The FMTA was featured in a variety of media in March and April of this year.

We broke a story on a breach of privacy by the Landlord Source Centre.  We were quoted in the Star later that month on Smart Meters.  The Hotline was covered by Joe Fiorito in April.

The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) was proclaimed on January 31st, 2007. It replaces the Tenant Protection Act.

As of January 31st 2007:

• There will be no more default eviction orders issued. If you have been given a notice of hearing, go to your hearing!
• At eviction hearings for arrears of rent, tenants may raise any issues they may have filed an application about
• Arrive on time for your hearing, there will be no more 30 minute grace period
• Tenants can continue to use the old ORHT forms until March 31, 2007
• If you miss an eviction hearing and a decision was made without you, you must file a $50 'review of order'
• If you've filed a maintenance and repair application and it hasn't been decided by January 31st, you may ask to pay your rent to the Board
• As of February 1st 2007, the amount of interest charged on your last month's rent deposit will be a combination of 6% and 2.6% depending on what your renewal date is. For a quick chart of how to calculate your interest, click here

What's new in the RTA:

• The Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal will be replaced by the Landlord and Tenant Board
• All new tenants must be provided with a Board approved form outlining the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants and how to contact the Board
• All evictions will go to a hearing
• Tenants may raise any maintenance issues or any other matter they may have filed an application about at an eviction hearing
• There will be a speedier eviction process for tenants who substantially interfere with the landlord's enjoyment of a small (3 or fewer) complex
• Landlords can apply to evict tenants in order to get a permit to renovate a building
• The Board has the power to stop the eviction at any time in the process (up until the time the sheriff comes) if a tenant pays their arrears to the board
• If a tenant dies or moves out of their unit, their spouse automatically becomes the legal tenant
• Tenants may request to pay their rent to the Landlord and Tenant Board when they file an application about maintenance and repairs
• Landlords now have the right to enter a unit for inspection with 24 hours written notice
• The Landlord and Tenant Board has the power to stop taking rent increases until outstanding maintenance and repair work has been completed
• Landlord must give their tenants 60 days notice of intention to do major repair work and must attempt to minimize the impact on a tenant's reasonable enjoyment
• The Annual Guideline Amount will be equal to the Consumer Price Index
• Tenants are entitled to interest on their last month's rent, however the amount of interest is equal to that year's guideline and may be applied to 'top up' their last month's rent deposit
• Regulations for allowable capital expenditures have been tightened for Above Guideline Increases and maintenance may be raised as an issue at hearings
• Tenants cannot be given an above guideline rent increase if they were not living in their building at the time the work was done
• Tenants can bring up repair and maintenance issues at AGI hearings
• Tenants are entitled to reduce their rent after the costs of their landlord's AGI are no longer borne

For further information, check out the website for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, access the Landlord and Tenant Board website directly or for the full text of the Residential Tenancies Act, click here

Through our Tenant Hotline, Outreach & Organizing Team, and Tenant Education workshops, we consistently hear from tenants about some of the most egregious violations of tenant protection legislation in Ontario. While the current law, the Residential Tenancies Act, has sought to remedy some of the injustices of its predecessor, the ironically named Tenant Protection Act, there continues to be a lack of real legal protection for tenants in Ontario. Further to this, there continue to be serious systemic barriers for many tenants attempting to access justice under the Residential Tenancies Act.  

See the attached PDF for our submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing.

The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations recently submited its position on human rights and rental housing to the Ontario Human Rights Commission. See the attached document for our six recomendations.

"The World Urban Forum, held every two years, was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization in a world where half of humanity lives in cities and where in the next 50 years that proportion is expected to reach two-thirds of the global population..."

From June 18th until June 23rd, Hotline Coordinator Emmy Pantin and Tenant Organizer Jed Kilbourn attended the third World Urban Forum (WUF 3) in Vancouver, BC.

In the months leading up to WUF 3, we joined forces with a large number of community and international organizations in order to plan a rally outside the World Urban Forum. The rally was designed to protest forced evictions and to remind the international community about the human right to adequate housing.

