Stoney Creek Towers rent strikers gird for long haul

Greater than 70 tenants at Stoney Creek Towers proceed to withhold their rent this month to stress their landlord to restore models and again down from a proposed fee enhance. About 20 of them chanted slogans, waved placards and gave megaphone-blasted speeches outdoors CLV Group’s workplace Tuesday afternoon. Stan Parker mentioned he has lived at 50 Violet Dr. for 43 years. “I have been by three strikes the place I labored, by a wedding, a divorce, and I’ve by no means, ever been late paying my rent till this time right here,” he mentioned. Parker, a 65-year-old retiree who labored within the auto-parts and glass industries, mentioned he is wonderful with the province’s annual set rent enhance — this yr it is 1.eight per cent. However something extra, which CLV is proposing, is an excessive amount of, he mentioned. “I feel the federal government ought to step in as a result of that is unfair,” mentioned Parker, who pays practically $740 a month for his two-bedroom condo. CLV is the property supervisor for InterRent, the actual property revenue belief that owns the 4 highrises east of Centennial Parkway, a fancy that features many immigrants, seniors and others on social help. The proposed hike quantities to just about 10 per cent over two years, notes the Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Community, an advocacy group working with the residents. To do that, CLV wants an “above-guideline enhance” (AGI), a hike that goes past the provincial cap. To justify AGIs, landlords should present they’ve made vital renovations to handle structural issues, well being and security, plumbing, heating or electrical points, for occasion. AGIs, nonetheless, cannot cowl beauty or common upkeep. The hanging residents argue CLV is asking them to pay for beauty upgrades. Final month, they took their beef to the Landlord and Tenant Board, a provincial tribunal that holds hearings on rental disputes. No settlement was reached. So the residents determined to place stress on their landlord by a rent strike, discovering inspiration in latest high-profile tenant victories in Toronto. The hike is one difficulty. One other is what residents describe as a backlog in repairs: drafty home windows, damaged balcony doorways, defective heating, pests, suspect elevators and damaged home equipment. Learn extra: Stoney Creek Towers rent strikers gird for long haul http://yourlegalrights.on.ca/news/stoney-creek-towers-rent-strikers-gird-long-haul