East Hamilton tenants rally to fight spike in rent
Senior says he can’t cover the increase at Delawana Drive apartment
George Direkze hopes his fellow tenants at Stoney Creek Towers show up to protest their landlord’s plan for a rent increase. But the 80-year-old isn’t holding his breath.
“A lot of people don’t come to these things,” says Direkze, who has been battling cockroaches in his one-bedroom unit at 77 Delawana Dr. “Most people are scared of losing a place to live.”
Wednesday’s rally, organized by residents and the Hamilton Tenants’ Solidarity Network, is to demand the landlord make repairs to units and ditch plans for a 4.8 per cent hike in rent.
That would add roughly $35 a month to the $732 Direkze pays for his apartment of about nine years in the immigrant enclave of relatively cheap units just east of Centennial Parkway.
“That’s bloody rotten. I mean how can they do it?”
The province’s guideline allows landlords to increase the rent of existing tenants by 1.8 per cent this year, but they can seek approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board for hikes beyond that.
Above-guideline increases (AGIs) pass muster if landlords can show they’ve made significant renovations to address structural problems, health and safety, plumbing, heating or electrical issues, for instance.
AGIs, however, can’t ride on cosmetic or regular maintenance.
The tenants’ network, a local advocacy group, argues the Stoney Creek AGI wrongfully asks residents to pay for cosmetic upgrades in common areas while tenants put up with drafty windows and spotty heating.
“In December, people went for weeks without heat. They were using their ovens to heat their apartments,” network volunteer Emily Power said.
Property manager CLV says the buildings needed considerable work.
“When CLV took over the management of this property, given the previous state of disrepair, the property required a very substantial amount of maintenance, repair and capital investment which to date remains ongoing,” spokesperson Roseanne MacDonald-Holtman said in an email.
Direkze says he and others on fixed incomes would struggle to pay the extra 4.8 per cent. “I don’t have any investments.”
Recently, CLV and owner InterRent have also encountered resistance from residents over AGIs at buildings in Davis Creek, a neighbourhood in the east end.
The legislation is “clear cut” about what qualifies for an AGI and what doesn’t, but landlords are adept at making their cases before the provincial tribunal, says Stephanie Cox, a staff lawyer at the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic.
When units are vacated, landlords can charge whatever they want. At Stoney Creek Towers, renovated onebedroom units are going for about $1,000, Direkze says.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan immigrant has received more than one warning about potential eviction, which he dismisses as pressure tactics to get him out.
MacDonald-Holtman declined to address Direkze’s case, citing privacy concerns, but wrote tenancy issues “are dealt with in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”
“Our objective, and that of our dedicated staff, is to provide a safe, secure and comfortable environment for all of our residents.”
Direkze’s belongings are in totes piled in his living room after it was treated for cockroaches. A note left by the pest control workers said he hadn’t done enough to clean up since the treatment — a difficult task for an 80year-old with a bad hip, he says.
That debris alone could be cause for eviction, worries Power, who, along with others from the tenants’ network, helped clean Direkze’s unit, including behind his stove.
“He wouldn’t be capable of that. I wonder how many other people would be in that position.”