PSP Displaces Tenants
Tenants at 71, 75, and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive are on rent strike in protest of rent increases that will force people out of their homes!
Tenants at 71, 75, and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive in Toronto are fighting above guideline rent increases that will force people out of their homes and push them out of their community. They are being asked to pay a 4.2% rent increase for 2022 and rent increases of up to 5.5% in 2023, which they can’t afford. PSP Investments, a Canadian Crown corporation that manages pension funds for federal public service workers and others, owns the buildings through its partner Starlight Investments. If tenants are forced out, the landlords can raise the rent as much as they want for new tenants. On May 1, 2023, over 100 tenants began withholding rent in protest of the rent hikes. In response, PSP Investments and Starlight Investments filed to evict tenants in Thorncliffe Park.
In the news
Striking tenants mark one year of withholding rent from landlords
by Clara Pasieka, CBC
In a Toronto neighbourhood, renters go up against big owners
by Neal Rockwell, Al Jazeera
Union urges public sector pension fund not to pursue rent increases, mass evictions at Toronto apartment buildings
by Kevin Philipupillai, The Hill Times
LTB expedites rent-increase hearings as Thorncliffe Park tenants withhold rent for fourth month
by Joanna Lavoie, CP24
Tenants rally as eviction notices sent to Thorncliffe Park residents on 4-month rent strike
by Tina Yazdani, CityNews
A group of Toronto tenants have been on a rent strike for a year and say there's no resolution in sight
by Joanna Lavoie, CTV News
Tenants opposed to above-guideline rent increase go on rent strike, withhold payments
by Ahmar Khan, Global News
Why we’re on a rent strike
by Sameer Beyan and Jawad Ukani, Spacing
Toronto landlord files to evict some tenants refusing to pay rent amid rent strike
by Lane Harrison, CBC
Landlord seeks to evict some tenants at Thorncliffe Park apartments buildings over rent strike
by Joanna Lavoie, CP24
Rent strike is only recourse for tenants
by Ricardo Tranjan, The Toronto Star
'Enough is enough': Thorncliffe Park tenants call for May 1 rent strike
by David Zura, CityNews
Another group of Toronto tenants refuses to pay rent, this time amid near 10% proposed hike
by Rianna Lim, CBC
‘They try to build their money from our weakness’: Tenants fight rent increases, maintenance issues at apartment complex owned by federal pension fund
by Neal Rockwell, National Observer
What’s an Above Guideline Increase?
In Ontario, above guideline increases (AGIs) allow landlords to transfer the costs of certain renovations and repairs on to tenants, resulting in rent increases of up to 3% above the provincial rent increase guideline for 3 years in a row. Policymakers claim that AGIs allow landlords to maintain aging rental buildings. In reality, AGIs allow landlords to increase their profits on the backs of tenants, forcing people out of their homes when they can no longer afford rent. Once tenants are forced out, landlords bring in new tenants at much higher rent. Most AGI applications come from large corporate and financialized landlords. These are landlords making significant profits who can afford to maintain buildings without passing such costs on to tenants, increasing financial hardship, and pushing people out of their homes. Starlight Investments has applied for more AGIs than any other landlord in Toronto since 2012.