Landlord and Tenant Board fast-tracks hearings in Thorncliffe Park rent strike, at request of landlords
August 22 – Amid the ongoing rent strike in Thorncliffe Park, the Landlord and Tenant Board has fast-tracked the hearings for landlords PSP Investments’ and Starlight Investments’ above guideline rent increase applications, at the landlords’ request.
“The Landlord and Tenant Board has moved to break our rent strike,” said Sameer Beyan, tenant at 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive. “We are being punished for organizing public protests against the rent increases and bringing attention to how the rent increases impact our community.”
Tenants at 71, 75, and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive have been on rent strike since May 1, 2023, in protest of rent increases above the provincial rent increase guideline. Tenants received notice from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) that written hearings had been scheduled after the LTB granted the landlords’ request to shorten the time to hearing for their applications.
“The landlords’ request not only mischaracterizes the organizing efforts in response to the proposed rent hikes, but makes numerous false claims and baseless allegations,” said tenant organizer Philip Zigman. “The LTB is setting a dangerous precedent that undermines tenant organizing in Ontario.”
Egya Sangmuah, Vice Chair of the LTB, granted the landlords’ request. He cited the “contentious nature of the applications” being a “matter of public record” and concluded that because “tenants are being encouraged to participate in rent strikes,” in his view, “all parties would benefit from shortening time to a hearing.”
“We certainly do not benefit from PSP and Starlight being allowed to jump the queue,” said Khudija Vawda, tenant at 75 Thorncliffe Park Drive. “We were not consulted about this decision and were not given an opportunity to respond to the allegations in the landlords’ request. We call on the LTB to reverse its decision and we call on PSP and Starlight to withdraw the above guideline rent increases.”
The LTB granted an early hearing (see Schedule D, above) based on a submission made by the landlords’ lawyer, Joe Hoffer (see Schedule A, below). The submission grossly misrepresents the organizing in Thorncliffe Park and is riddled with false claims.
Despite the various allegations made by Mr. Hoffer, the only legal proceedings the landlord has initiated in response to the organizing and the rent strike has been filing to evict tenants on rent strike for non-payment of rent. Tenants have regularly shared images and videos of public protests, which attest to the true nature of these events. To portray tenants protesting publicly as an “angry mob” fuelled by “hateful rhetoric” with “extremist” elements who pose a threat to the physical well-being of individuals and their families is offensive and baseless.
The landlords’ attempt to paint themselves as the victims—when it is families in Thorncliffe Park who are worried about being forced out of their homes, about their health, about providing for their children, about putting food on their tables—is disgraceful.
Contrary to LTB Vice Chair Sangmuah’s endorsement of the landlords’ request for an early hearing of the AGI applications, tenants do not benefit from the hearings being fast-tracked. Tenants were not consulted about this matter, nor were tenants given the opportunity to respond to the landlords’ allegations.
