further details, including contact information for Toronto Water staff. Please do not call 311 once you receive a door hanger.

The results of these investigations will help the City determine if further solutions need to be put in place to help reduce basement flooding in areas most affected by the storm.

Residents are reminded to report flood-related property damage to their insurance provider as soon as possible. Take photos to support your insurance claim, and keep receipts for emergency repair work or cleanup.

Be mindful of health and safety when cleaning a flooded basement as you may be exposed to sewage or come in contact with water and electricity. Consider getting help with flooding cleanup through a water damage restoration company.

If the flooding is a result of a blocked drain pipe, leaking foundation walls or poor lot drainage on the property, the property owner is responsible for repairs and any subsequent damaged caused by the flooding.

 If you believe the City has been negligent in maintaining City facilities or infrastructure, such as roads and sewers, you can file a claim. More information can be found at: http://www.toronto.ca/finance/insurance_claims.htm

You are also able to file a T6 application on Maintenance and Repairs at the Landlord  and Tenant Board to seek compensation from your landlord or apply for a reduction in your rent.

For more information about basement flooding, including more prevention tips, visit http://www.toronto.ca/water.

For further assistance or information about your rights as a tenant during a flood, call the tenant hotline at 416-921-9494.

The following presentation was recently obtained by the FMTA tracking Public Health Bed Bug Reports in the City of Toronto from 2009-2012.

The following presentation was created by Noah Adams, a social worker, researcher and activist who resides in Toronto (www.noahjadams.com). Noah obtained the data through a FOIA request.

Ontario is capping rent increases for 2014 at 0.8 per cent for the province's one million tenant households -- the second lowest cap since the introduction of rent regulation 38 years ago. 

The cap, also known as the Rent Increase Guideline, is the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenants' rent without seeking the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The 2014 guideline applies to rent increases that occur between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2014.

Remember landlords are required by law to  provide tenants with 90-days written notice before the effective date of the rent increase. Additionally, landlords are prohibited from  increasing the rent if it has been less than 12 months since your last rent  increase.

The guideline is calculated under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, which came into force on Jan. 31, 2007. The calculation is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation that is calculated by Statistics Canada, and applies to most private residential rental accommodation.

For more information, call the tenant hotline at 416-921-9494 or click here to read the Press Release published by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Thanks to the efforts of tenants in Toronto, a prohibition on visitor parking charges has been passed by Toronto City Council.

The motion, which is part of the City's Harmonized Zoning Bylaw, will "reinstate the prohibition on paid visitor parking in multi-residential/apartment buildings" and will "set up a working group of tenants and landlords to consider how to address instances of abuse at visitor parking lots by methods other than charging for access".

The tireless work of Tenant Associations was key to the return of this provision. Big thanks to the Upper Canada Court Tenant Association who presented and contacted numerous folks connected with the issue. The Brentwood Towers TA, Morningside TA, and ThornCliffe Park Drive TA, were also heavily involved.

The council decision can be found here.

The FMTA is proud to announce a new program funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Thanks to a $120,000 grant from the OTF, the FMTA will be launching our Tenant Community Development Project in July 2013!

The project, which will run two years, aims to develop and support volunteerism in high-rise apartment buildings by creating opportunities for residents to engage with each other by forming tenant associations, through tenant group leadership activities and partnerships with community agencies across Toronto.

Contact [email protected] for more information or to register for help in forming a tenant association!

The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) contains rules about the conversion, demolition and renovation of rental units, including the requirements for compensating tenants and providing alternate accommodation.

This new resource provides tenants with a basic overview of the law and is not a substitute for tenant advice. Please call the Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494 for more information.

Click here to view the pamphlet!

The Brentwood Towers Tenants' Association is a volunteer organization of tenants of 17-25 Lascelles Boulevard who work on behalf of the Brentwood Towers residents to maintain reasonable rents and a comfortable standard of living for all tenants.

The TA hopes to connect residents of the 996 apartment units with each other and with the BTTA. The TA's website provides news about the local community and the issues affecting residents.

The BTTA hopes for participation from all tenants. The Executive is elected by the BTTA membership each year in the spring at the Annual General Meeting.

Click here to visit the BTTA website!

To contact the BTTA, please write: [email protected] or visit the TA on Facebook!

The West Lodge Tenants' Association represents residents of 103-105 West Lodge Avenue, in Parkdale. The group acts as an advocate and as a consumer protection watchdog both for residents and for other concerned tenants. The TA has primarily focused on the Wynn Group, formerly known as Wynn Family Properties. The Wynn Group is described as "the biggest slum lord in Toronto." The Tenant Association has existed since 1972 and organized a successful rent strike in the 1990s with the assistance of the Parkdale Community Legal Services.

The TA's website is a rich repository of information about the Wynn Group - its business dealings and a history of the property. It contains links to relevant media coverage and useful links to legal and community organizations and resources.

Click here to visit the website for the West Lodge Tenants Association!