Tenant Resources in Ontario (Copyright) by Bob Levitt (v11) January 1999 Versions have been issued since March 1995 This text is meant as a resource for tenants in Ontario. I am posting this to give tenants sources of information and some basic information so that you can help yourselves. Please do not e-mail me for information, I do not respond to requests for help on individual problems. I will respond to help if you want to organize a tenants' association in your building or area. I do not and never have received any money for doing these postings, and am not looking for any, but neither do I wish to represent anybody. TENANT ORGANIZATIONS Remember the only rights you have are the rights you are informed about and stand up for. There are tenants' organizations that not only help to inform you, they also help you to organize yourselves, and they lobby for tenant rights with our governments. They lobby with the governments to keep rents at reasonable affordable levels, and for regulations to ensure safe and decent housing, and so deserve your support. Landlords have their own lobbying organizations who successfully convinced the provincial government to reduce tenant rights and are further lobbying to loosen building and health standards. The following organizations represent the voices of tenants in government hearings and commissions. Support them and you are supporting yourself. PARKDALE (A large downtown Toronto area community) Parkdale Tenants' Association THE BAD LANDLORD HOTLINE - For information (for tenants anywhere in the Metro Toronto area) on your rights and how to solve problems as well as to report your bad landlord for the "Cockroach of the Year Award." If you are in the Parkdale area they will help you to organize your building. (416) 760-2149 North Toronto Tenants' Network (For what is now central Toronto, ie. the Yonge and Lawrence, Yonge and Eglinton, and Yonge and Davisville area a fairly large area) (416) 489-1216 High Park (a physically small area in Toronto which includes about 4000 tenants in the Keele and Bloor Street West area) High Park Tenants' Association (416) 769-3508 only call between 7 p.m. an 9 p.m. HAMILTON REGION Hamilton Area Coalition of Tenants' Association. (905) 527-5574 There is also a listing of community legal clinics throughout Ontario at the end of this text. The Harris government's new Tenant "Protection" Act repeals the Rent Control Act, the Rental Housing Protection Act, Part IV of the Landlord and Tenant Act (the portion that pertains to residential tenancies and mobile home parks, but they left in force those portions of the Act that pertain to tenant farmers,) the Municipal Amendment Act (Vital Services,) the Land Lease Statute Law Amendment Act and the Residents' Rights Act (which protected seniors and the disabled in care homes). If you are upset about the changes you will likely want more information from your community legal and information clinic and tenants' association. If you are upset over the governments new Act, you should both write and call your MPP and Premier Harris, and on letters be sure to write "Personal and Confidential" on the envelope. The Premier can be called at (416) 325-1941, FAX at (416) 325-3745. His address is: Premier Michael Harris Room 281, Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1. The Tenant Protection Act can be read at the following web site: http://www.ontla.on.ca/archives/Journals/bills/b96rp_e.htm Various information can be accessed at TenantNet at: http://tenant.net/Other_Areas/Canada/ There is a preliminary analysis (after the Act was passed but before it was proclaimed and before the regulations came out) written by me, for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty at: http://tenant.net/Other_Areas/Canada/attack.txt What is known, is that: There is Vacancy Decontrol. Whenever a tenant moves out of a unit, the landlord will be able to charge the new tenant anything they wish. This is a direct financial incentive for unscrupulous landlords to force tenants out to get huge rent increases. There will no longer be a Tenant Court, but a Tribunal of government appointees. All decisions are final and can NOT be appealed in court. There is a fee for both landlords and tenants who make applications, and the fee cannot be waived under any circumstance under the law, even for those in situations of financial hardship, which may exclude many of the poor, especially the disabled, seniors and single parents from equal access to the Tribunal. The Tribunal application fee is $45 for an application by a tenant. The fees is $60 for a landlord filing to evict a tenant. And for applications for a rent increase