Tenants win compensation for nearby development
Agreement could serve as blueprint for dealing with landlord issues Jim McCarthy is one of the tenants at 45 Dunfield Ave.
Unlike many tenants in Toronto, Jim McCarthy isn’t mad about yet another tall tower that’s popping up in his backyard.
He has lived in an apartment at 45 Dunfield Ave. for nearly 20 years, and when Shiplake Properties Ltd. came up with a proposal two years ago for two new purpose-built rental towers in the area, he and other tenants figured they had to fight back.
“The height of the buildings, the fact that they were going to be in our backyard, essentially taking away our visitors parking and our pool, and they weren’t offering any compensation whatsoever, we didn’t think that was fair,” McCarthy said.
The proposal, known as the Lillian Park Development Plan, sought to add two apartment buildings in the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood. With 26 and 24 storeys each, the apartments would have a total of 519 rental units. Construction is already underway and expected to finish by summer 2019.
McCarthy and other tenants at 45 Dunfield — one of the existing rental buildings in the area also owned by Shiplake — came together through their association to challenge the proposal and demand a compensation package. The tenants threatened to take the issue up to the Ontario Municipal Board or the Landlord and Tenant Board.
By April last year, the tenants and the developer had agreed on a compensation package totalling nearly $1 million, through a new process housing advocates believe could serve as a blueprint on how tenants deal with landlords in the future.
According to the agreement, each existing tenant (there are a total of 575 units at the building) received $200 upfront to put toward the purchase of an air conditioner or something else. Shiplake also agreed to a total of $200,000 to be carved off future rent for tenants in the units closest to the construction site.
Perhaps more importantly, a rent increase 2.6 per cent above provincial guidelines, which Shiplake had sought to apply after some renovation work, will be suspended for at least 16 months, starting from the time construction began.
The city also negotiated a daycare centre to be constructed at one of the buildings in the area, and existing tenants have the option to demand relocation to a similar size unit away from the construction. In an attempt to mitigate noise, the hours of construction are restricted from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with no weekend work.