Announcement from the FMTA
For over 35 years, the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations (FMTA) has been committed to working tirelessly with and for tenants, advocating for better rights for all tenants in Toronto. Founded in 1974, we are the oldest and largest tenant federation in Canada, comprised of affiliated tenant associations with over 3,000 individual members.
Our commitment to tenants and tenant rights compels us to continue to seek improvements in our organization.
Effective July 6, 2010, Geordie Dent, current Tenant Hotline Coordinator, will become interim-Executive Director of the FMTA. Moving to an Executive Director model will allow us to develop and implement overall organizational strategies and programs that will benefit all tenants across Toronto. Our core services - Tenant Hotline, Outreach/Organizing and Tenant Education Program - will continue and we will be looking to build upon these programs and services through partnerships and opportunities as we strive to provide the best support for tenants in Toronto.
We would like to take this opportunity to also wish Dan McIntyre, outgoing Outreach and Organizing Coordinator, all the best in his future endeavours. Dan has been a long-standing advocate for tenant rights in Toronto and we thank him for his service and contributions to the FMTA.
We look forward to working with you as we move forward and strive for stronger and better rights for tenants in Toronto and beyond.
Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Effie Vlachoyannacos
Board Chair,
Federation of Metro Tenants Associations
FMTA is on Flickr!
The FMTA has joined Flickr so folks can see who we are and what we're up to!
Check out out Flickr page here.
The Thousandth Tower: Stories from Inside a Toronto Suburban Highrise
FMTA representatives were in attendance at the May 12, 2010 World Premiere of "The Thousandth Tower: Stories from Inside a Toronto Suburban Highrise". The Thousandth Tower is a National Film Board web-documentary directed by Katerina Cizek. It follows the lives of 6 residents of Toronto apartment towers. It is the first of several productions to come as part of the "Highrise" web-documentary production.
The Thousandth Tower: Stories from Inside a Toronto Suburban Highrise
FMTA representatives were in attendance at the May 12, 2010 World Premiere of "The Thousandth Tower: Stories from Inside a Toronto Suburban Highrise". The Thousandth Tower is a National Film Board web-documentary directed by Katerina Cizek. It follows the lives of 6 residents of Toronto apartment towers. It is the first of several productions to come as part of the "Highrise" NFB web-documentary series. Check it out at: http://highrise.nfb.ca
"Your Rights. Your Language: Renting A Place to Live" Multi-lingual Audio and Written Materials for Tenants.
استئجار محل للسكن
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Arabic/rent-ar.pdf
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Arabic/Arabic%20Renting%20a%20place%20...
Simplified Chinese: Renting a Place to Live
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Chinese/rent-ch.pdf
(Audio in Mandarin): http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Chinese/Mandarin%20Renting%20a%20place...
Renting a place to live
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/English/rent-en.pdf
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/English/English%20Renting%20a%20place%...
Louer un logement
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/French/rent-fr.pdf
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/French/French%20Renting%20a%20place%20...
Kireynta guri lagu noolaado
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Somali/rent-so.pdf
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Somali/Somali%20Renting%20a%20Place%20...
Alquilar un lugar para vivir
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Spanish/rent-sp.pdf
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Spanish/Spanish%20Renting%20a%20place%...
Tamil: Renting a Place to Live
http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/six/Tamil/rent-ta.pdf
رہنے کے ليۓکرایہ پر جگہ لینا
How to Respond to Variance Applications
Have you recently recieved a variance application from your landlord to reduce your Rent Reduction?
In December 2009, 130,000 tenants in the City of Toronto received Rent Reductions because their landlord's taxes had gone down.
Now, landlords of over 100 buildings are trying to reduce or eliminate those rent reductions. Many have made a "variance application" trying to claim that municipal waste charges should offset the reduction.
The FMTA disagrees.
A number of organizations have put together a submission that tenants can use to fight these applications.
You can download a copy of this submission here.
Remember, if no one makes a submission to the landlord's application, tenants could lose their rent reduction.
