Have you recently received a notice of RENT INCREASE? If not, you soon will! Homestead has begun issuing N1 forms, which request an increase above and beyond the legal maximum, and inform us that they have applied for this special increase to the landlord and tenant board.
Presumably, they want to pay for all the wonderful work they have been doing on the building: While some of us freeze in our apartments or are suffering from mould and flooding, Homestead is piddling away your hard earned dollars on sloppily painted doors and unnecessary frills like door overhangs.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THE ADDITIONAL PERCENTAGE!!!
It's TRUE!! A recent call to the Landlord and Tenant Board yielded the following information:
So, If You Have Had ENOUGH Of:
Here's what you can do:
Do NOT pay the 3% increase you are being asked to!!!
READ THE N1 form you received (or will recieve): #3 states "the tenant is not required to pay more than the guideline increase (that's 2%) until the order is issued". And if it's never issued, i.e. if Homestead loses their case, we will maintain rent increases within the legal limits, and perhaps get some REAL renovations happening -- stuff we need, not "make work projects" that do little or nothing to increase the safety and convenience of our home.
Even if Homestead wins their case, and the exception is approved, the additional rent we would then owe can be back-paid afterwards without penalty.
Why give these crooks your hard-earned cash before it's necessary??!!
Presumably, they want to pay for all the wonderful work they have been doing on the building: While some of us freeze in our apartments or are suffering from mould and flooding, Homestead is piddling away your hard earned dollars on sloppily painted doors and unnecessary frills like door overhangs.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THE ADDITIONAL PERCENTAGE!!!
It's TRUE!! A recent call to the Landlord and Tenant Board yielded the following information:
- You do NOT have to pay more than 2% a year increase in rent: It's the law!
- Our landlord first has to apply for an exception to the 2% rule, and there will be a written hearing to which we the tenants can submit artefacts (photos, written anecdotes, etc.) to dispute the proposed increase!
- If you go ahead and pay the 3% increase they are requesting, you will be agreeing to the new lease terms, and helping Homestead make their case!!!
So, If You Have Had ENOUGH Of:
- leaky, mouldy storage lockers that ruin your treasures and family heirlooms
- slow, forever-breaking-down elevators and cracks in ceiling/leaky hallways
- "new toilets".... that don't flush properly!
- old pipes, terrible water pressure and quality -- is it even safe to drink?
- precarious access to the waterfront
- new floor tiles that look nice, but didn't need replacing (how about focusing on the carpets, and leave the existing floor tiles alone instead of wasting money and contributing unnecessary landfill to our already overburdened environment?!)
- sloppy paint job on unit doors like Kindergarten
- a new enter phone that often doesn't work with cell phones
- kitchen cabinets in some units that look like they belong in a museum
Here's what you can do:
- As of your renewal date (the effective proposed increase date, found on page one of the N1 form you received or soon will receive), pay only your current rent plus 2% (N.B. If your rent is automatically deducted, you MUST go to the bank, and inform them that you do not approve a 3% increase -- instruct the bank to release 2% more as of that date, NOT 3%. This is your legal right! You may need to put a stop payment on your pre-authorizes system, and pay by cheque for a month or two while you rearrange your POP with only 2% increase, but it's worth the hassle -- isn't it???!)
- Give our friend Sanjay Varma at Homestead head office a call to express your concern over frivolous renovations at the expense of more critical work: 905-523-8700 (document the date and a summary of your call)
- Continue or begin to gather evidence of Homestead's incompetence:
Real life stories, anecdotal notes, photographs of all the ridiculousness. Write them down, document them in some way, so that when we are notified of the hearing, we can collectively submit this evidence which will be considered against Homestead's application for an exception to the rent increase laws. - Check out the Landlord and Tenant Act and learn your rights
It's all online, or, call the Landlord and Tenant Board at 416-645-8080 to ascertain the truth of this information (be prepared for a long wait; I had to wait over half an hour to talk to someone, but they gave me all the information above)
Do NOT pay the 3% increase you are being asked to!!!
READ THE N1 form you received (or will recieve): #3 states "the tenant is not required to pay more than the guideline increase (that's 2%) until the order is issued". And if it's never issued, i.e. if Homestead loses their case, we will maintain rent increases within the legal limits, and perhaps get some REAL renovations happening -- stuff we need, not "make work projects" that do little or nothing to increase the safety and convenience of our home.
Even if Homestead wins their case, and the exception is approved, the additional rent we would then owe can be back-paid afterwards without penalty.
Why give these crooks your hard-earned cash before it's necessary??!!