A number of new Smart Sub-Metering resources have been added to the Resources Section of the FMTA website including samples letters, a FMTA flyer and a tenant tip sheet.

To access those resources click here.

Tenant Tip Sheet - August 2009 - Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario

Has your landlord asked you to agree to take on electricity bills?

Just say no...to smart sub-metering!

This publication contains general information about a recent decision of the Ontario Energy Board and is intended to assist the public at large. It is not legal advice about your situation. You should consult a lawyer or legal worker for advice on your particular situation.

Q1: My landlord has asked me to agree to take on responsibility for electricity bills for my unit in exchange for a rent reduction. Do I have to agree?

No. On August 13, 2009, the Ontario Energy Board found that landlords
who smart sub-metered residential rental units between November 3,
2005 and August 13, 2009 were not authorized to do so. This means that
in most cases it is not a good idea to agree. Always try to get legal advice or
information before signing anything your landlord gives you!

Q2: My landlord showed me a clause in my lease which says that I agreed to let the landlord put responsibility for electricity bills on me at any point in future. Does this mean I have already agreed to take on my own electricity bills?

No. This clause is not informed consent. You still have the right to have
electricity service provided to you in your rent.

Q3: Can I be evicted for refusing to take on direct responsibility for paying my electricity bills?

No. Failure to sign an agreement with your landlord is not grounds for eviction. If your landlord
threatens you with eviction or gives you an eviction notice, get legal help immediately.

Q4: I have already paid money to a third party smart sub-metering company because they were sending me electricity bills. Can I get this money back?

Yes. It was not legal for your landlord to transfer the electricity
bills to you, so you are entitled to get your money back.

Q5: Who can I get the money back from, and how?

Your landlord is responsible to you for this refund because the smart sub-metering company was acting as your
landlord's agent when they sent you bills.

Option 1: Write a letter to your landlord and keep a copy asking them to return the money you paid. Attach copies of any invoices and proof of payment to this letter.

Option 2: Deduct the money you paid to the smart sub-metering company from an upcoming rent payment. If you do this, it is very important to attach a letter explaining why you are paying less rent than usual.
Note: If you deduct money you believe you are owed from a rent payment, your landlord might respond by giving you an eviction notice for non-payment of rent. This notice is called a Form N4. This is a claim that you can dispute but you should get legal advice right away!

Option 3: File a T1 Rebate Application at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) stating that your landlord's agent has collected an illegal charge from you.
Note: It is likely that it will take the LTB a long time to hear your application because of the novelty of this legal issue and the various legal and legislative responses to it to date.

Have you talked to your neighbours about this issue? If not, why not talk to them about approaching your landlord jointly -there is strength in numbers!

Q6: I have received bills from a third party smart sub-metering agent that I have not paid. Do I have to pay?

No. These bills were not sent to you lawfully.

Q7: If I don't pay the bills, will my credit rating be affected?

It should not be, and you can protect yourself. Contact the credit reporting agencies if you are concerned about
any adverse effect on your credit rating. Also, if you never signed anything with the third party smart sub-
metering agent agreeing to be billed, consider making a complaint to the Ontario Consumer Protection
Branch.

Q8: My landlord reduced my rent but then recently told me I had to go back to paying my original rent. I'm confused! What is the rent amount that I am legally obligated to pay?

Option 1: You can pay the reduced rent amount. The landlord is legally allowed to reduce your rent, but is not legally allowed to increase it again by more than 1.8% for the year 2009. Most increases which are more than 1.8% in 2009 are not lawful, and not binding on you.

Option 2: If you went back to paying your original rent amount and now want to start paying the reduced rent amount, write a letter to your landlord informing him that you choose to pay the reduced rent because it was not lawful for them to raise it again.

Note: It is possible that your landlord will respond by giving you an eviction notice for non-payment of rent. This notice is called a Form N4. This is a claim that you can dispute but you should get legal advice right away!

Option 3: You can also choose to continue paying the higher rent amount and then file a T1 Rebate Application at the LTB claiming that the landlord is charging you illegal rent.

Q9: Why don't I have to agree?

In most cases, it is not a good idea to agree to take on your electricity bills directly. On August 13, 2009, the Ontario Energy Board found that smart sub-metering of residential rental units by landlords between November 3, 2005 and August 13, 2009 was not authorized.

The Ontario Energy Board has now imposed strict conditions on smart sub-metering by landlords who want to download electricity costs onto tenants in the future. These include:
• an independent energy audit relating to your rental unit and your building
• a detailed description of how the landlord calculated your rent reduction
• your "voluntary and informed" consent in writing after reviewing the energy audit and the landlord's explanation of the rent reduction.

Even if your landlord does provide you with the above information, you can still refuse. Why refuse?

• The landlord is not required to do any upgrades to your unit which might help you reduce your electricity costs like putting in new windows, new balcony doors, new appliances, new insulation. In fact, these upgrades are where real energy savings are made.
• The cost of electricity will continue to rise in the years to come, while your rent reduction will always remain the same. So, even if you were to save money this year, next year will likely be a different story.
• There may be security deposits and extra charges associated with taking on responsibility for your own electricity bills which you need to consider.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This tip sheet applies to you if...

• your lease or tenancy agreement provides that the landlord is responsible for paying for electricity service (your rent includes "hydro" or electricity service) OR you recently moved in and were told that your unit is smart sub-metered and that you had to pay electricity bills.
• on or after November 3, 2005, your landlord told you that your unit would be smart sub-metered, your rent would be reduced by a certain amount and that you would become responsible for paying for electricity directly to a third party smart sub-metering provider; OR
• on or after November 3, 2005, your landlord asked you to agree to both a "rent adjustment" or "rent reduction" and a direct billing relationship with a third party smart sub-metering provider. Your landlord may have told you that such an agreement was lawful under the Residential Tenancies Act.