If you want to try and keep your rent reduction:
-Download and print the document "Repsonse to Variance Applications Based on Municipal Waste Charges". Again you can download the submission here.
-Fill out and sign the attached written submission
-Mail of fax it to the Landlord and Tenant Board address on the notice of hearing. If you have not yet recieved a notice of hearing, you should recieve one soon. You can also call and check to see when your notice should be arriving by calling the Landlord and Tenant Board at 416-645-8080.
Landlords have applied to reduce or eliminate rent reductions in the following buildings:
12 Anglesey Blvd
100 Alexander St.
12 & 14 Auburndale Crt
40 & 50 Aurora Court
2675 Bloor Street W
265 Balliol Street
655 Broadview Ave
32-34 Brookwell Dr.
2 Biggin Crt
375 Bay Mills Blvd
10 Bridletowne Circle
552 & 2360 Birchmount Rd
32 - 34 Brookwell Dr.
30 Burn Hill
1 Claude Ave
150 Cosburn Ave
7-11 Crescent Place
1050 Castlefield Ave
265 & 270 & 275 Cassandra Blvd
79 Clearview Heights
111 Combermere Dr
32 Craighton Dr
20 Chichester Pl
10 & 40 & 50 Carabob Crt
1 Claude Avenue
99 Coe Hill Dr.
390 & 510 Dawes Road
70 Delisle Avenue
301 Dixon Road
1063, 1122, 1133 and 2600 and 2980 Don Mills Road
2, 4, 6 & 10 The Donway E.
730 Dovercourt Rd.
200 Dufferin
3000 Dufferin Street
65 Dynevor Rd.
440 & 970 & 972 & 2243 & 2283 & 2303 & 2360 Eglinton Ave. E.
165 Erskine Ave.
25 Eva Road
715 & 1825 Finch Ave. W.
150 Fermanagh
7 Glazebrook Ave.
11 Goldfinch Crt
75 Gosford Blvd
100 Gowan Ave.
4 Grandstand Place
20 Graydon Hall Drive
25 greencrest Circt.
1202-33 Harbour Square
25 Havenbrook Blvd.
10 Hogarth Avenue
156 Islington Avenue
79, 91, 169 Jameson Ave.
1855 and 2940 and 2970 Jane Street
35 Jansusie Rd.
2500 & 3595 Keele Street
191 Kenilworth Ave.
833 Kennedy Road
1251 King St. W.
1080 & 2570 Kingston Rd
2737 & 2757 Kipling Ave.
220 & 240 Lake Promenade
980, 2190 & 3125 Lawrence Ave. E.
25 Leith Hill Road
225 & 399 Markham Road
2 & 8 Milepost Place
340 Mill Road
121 & 131 Minerva Ave.
280 Morningside Ave.
620 Northcliffe
21 & 31 Park Blvd.
110 Parkway Forest Drive
57 & 66 Parkwoods Village Drive
650 & 670 Parliament
263 & 273 & 283 & 860 & 3050 Pharmacy Ave.
25-55 Provence Trail
1 Rannock Street
303 & 303A Riverside
7 & 11 Rochefort Dr.
101 Roehampton Ave.
135 Rose Avenue
107 Roselawn Ave.
323 & 357 Rusholme
25 San Romano Way
500 & 530 Scarlett Road
392, 545, 555, 565 Sherbourne
5600 Sheppard Ave. E.
2020 Sheppard Ave. W.
65 & 99 Silver Springs Blvd.
2903 St. Clair Ave.
10 & 12 & 25 St. Dennis Drive
1955 Steeles Ave. E.
98 Stephen Dr
71 Talara Drive
26, 27, 50, 52, 53, 54, & 56 Thorncliffe Park Drive
10 Tinder Crescent
50 Trudelle Street
6 Twenty Fourth Street
225 van Horne Ave.
125 Vaughan Rd
1055 & 1749 & 2265 & 3000 Victoria Park
240 Wellesley St. E.
2141A-2159A & 2263 & 2304 & 2460 Weston Road
63 & 120 Widdicombe Hill Blvd.