above the guideline or for a rent decrease whether by the landlord or by a group of tenants (in the latter case,) $45 for the first unit and $5 for every unit thereafter up to a maximum of $450. It sure will be easier for a professional landlord to afford $45 to apply to increase a tenant's rent above the guideline than a tenant on a fixed income (such as senior) to be able to afford the same fee to file for a deserved rent decrease such as for a lack of services. If each and every tenant does not sign and is therefore not included in any tenant application, they will not reap the benefits of such a tenant application. Under the old law if even one tenant applied for a rent decrease and the Ministry found the condition applied to all units, their order would automatically apply to all units whether or not the others knew about the application; they would all benefit. Under this new law it is very important if you have a bad landlord to organize a tenants' association in your building. Orders Preventing a Rent Increase (OPRI's) a feature of the old Rent Control Act, have been repealed by the Harris government's Tenant "Protection" Act. OPRI's were used to freeze the rents in a building where the landlord had a history of refusing to follow municipal work orders as a result of not being up to building, fire, and/or health standards. The City of Toronto's Chief of Buildings' Inspections, said this was the only effective tool they had to get slum landlords to repair buildings. If the landlord did not repair the building, the rents would be frozen until they did. The Harris government has eliminated this, claiming that landlords will repair buildings anyways though the history of OPRI's proves otherwise. These are just a few of the issues that are now facing tenants. For the tenants' most commonly asked questions and answers see the "Tenants Questions and Answers for Ontario" posting that is now being made monthly. Housing is regulated by the province and municipalities. Housing issues are regulated by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing primarily under the Tenant "Protection" Act, and by your particular municipality primarily under their Building's Inspections, Fire, and Health departments. Rent increases are the jurisdiction of the province, and building standards are first the jurisdiction of the municipality but can also be taken to the provinces Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal for a fee. The Ontario Ministry of Housing has publications that not only inform you of your rights but also your obligations as a tenant. It is a good idea to call the government's new Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal at 1-888-332-3234 to get all the available forms and literature. GETTING REPAIRS DONE AND THE HEAT TURNED ON IN METROPOLITAN TORONTO (Sorry I don't have this information for other regions so if anybody wants to send me that information, please do so. Outside of Metro Toronto you will have to look in the blue section/government of your telephone directory "White Pages" to get the appropriate municipal number to call.) - Contact your neighbours. They may have similar problems If you act together you will be more effective. - Call your landlord and tell them about the problem(s). Ask when they will be fixed. Keep a written diary of the dates of telephone calls and their subject as well as copies of all letters you send or receive for future reference. - Write a leter to the landlord asking for the repair to be done. give the date you first told the landlord about the problem. Put in the date you expect the repair to be done by. - If the repair is not done in reasonable time, call the local government department that looks after your problem. (eg. Buildings and Inspections Department and/or their Health Department) Make an appointment with an inspector to inspect your apartment (this is FREE). If you do not get the service you expect, call your alderperson/city councillor or the Mayor's office to help you. Your local M.P.P.'s constituency office can also be of help. - If the repair is still not done, contact a legal clinic or lawyer. You may need to take your landlord to court, or take other legal action to get the work done. REMEMBER: Document everything you can. This documentation will be necessary if you take your landlord to the Tribunal, or if you want to prove neglect to prevent an "above guideline" rent increase, or to get the province to order a rent rollback. Examples of repair problems include: no heat, no water, cockroaches, mice, noise-problems and dirty conditions. EAST YORK Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to May 31 20øC/68øF Property