Part of the strategy for the rally was to read out "People's Orders to Enforce the Right to Housing". The Orders were addressed to:

- The Government of British Columbia - for the displacement, evictions and development in the Downtown Eastside

- The Government of Canada - for the UN committee citation for failure to comply with treaty obligations for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

- The Government of Zimbabwe - for the destruction of communities and forced evictions in Harare

- The Government of India - for the massive forced evictions in Mumbai, Narmada, and Delhi

- The Government of the Philippines - for forced evictions in Manila

- The Government of the United States of America - for the destruction of social housing, failure to build housing, and continuing homelessness

- The Governments of the UK and Germany - for the sale and privatization of social housing

- The Government of the Dominican Republic - for forced evictions and violations of housing rights

- The Government of Israel - for the dispossession of Palestinian people, mass forced evictions and the destruction of homes

- The Governments of the World - for the failure to meet obligations to establish gender equality

- The Government of Nigeria - for the massive forced evictions and destruction of communities in Abuja

- The Government of the United States of America - for negligence in the destruction of New Orleans and failure to meet obligations to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina

The rally was a great success. Once the People's Orders had been read, all the organizers and participants entered the World Urban Forum in a New Orleans jazz funeral procession to mourn the death of Adequate Housing.

We made strong links with national and international tenant organizations, and feel that these connections will serve us well in the future. We're looking forward to organizing an event for International Tenant's Day on October 1st with an understanding that while our fight for better rights is local, any organizing we do is part of a broader global movement.

MEDIA ADVISORY

June 5, 2006

On August 12, 2003, Premier McGuinty promised tenants "We will get rid of vacancy decontrol which allows unlimited rent increases."

Today, the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations will make a last ditch effort to convince the Government to keep that important promise.

Bill 109, the proposed Residential Tenancies Act will leave tenants vulnerable, now and in the future, if it is not amended to remove vacancy decontrol.

The Parliamentary Committee dealing with the Bill is holding its last day of deputations at Queens Park. The Federation will be making its presentation at 5:50 pm. Also presenting is Toronto Councilor Michael Walker to also call for an end to vacancy decontrol.

Tenant groups have been unanimous on this point. The Federation has been working for eight years to end vacancy decontrol.

The Federation will be proposing 19 amendments to the legislation. The Committee will be dealing with amendments on Wednesday and Thursday.

Released February 20, 2006

Ontario has set another dubious record. More tenants face losing their homes than ever before.

There were 29,090 eviction applications in Toronto in 2005, an increase of 10.7% over the previous year, and the highest number since the imposition of the Tenant Protection Act in 1998. For all of Ontario, there were a record 64,864 cases, an increase of 8.7%.

The figures also show that more than half of the tenants were evicted without a hearing at the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal.

The biggest increase was in the Scarborough office of the Tribunal with a 14.1% increase.

"These numbers are outrageous and distressing," said Marcia Barry of the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations. "The Ontario Government needs to reform the Tenant Protection Act, improve the Tribunal, and deal with inadequate incomes of tenants by raising the minimum wage and providing decent support to people on social assistance."

"Rents are far too high and the McGuinty Government needs to bring in real protection for tenants at all times, as they promised us during the 2003 election," added Dan McIntyre, Program Co-Ordinator for the FMTA.

"And these figures do not tell the whole story" added Elinor Mahoney of the Tenant Advocacy Group. "There are many more evictions that happen without a Tribunal Order. Some tenants just leave when the landlord tells them to, or are victimized by unfair settlements that are mediated at the Tribunal".

These facts are in stark contrast to the message that all is well and good for tenants in Ontario. Tenants are still facing annual rent increases, many for well above the annual rent guideline, and they are being evicted in record numbers. A higher vacancy rate means nothing to sitting tenants trying to cope with unfair high rents. Many of those tenants are living in slum-like conditions as recently illustrated by the Parkdale Tenants Association.

The McGuinty Government promised to replace the Tenant Protection Act by the end of 2004. For some of the over 60,000 households in Ontario who faced eviction in 2005, that unkept promise may have cost them their homes.

