York South-Weston Tenant Union

Updates

Tenants take Barney River to LTB for tenant rights violations as rent strike enters 5th month

Over a hundred tenants at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Ave W have been on rent strike against Barney River Investments since October 1st. As the rent strike continues into its fifth month, tenants rallied outside of the Barney River property management office this afternoon and served notice that they will be filing against Barney River at the LTB for tenant rights abuses and serious breaches of their maintenance obligations.

Largest rent strike in Toronto’s history, as two more buildings join

More than 100 tenants at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Avenue West will go on Rent Strike as of October 1st, joining what is shaping up to be the largest rent strike in Toronto's history. Their landlord, Barney River Investments, has refused to address serious repairs in the building while consistently increasing rents above rent control.

Rent Strikers Protest Quayside sale to Dream Unlimited

Tenants on rent strike at 33 King St and 22 John St protest outside of Quayside Development site, set to be sold to Dream Unlimited who has been increasing their rents as high as 17% on housing previously built on public land.

Send a Message to the Landlord Tenant Board in Solidarity with the 1440-1442 Lawrence Tenant Association!

For years, Barney River Investments have been neglecting the buildings they own at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Avenue West — while harassing and threatening tenants, charging illegal rent and even going so far as illegal lockouts.

The neglect includes mold, leaks, and broken appliances. Canada Post hasn’t delivered the mail to these buildings in over 3 years because of bed bugs, cockroaches, and mice. No one should be living in these conditions.

Due to these substandard living conditions, tenants in the buildings came together to form a Tenant Association and withhold their rent in order to take on Barney River and fight for their right to affordable and livable housing.

Since forming the tenant association, the landlord has been systematically targeting tenant association members and violating their tenant rights, including illegal lockouts, failing to serve notice of hearings to known members of the tenant association, threatening members with baseless eviction notices and demanding illegal rent payments.

Tenants are fighting to get these issues addressed. They have also filed tenant applications to the Landlord and Tenant Board. But the Board has failed to schedule those applications.

Enough is enough.

We are demanding that the Landlord Tenant Board hear the 1440-1442 Lawrence Tenant Associations’ collective T2 (tenant rights violations) and T6 (maintenance violations) applications immediately.

You can read the T2 application here, and the T6 application here.

We can’t win this fight alone — we are stronger together.

If you care about the right to housing and disapprove of Barney River’s treatment of tenants, please take a moment to send a letter to the Landlord Tenant Board asking them to hear the collective T2 and T6 applications immediately.

So far the LTB has scheduled dozens of the landlord’s L1 hearings to evict tenants but has failed to schedule tenants’s collective T2 and T6 applications, despite granting the hearing “expedited status.”

In one of the latest eviction hearings against one of the leaders of the tenant association, Rashid Limbada, the adjudicator refused to hear evidence related to tenants’ rights violations.

We need you to send a letter to help give tenants of 1440-1442 Lawrence a chance to be heard at the LTB.