If you are a direct customer of an electricity local distribution company (e.g. Toronto Hydro), you are not being smart sub-metered and this tip sheet does not apply to you.

For more legal information and help:
Contact your local community legal clinic. You can find out the contact information for you local clinic by visiting http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact.asp or calling Legal Aid Ontario at (416) 979-1446 or 1-800-668-8258
In Toronto, contact the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations at the Tenant Hotline: (416) 921-9494, Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. or at [email protected]

To complain about your landlord's behaviour:
Contact: Ministry of Housing Investigation and Enforcement Unit: 1-888-772-9277.
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Hon. Jim Watson: 416-585-7000 or toll free number: 1-866-220-2290.

To complain about getting bills that you didn't sign on for from a third party smart sub-metering company:
Contact: Ontario Consumer Protection Branch: (416) 326-8800 or toll-free 1-800-889-9768
Ontario Energy Board: 1-877-632-2727

http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/OEB/_Documents/EB-2009-0111/dec_order_SmartSubMeters_20090813.PDF

Our friends at ACTO have been quoted in the Toronto Star this week in a story dealing with the lack of rent control in Ontario. Full story here.

"It's been pretty bad," says Clarke, whose monthly rent is an affordable $832 plus utilities in a neighbourhood where a similar vacant apartment rents for more than twice that amount. "It's crazy, but the more they fight to get me out, the more I try to stay. I refuse to be a victim."

"We will never be able to build enough subsidized housing to meet the need," said Yutaka Dirks, co-chair of the Housing Network of Ontario, a coalition of housing and tenant advocates, anti-poverty activists and non-profit housing providers pushing for a comprehensive, well-funded strategy. "So we have to find a way to address affordability in the private market."

The FMTA has recently had our one of our most popular publications, the Guide to Tenant Rights, translated into 7 new languages!  The Guide is now available in Dari, Gujurati, French (new), Somali, Punjabi, Tagalog and Urdu.

Feel free to check them out under our Resources section.

The Guide to Tenant Rights has been funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.

After a long drawn out battle with the lawyer for Briar Lane, tenants have won a substantial victory.  The Board ruled that the landlord could not unilaterally switch tenants to paying their own hydro from what the Board called "the landlords third party service provider".

The tenants relied on, and the Board agreed, the wording of section 125 of the Act which requires an agreement to be in place.

The Board also ruled that even if there is a clause in a lease that purports to allow the landlord to force tenants to pay their own hydro sometime in the future, that this also does not meet the requirements of section 125.

The Board said "Further, the actions of the landlord to: mislead the Tenant's regarding the landlord's legal rights: and to attempt to force the tenants to enter into a contract with the "provider" so that the tenants could avoid threats and/or concerns that their electricity would be cut off constitute coercion and interference with the tenants rights under their leases."

They also said "The landlord's communications to the tenants and action constitute harassment."

Congratulations to Ben Ries, and Claire Hepburn of Downtown Legal Services for their great work on this case. And congratulations to the tenants for fighting the good fight -- and winning!

The FMTA AGM was held on May 31st at City Hall and produced a new board of directors, a recap of our achievements in 2008/09 and a rousing Keynote address by Joe Fiorito.

Mr. Fiorito spoke passionately and generated some seasoned debate about TCHC community housing and the role of the Federation in fighting for tenant rights in Toronto and Ontario.

The first annual FMTA fundraiser this May at the Ramada Inn was a smashing success. Close to $5000 was raised and over 80 people attended including FMTA members, tenant activists, City Councilors and MPP's. The FMTA would like to thank all our friends and allies in the community who came out and showed their support.

Special thanks to our members who purchased tickets for donation to other members: Isobel Mack, Suzanne Gibbson and Downsview Legal Aid Clinic.

Also Special Thanks to our sponsors: Councillor Michael Walker, Carlton Printers, Councillor Paula Fletcher, Kristine Petterson (Paralegal), Dwight Williams (Lawyer), Hardy Stevenson, Councillor Janet Davis, Federal Conservatives, South Etobicoke Community Legal Services, Useful Ideas, Councillor Karen Stintz, Councillor David Shiner, Councillor Robert Ford, Councillor David Shiner and MPP Cheri DiNovo.

Check out our image gallery to see what you missed!

Today, the Government of Ontario announced the 2010 rent guideline at 2.1%. This is shocking considering the tough economic times that we are in.

The guideline is based on the average inflation for the last 12 month period. Recent reports of lower inflation gave us hope that the guideline would be lowered, not raised.

In fact, it is time for the Government to take real action to protect tenants who are weathering these tough times. A guideline of zero - or in other words - a rent freeze is the least that they can do.

The biggest single operating expense for multi residential buildings is property tax. They went up 1.3% in Toronto in 2009. Multi -res taxes increase at 1/3 the rate of homeowners, as a partial solution to the fact that we pay a much higher rate to begin with.

Smaller rental properties do not pay the higher rate.

Rents have continued to rise and the Government is sanctioning increases to large corporate landlords while individual tenants suffer.

We will be calling on the McGuinty Government to bring in relief measures for tenants. Freezing rents would be a start.

From Now Toronto April 28-May 5, 2009

"There is a resurgence right across North America, Europe, Australia and other parts of the world. Bedbugs are resilient and can develop resistance to pesticides. We've had a 60- to 70-year reprieve.

"The problem needs an integrated approach. It's very time-consuming and involves cleaning out cupboards and ensuring your infested laundry is in one bag and put through a wash and very hot dry cycle. That finished laundry has to be packed in bags and sealed. You should vacuum and steam-clean, strip beds and get rid of clutter. All this is in preparation for the pest control treatment, which you may need again in a few weeks."

Read the full story here.