July 22nd, 2005

The Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations (FMTA) is a non-profit Organization which advocates for better rights for Tenants.

Founded in 1974, we are the oldest and largest Tenant Federation in Canada. The FMTA is comprised of affiliated Tenant Associations and Individual Members.

The FMTA manages two major projects, both funded by the City of Toronto.

The Tenant Hotline is a free telephone counseling service operated by the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations. Our Hotline counselors offer information about legal rights to any tenant who calls. Hotline Counselors also provide tenants with meaningful referrals, if necessary, to community or City agencies, resources or legal clinics. We can also, upon request, mail or fax information relevant to the situation.

The Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations also carries out Outreach and Organizing related to the Tenant Defence Fund. The City of Toronto created the Tenant Defence Fund to assist tenants who are disputing Above Guideline Increase (AGI) applications. The fund has two main parts: a Tenant Support Grant to provide financial assistance to tenant groups, and an Outreach and Organizing Team. The Outreach and Organizing Team provides assistance and support to tenants throughout the entire process of challenging an AGI, repairs and maintenance applications, starting a tenants' association, or learning about and asserting their rights as tenants.

Inadequate housing policies in Ontario have led to inadequate housing, and this may be a source of tension for tenants with children. At the FMTA, we believe that housing is a right, and ought to be considered by the Commission as fundamental.

Because the majority of our funding comes from the City of Toronto, we focus our services to those tenants who live in within the GTA. Therefore, our response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission Discussion paper on Human Rights and Family in Ontario is limited by geographical location and specific to tenants.

Q. What should the commission's policy be on issues related to noise?

The issue of children's noise comes up often on the Tenant Hotline, from both tenants with children, and those complaining about the noise of children. Hotline Counselors' response is that "kids have a right to run." In other words, in multi-residential situations, noise is bound to happen, and it is usually a part of tenant life.

We encourage families with children to try to find solutions to the situation with their landlords and neighbours to find certain noise reduction measures such as soundproofing, carpeting or relocation in the building. While the FMTA recognizes that noise can interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of tenants in a multi-residential situation, we are careful not to participate in tenant against tenant complaints. Part of our mandate is to prevent evictions, and we will absolutely not counsel a tenant to have another tenant evicted. It is our position that evictions should absolutely not be a method of controlling noise.

Q. Are there other ways in which discrimination against families with children is manifested in the housing market?

Families with older children - that is, teenagers - may find negative attitudes or stereotypes directed towards their children, especially children of colour, who are often seen as criminal, trouble-makers, etc. Landlords often make rules about loitering, or noise, to keep youth out of common areas of buildings.

While, on the one hand, noise and certain behaviour of youth may interfere with reasonable enjoyment of tenants in the building, on the other hand, young people are also tenants in the building, and have the right to the use of the common areas for common purposes.

One tenant we spoke to articulated her pleasure at discovering that the youth who hung out outside her building actually provided a security benefit - unwelcome strangers stayed away from what they perceived to be rowdy youth, and tenants who lived in the area were welcomed home with hellos.

At the FMTA, we encourage tenants to work together to find solutions to the issues that they face. Getting to know your neighbours is the best kind of security, and the best protection against unfair landlords. It is important to give youth the opportunity to feel included in the community that they reside in. The more young people feel that they are part of the community, the less threatened everyone feels.

Q. What types of accommodations for family status are appropriate in the housing context?

Children's safety is an issue that sometimes comes up on the Tenant Hotline. Where ever possible, it may be a good idea for Landlords to offer tenants with young children accommodation as close to the ground floor as possible. That being said, the lack of ground floor apartments should not be cause to refuse to rent to a family with young children. We merely want to suggest reasonable actions that individual landlords and tenants can take to accommodate specific needs of tenants. It is landlord's responsibility to accommodate differences between people in their living situations, and this includes the needs of families, concerning safety and reasonable enjoyment.