Standards Department -- 461-9451 (ext. 339) Health Unit -------------------- 461-8136 Emergencies (after hours) ------ 461-8136 ETOBICOKE Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to June 15 20øC/68øF Property Standards Department -- 394-8002 Noise By-law ------------------- 394-8363 Health Department Swithboard --- 394-8000 Health Inspections ------------- 394-8272 Health (Emergencies after hours) 394-8615 NORTH YORK Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to May 31 20øC/68øF Property Standards Department -- 224-6043 Health Department -------------- 224-6315 Emergencies (after hours) ------ 224-6433 SCARBOROUGH Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to May 31 20øC/68øF Property Standards Department -- 396-7071 Health Inspections ------------- 396-7431 Emergencies (after hours) ------ 396-4808 TORONTO Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15to June 1 21øC/70øF Buildings Inspections Department East ---------------------- 392-0827 North --------------------- 392-6940 West ---------------------- 392-0855 Central ------------------- 392-7559 If you don't know your ward 392-7501 Emergencies (after hours) - 392-7149 Noise by-law -------------- 392-0791 Health Department -------------- 392-7401 Health (emergencies after hours) 392-7149 YORK Tenants musthave heat: Sept. 15 to June 15 21øC/70øF Property Standards Department -- 394-2534 Health Department -------------- 394-2436 Emergencies (after hours) ------ 394-2630 COMMUNITY LEGAL AND INFORMATION CLINICS These clinic will assist you with specific legal problems. You should pick the one that is the most appropriate, or that is closest to you. They may ask you your address to see if you are in their area and if you are not, they should direct you to the most appropriate clinic. Listings are first by general area and then alphabetical, so look thoroughly through the list to find the clinic most appropriate for you. There may be more than one clinic in your town or area. Please call them and make an appointment with them before you go visit their offices. ^^^^^^ They do have income criteria and only provide assistance to those with lower incomes. If you do not qualify and need legal advice, the Law Society of Upper Canada do provide a free lawyer referral service that includes a free one-half hour consultation: Their lawyer referral service phone number is (416) 947-3330. AREA CODE 416 (Metropolitan Toronto) ============= SPECIALTY CLINICS (not local only) Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) They only handle situations where tenants are not being let into a building (given a lease) because of discrimination on the basis of family status, gender, race, martial status, income, etc. (416) 944-0087 or if you are outside of the greater Toronto Area 1-800-263-1139 Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto 197 Spadina Avenue, Suite #600 Toronto (416) 408-3967 Advocacy Centre for the Elderly 2 Carleton Street, Suite #701 Toronto (416) 598-2656 Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped 40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite #255 Toronto (416) 482-8255 African Canadian Legal Clinic 330 Bay Street, Suite #306, Toronto (416) 214-4747 Centre for Spanish-Speaking Peoples 1004 Bathurst Street Toronto (416) 533-0680 Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic 1380 Dundas Street West, Suite #308 Toronto (416) 971-9674 AREA BASED METRO TORONTO COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINICS ------------------------------------------------ Downsview Community Legal Services 520 Wilson Heights Blvd Downsview (416) 635-8388 East Toronto Community Legal Services 1320 Gerrard Street East Toronto (416) 461-8102 Flemingdon Community Legal Services 10 Gateway Blvd., Suite #350 Don Mills (416) 424-1965 Jane Finch Community Legal Services 1315 Finch Avenue West, Suite #409 Downsview (416) 398-0677 Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services 489 College Street, Suite #205 Toronto (416) 924-4244 Neighbourhood Legal Services 333 Queen Street East Toronto (416) 861-0677 Parkdale Community Legal Services 165 Dufferin Street Toronto (416) 531-2411 Rexdale Community Legal Clinic 1530 Albion Road, Suite #215 Rexdale (416) 741-5201 Scarborough Community Legal Services 695 Markham Road, Suite #9 Scarborough (416) 438-7182 West Scarborough Community Legal Services 565 Kennedy Road South, Unit 6 Scarborough (416) 264-4384 West Toronto Community Legal Services 672 Dupont Street, Suite #315 Toronto (416) 531-7376 Wilowdale Community Legal Services 245 Fairview Mall Drive, Suite #106 Willowdale (416) 492-2437 York Community Services 1651 Keele Street