Fed up with ever-rising rent? Inspired by the rent strike happening in York South-Weston? Want to make more stuff like that happen?
The York South-Weston Tenant Union in Toronto organizes free online workshops to learn and exchange ideas about how to build tenant power in your building and community. We provide step-by-step guides on starting a tenant association, taking action and fighting back against landlords’ greed.
You’ll learn to connect specific issues in a building — like lack of repairs, unfair rent increases and above-guideline rent increase (AGI) applications — with broader dynamics in the housing market, including the role of corporate landlords. We give you strategies to fight back.
You will hear first-hand from experienced tenant organizers from across the province. They’ll talk about how to design your flyers, what messaging works at the door and how to pivot to respond to the landlord’s messaging around AGIs and renovations.
Hear about the different stages of escalating a fight against a landlord, from knocking on doors, to holding a meeting, to phone zaps, rallies and finally to a rent strike. You’ll also be invited to get hands-on experience in the rent strikes in York South-Weston.
Together, we’ll walk through how to stop rent increases, the importance of collective organizing, and the role of and limitations to relying on the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). Remember: Lawyers won’t save us! The next round starts in December with meetings once a week for three weeks.
For more information, visit www.tenantunion.ca/tenantpower, email info@tenantunion.ca or call 647-479-9796.
This article appeared in the 2023 Nov/Dec issue.