Q. How can the commission assist landlords in understanding and complying with their obligations under the Code?

Landlords in Ontario are unregulated and unlicensed. All one needs in order to become a landlord is some form of property investment. This kind of unregulated money-making means that landlords do not necessarily have to know that laws which they must adhere to, and the expectation is that landlords will act according to law because they are supposed to - even if acting according to the law interferes with a landlord's ability to make money.

It is clear that landlords ought to be monitored in some way by a government body to protect tenants and ensure that the law is adhered to.

Failing that, at minimum an education campaign should be launched to ensure that landlords at least understand their obligations under the law. We encourage the Commission to launch such a campaign and produce clear, plain language education materials for both tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities under the code. It is important that tenants understand their rights under the law, so that they can enforce them.

Another helpful forum for educating tenants and landlords (one which we are certainly familiar with!) is an information hotline for both tenants and landlords. We encourage the Commission to fund a hotline for landlords and tenants to answer any questions about their rights and obligations under the law.

For Immediate Release - September 2, 2004

From the days of Bill Davis right through to Ernie Eves, tenants have been entitled to an interest payment of 6% from landlords on deposits held for the "last month's rent".

Now Dalton McGuinty may cut that payment in half. The Liberal Government placed that possibility within their lengthy consultation paper on rent reform. The Government expects to bring in new legislation in October.

A typical Toronto tenant would lose $30 per year on a rent of $1000 per month. There are approximately 600,000 rental units in the GTA and more than double that in Ontario.

Landlords have the right to collect a last month's rent deposit from a tenant, which gives landlords a protection against those few tenants who do not pay the rent. The deposit can be increased when the rent is increased. The 6% interest rate has been in place since 1970.

This year, landlords complained that banks do not pay that much interest on savings and the Government placed the issue into its consultation process for developing a new law. Interest rates on other loans are above 6%.

"After years of receiving unfair rent increases, it is galling that landlords want to renege on the 6%." said Dan McIntyre, Outreach Program Co-Ordinator for the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations. "It is even more galling that the Government could agree. If landlords do not want to pay the interest, they can give the deposits back to the rent paying tenants."

"The issue for us is that our members and callers tell us they do not receive the interest from their landlord. Instead of dealing with possible abuse of the law, the Government may cut the interest!" said Vivienne Loponen, Chair of the FMTA.

In a letter to the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations dated August 12, 2003, Dalton McGuinty wrote, "The bottom line: Real protection for tenants at all times." This is the commitment the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations expects this Government to honour.

August 13, 2004, For Immediate Release

Today the Ontario Government announced the annual rent guideline for 2005 as 1.5%. This confirms the promise made last April to end the bonus provisions contained in the annual guideline since 1987.

"Freezing the 2% per cent bonus will provide relief for tenants who are fed up with years of unfair rent increases." said Vivienne Loponen, Chair of the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations. "We applaud this action by the Liberal Government."

The Federation is calling for a permanent removal of the bonus provision in the guideline. The guideline calculation should remain the same as this one in future years. This has been the Federation's consistent message and we trust that the McGuinty Government has been listening to tenants.

"The minimum we expect from a fair Government is an end to unjustifiable increases as promised." Stated Dan McIntyre Program Co-Ordinator of the FMTA. "That means ending the compounding bonuses for landlords who apply for more than the guideline, such as forcing tenants to pay over and over again for allowed increases for major expenditures."

McIntyre continued, "Tenants expect this Government to stand up for them. The landlord excuse of a temporary change in the vacancy rate is no reason to allow future exploitation of tenants, like we have had for the last six years."

New rent legislation is expected in the Fall session of the Legislature. The Government carried out a consultation process last Spring. Thousands of tenants made it known that they need real rent control, maintenance assurance, and a fair system to resolve problems.

Rising rents have put an unfair burden on tenants, resulting in more evictions, longer line-ups at food banks, and a staggering waiting list for rent geared to income housing. Rent is taking more than ever out of people's incomes.

"We are counting on the Premier to keep his promise of real protection for tenants at all times." Said Ms. Loponen.