939-941 Wilson Ave.
35 & 45 Wynford Heights.
10185 Yonge Street
1244 and 1254 York Mills Road
Federal Privacy Commissioner Upholds FMTA Complaint
Canada's Federal Privacy Commissioner recently ruled that a database of tenant information made available by a Landlord Legal Group constituted a violation of hundreds of tenant's privacy.
In the ruling the Commissioner found that:
"The Privacy Office confirmed that the database in question contained personal information on Hundreds of tenants across Ontario.
The database was not password protected and none of the case files were encrypted. Many contained sensitive personal information on tenants and their families, including financial and health information.
The database should have used robust security to protect the sensitive personal information in the database."
The Landlord Source Center AKA Landlord Chamber of Commerce, the organization found to have breached tenant's privacy, was found to have failed to meet it's obligations under privacy legislation. I was also found to have refused to provide information to the Privacy Commissioner.
The Ruling is attached below.
Federation Submission on Energy Consumer Protection Act
The Energy Consumer Protection Act
Bill 235
Submission to the Standing Committee on General Government
Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations
The Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations (FMTA) has an acute interest in so-called smart meters because for the last two years we have been helping thousands of tenants deal with unfair and apparently unlawful schemes of landlords and smart meter sales people.
We appreciate Bill 235 will provide protection for tenants in the future, although we await the all important regulations. We also appreciate that we have been invited to participate in the consultative process.
We also believe that Bill 235 is an improvement over the unproclaimed sections of the Residential Tenancies Act dealing with smart sub metering.
But this Bill and smart meters are not an energy conservation strategy. Smart meters could be a helpful instrument in encouraging some energy conservation. Public education and goodwill will be a better tool. As was pointed out by Karen Andrews of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, people re-cycle and use blue boxes because it is the right thing to do.
All citizens can conserve better, but the myth from landlords and smart meter companies that there can be massive reductions by tenants is disingenuous.
Tenants are not big energy users. Our homes are smaller. Many tenants spend little time at home. Those who do include families with children, seniors, people with health problems, and some who make part of their living (to pay the rent) by working at home. The growth of smart meters will affect all of those tenants when seeking accommodation and not given a choice of utilities included. The ill advised continuation of vacancy de-control under the Residential Tenancies Act will be made worse.
As has been pointed out, landlords have more control and more ability to reduce energy through positive capital expenditures and maintenance. Passing on their mistakes to tenants is not a good idea.
We would be more inclined to like smart meters if they were being installed by publicly owned utility companies, and that tenants and landlords worked together to reduce energy consumption with half the savings going to the tenants.
Many tenants are concerned about the devices themselves and that they may be a health hazard. We hope that can be addressed in regulations.
And then there is the harmonized sales tax. As of July 1, utility costs will increase by 8%. We have asked the Government to not charge the HST on hydro or heat, but have not received any answer.
So, we conclude by saying that Bill 235 should be passed with the amendments put forward by the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario.
But then let us get on with bringing forward a better win-win-win strategy that will benefit tenants, landlords, and the environment.
The FMTA has worked for the better interests of tenants since 1974. We are a non profit incorporated organization with a volunteer Board of Directors. We participated fully in the hearing held by the Ontario Energy Board in 2009, leading to their Order and Decision of August 13, 2009.
FMTA presents: The Tenant School!
Free legal workshops for tenants brought to you by staff from community legal clinics and the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations!!!
THURSDAYS, APRIL 8 THROUGH MAY 6 2010 7-9 PM
April 8: REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE
April 15: RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT: THE BASICS
April 22: EVICTION PROCESS
April 29: RENT INCREASES IN PRIVATE MARKET HOUSING
HOW TCHC CALCULATES RENT and INTERNAL REVIEWS
May 6: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATION (OISE)
252 BLOOR STREET WEST (ST. GEORGE SUBWAY) ROOM 5150
Register by phone or e-mail by March 29, 2010 at (416) 438-7206 or [email protected]
Funding for this project has been graciously provided by the Law Foundation of Ontario.
\