As a humid heatwave hangs heavy in the air across much of Ontario, residents of one apartment building in Toronto must choose between air conditioning and affordability.
Last month, dozens of residents living at 130 Jameson Ave., a multi-residential high-rise apartment building in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, received notices of eviction. The reason given for these notices was that these residents had air conditioning units in their homes.
There were at least 50 residents who received such notices. Resident Shelly Dunphy has lived in the building her entire life, she says she was practically born there, and she told rabble.ca that this was the first time that air conditioning units caused an issue.
In an email obtained by rabble from Myriad Property Management, who manage the building, the company states that operating air conditioning units are not covered by the tenants lease agreement.
“We conduct annual inspections of all the units in 130 Jameson. During that time, we note any deviations to what is allowable under that tenant’s lease. This could include air conditioners and other additional appliances not included in the lease agreement,” the email reads.
Myriad goes on to state that tenants are then given two weeks to choose to either pay them a fee for the unit, or to enter into an agreement with the electricity company to pay for the costs of the air conditioner. If the tenant chooses neither of these options, then they are served with a notice of eviction, known as an N5.
“We are doing nothing that is not proscribed in the RTA and enforced by the LTB,” Myriad states, referring to the Residential Tenancies Act which is enforced by the Landlord Tenant Board. “It was not, has never been, and will never be our intent to evict someone without providing them the opportunity to remedy the situation in a reasonable manner and amount of time.”
A matter of gentrification
Dunphy said that this is an example of a landlord attempting to evict tenants in order to put properties back on the rental market at a higher rate.
“Local rents in the neighbourhood have doubled in the past 10 years,” Dunphy said. “Once this happens to us, other buildings in the neighbourhood will be next.”
Myriad’s tactic is a different flavour of a similar strategy that has been seen more frequently in different years, reno-victions.
Under the RTA, a landlord can only raise a tenant’s rent once a year, and only at a maximum rate of 1.2 per cent year-over-year.
However, a landlord can set the rent on a vacant property as high as the market can bear. In times when property values are rapidly rising and housing is at a premium, unscrupulous landlords have an incentive to evict tenants in order to get a bigger financial return from their rental units. One condition under which a landlord can evict a tenant is if the landlord states that renovations must be done to the unit in order for it to remain habitable.
If a tenant receives a notice of eviction from their landlord for the purpose of renovations, the tenant can still return to the property once the renovations are completed under their original rental rate as stated in the RTA. To do this, a tenant must inform their landlord of their intentions in writing and must also refuse any financial compensation offered by the landlord.
In the meantime, the tenant will still have to find other accommodations at their own expense until the renovations are completed. The tenant can also dispute the need for renovations entirely in front of the LTB, but it currently takes the LTB an average of 131 days in order to fully hear and rule on a case.
While the housing market continues to cool in Toronto, Torontorentals.com stated in their June report that the average rental price in the city in May was 16.5 per cent higher than it was just the year prior.
In May of 2019, the average two-bedroom apartment cost $2,204 a month to rent; by May of this year, that price rose to $2,584 a month.
Putting the brakes on a runaway rental market
Ontario NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche represents the Parkdale neighbourhood in the Ontario Legislature. In October of 2021, she co-sponsored a bill to stop skyrocketing rents in the province.
The Rent Stabilization Act would have limited the amount a landlord could raise the rent on a vacant property to 1.2 per cent.
“People are being forced out of their neighborhoods, away from their support systems, because of rising rents,” said Karpoche’s fellow Toronto NDP MPP Jessica Bell, who also co-sponsored the bill. “They’re being reno-victed by landlords looking for an excuse to get them out because they’re allowed to hike rents as much as they like in between tenants.”
Karpoche told rabble that tenants receiving eviction notices for having air conditioning units was just another form of reno-viction.
Province should protect tenants from the heat
“I think the landlord should withdraw these eviction notices,” Karpoche said. “It is really important that tenants have ways to protect their health and safety during heat events.”
During the winter months, the RTA stipulates that it is a landlord’s responsibility to maintain a minimum temperature of 21 degrees in a rental unit. Karpoche is calling on the Ontario government to implement a maximum temperature regulation so that tenants are protected from extreme weather events in both the summer and in the winter.
In July of 2021 Kiri Vadivelu of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) Scarborough called on the government of Ontario Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford to intervene, explaining that it was not unusual for landlords to block tenants from installing air conditioning units.
“Heat is a serious health issue, and tenants need to be able to stay cool,” said Vadivelu. “But many landlords are charging illegal fees and harassing tenants that have window air conditioning units, which is putting people’s health at risk.”
Dunphy said that she was organizing with some of her fellow tenants at 130 Jameson to fight the notices from Myriad and that they are getting help in doing so from the Parkdale Community Legal Services. She encouraged her fellow residents not to sign the new agreement with the landlord.
This article is part of rabble’s series “The Boiling Point.” The Boiling Point examines the ways increasingly high temperatures due to the climate crisis are affecting our summers in Canada on a social, institutional, and ecological level. The series also explains how Canadians can take action against climate change and make real differences in their communities. Follow more stories here.
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