Toronto (416) 653-5400 AREA CODE 519 (South-western Ontario) ============= BRANTFORD --------- Brant County Community Legal Clinic 39 Nelson Street Brantford (519) 752-8669 CAMBRIDGE --------- Waterloo Region Community Legal Services Cambridge Satellite Office (519) 653-1640 CHATHAM ------- Legal Assistance Kent 6 Harvey Street Chatham (519) 351-6771 KITCHENER-WATERLOO ------------------ Waterloo Region Community Legal Services 170 Victoria Street South Kitchener (519) 743-0254 LONDON ------ Neighbourhood Legal Services (London and Middlesex) 89 King Street London (519) 438-2890 SARNIA ------ Community Legal Assistance Sarnia 111 Wellington Street Sarnia (519) 332-8055 WINDSOR ------- Legal Assistance of Windsor 85 Pitt Street East Windsor (519) 256-7831 Windsor/Essex Bilingual Legal Clinic 595 Tecumseh Blvd East Windsor (519) 253-3526 AREA CODE 613 ============= BELLEVILLE ---------- Hastings & Prince Edward Legal Services 158 George Street, Level 1 Belleville (613) 966-8686 CORNWALL -------- Clinique Juridique Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Legal Clinic 26 Montreal Road Cornwall (613) 932-2703/6/7 HAWKESBURY ---------- Clinique Juridique Populaire De Prescott Et Russell 482 Main Street East Hawkesbury (613) 632-1136 KINGSTON -------- Kingston Community Legal Clinic 345 Bagot Street Kingston (613) 541-0777 OTTAWA-CARLETON REGION ---------------------- Community Legal Services (Ottawa-Carleton) 1 Nicholas Street, Suite #422 Ottawa (613) 241-7008 South Ottawa Community Legal Services 1355 Bank Street, Suite #406 Ottawa (613) 733-0140 West End Legal Services 1299 Richmond Road Ottawa (613) 596-1641 PERTH ----- Lanark County Legal Clinic 87 Gore Street East Perth (613) 264-8888 RENFREW ------- Renfrew County Legal Clinic 236 Stewart Street, Suite #101 Renfrew (613) 432-8146 SHARBOT LAKE ------------ Rural Legal Services P.O. Box 359 Sharbot Lake K0H 2P0 (613) 279-3252 AREA CODE 705 ============= BRACEBRIDGE and the Muskoka area ----------- Muskoka Legal Clinic 8B Ontario Street Bracebridge (705) 645-6607 ELLIOT LAKE ----------- Elliot Lake & North Shore Community Legal Clinic 112 Ontario Avenue Elliot Lake (705) 461-3935 SAULT STE. MARIE ---------------- Algoma Community Legal Clinic 163 East Street Sault Ste. Marie (705) 942-4900 KAPUSKASING ----------- Clinique Juridique Grand Nord 2 Ash Street Kapuskasing (705) 337-6200 - Zenith 98794 MOOSONEE -------- Keewaytinok Native Legal Services Box 218 Moosonee (705) 336-2981 NORTH BAY --------- Nipissing Community Legal Clinic 107 Shirreff Street, Suite #214 North Bay (705) 476-6603 ORILLIA ------- Simcoe Legal Services Clinic 71 Colborne Street East Orillia (705) 326-6444 PETERBOROUGH ------------ Peterborough Community Legal Centre 150 King Street, 4th Floor Peterborough (705) 749-9355 SUDBURY ------- Sudbury Community Legal Clinic 128 Pine Street, Suite #100 Sudbury (705) 674-3200 AREA CODE 807 ============= FORT FRANCES ------------ Rainy river District Community Legal Clinic 700 Scott Street Fort Frances (807) 274-5327 KENORA ------ Kenora Community Legal Clinic 120 Matheson Street South Kenora (807) 468-8888 SIOUX LOOKOUT ------------- Sioux Lookout Community Legal Clinic 76 Front Street Sioux Lookout (807) 737-3075 THUNDER BAY ----------- Kinna-oweya Legal Clinic 233 Van Norman Street Thunder Bay (807) 344-2478 AREA CODE 905 (The "Golden Horseshoe" excluding Toronto) ============= BRAMPTON -------- Brampton Community Legal Clinic 37 George Street North, Suite #303, Brampton (905) 455-0160 COBOURG ------- Northumberland Community Legal Centre 1005 William Street, Suite #301 Cobourg (905) 373-4464 GEORGETOWN ---------- Halton Community Legal Services 72 Mill Street Georgetown (905) 877-5256 HAMILTON -------- Dundurn Community Legal Services 10 West Avenue South, Suite #119 Hamilton (905) 527-4572 Hamilton Mountain Legal and Community Services 550 Fennell Avenue East, Suite #218 Hamilton (905) 575-9590 McQuesten Legal and Community Services 360 Qyeenston Road Hamilton (905) 545-0442 KESWICK ------- Georgina Community Legal Services 155 Riverglen Drive, Unit #13 Keswick (905) 476-8018 MISSISSAUGA ----------- Mississauga Community Legal Services 130 Dundas Street East, Suite # 501A Mississauga (905) 896-2050 OSHAWA ------ Durham Community Legal Clinic Executive Tower - Oshawa Centre 419 King Street West, Suite #207 Oshawa (905) 728-7321 ST. CATHARINES -------------- Niagara North Community Legal Assistance 8 Church Street St. Catharines (905) 682-6635 RIDGEWAY -------- Community Legal Services of Niagara South (Ridgeway Satellite Office) (905) 894-4775 WELLAND ------- Community Legal Services of Niagara South 80 King Street Welland (905) 735-1559