Rent strikers offer to pay landlord November’s arrears

Tenants at Stoney Creek Towers want negotiations before board hearing resumes

East Hamilton rent strikers are extending their landlord an olive branch in an ongoing struggle over proposed hikes.

“We thought that paying rent in November, we’d get them to come to the table,” tenant Stan Parker said Wednesday.

Stoney Creek Towers’ landlord had this to say in response.

“In accordance with Ontario law, we hope all residents that participated in this illegal action resume rent payments immediately to avoid placing their tenancies at risk, and we appreciate their co-operation in this regard.”

The strikers in the towers east of Centennial Parkway have withheld rent since May in a bid to stave off an above-guideline increase (AGI).

The campaign, organized with the help of the Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Network, has garnered the nervous attention of other landlords in Ontario.

Ottawa-based CLV-InterRent is seeking a nearly 10 per cent increase over two years through the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Landlords can’t hike rent on existing tenants by more than 1.8 per cent, which is the provincial guideline. But “extraordinary” expenditures that aren’t routine maintenance or cosmetic can qualify for an AGI.

CLV-InterRent argues roughly $3 million in work at the four buildings fits the criteria. The tenants, however, have contended a good deal of those costs are related to cosmetic upgrades.

The struggle comes during an affordable-housing crunch in Hamilton amid spiking rents and low vacancies.

On Nov. 1 and 2, tenants and their lawyer faced off against the landlord’s legal team before board vice-chair Guy Savoie at the Limeridge Road East legion.

The hearing is scheduled to resume in February, CLV-InterRent spokesperson Roseanne MacDonald-Holtman said.

In addition to offering November’s rent, the strikers have sent the landlord a proposed hike they hope to negotiate directly. “Everybody’s got common sense and you just can’t go with zero,” said Parker, who declined to disclose the figure.

MacDonald-Holtman said executives “are currently considering a response to the proposed settlement offer also bearing in mind that many of the residents who are parties to the application are not represented.”

She said the landlord met with tenants at the outset of the application process via a mediator, but they “refused to negotiate.”

MacDonald-Holtman also suggested the best forum to settle the dispute is the tribunal, where tenants “will have a full opportunity ... to present their case.”

The strikers have expressed doubt that a fair resolution is possible through the tribunal, which a network member called an “eviction machine.”

During the campaign, tenants have received notices to pay up and, in some cases, threats of eviction. Parker, 66, noted that strikers paid their rent in July, which he said led to some repairs that had been outstanding.

A retiree of the auto-parts and glass industries, Parker has lived at 50 Violet Dr. since 1975 where he pays about $740 a month for a two-bedroom unit. “I’ve done a lot of work myself,” he said of repairs in his apartment.

InterRent bought the deteriorating towers from DiCenzo Management for $51 million in 2015.

It has renovated units as they become vacant and rented them to new tenants for more than $1,000 a month. In documents online, InterRent has noted its “ongoing effort to drive rents,” and a “repositioning” strategy.