> What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a “huge victory.”
>The Landlord and Tenant Board had issued an interim order requiring Barney River Investments, which managed the properties at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Ave. West, to do immediate maintenance work on long-needed repairs.
>The decision, which the tenants’ lawyer said might be the first of its kind, came after a 10-month rent strike.
>The Lawrence Avenue tenants said they had done everything they could to resolve the issue before withholding rent, from sending petitions, trying to meet the landlord, speaking with local politicians and making calls to the city — all to no avail. The problems went unfixed, they said: broken tiles, mould on ceilings, holes in the walls that gave cockroaches and mice free rein.
>Tenant Yogesh Khatri said the landlord started inspecting units in need of repair less than a week after the board’s order came.
>”They have to check all the units. They have to fix all the problems,” he said.
Gintin2 on
Power to the people! Well done!
Sarge1387 on
Wow, and after all these years of taking slumlords to the LTB and being told “you’re not allowed to withhold rent because of lack of repairs”…
I guess we know what it takes now.
youregrammarsucks7 on
Not requiring the repayment of the back rent upon the fixing of the building sets a precedent for more tenants to do this, which will increase the risk to landlords, which will increase the rent prices in the future. This post will get downvoted like crazy for stating facts. It’s a win for these specific tenants, but watch, you will see rents get upped to compensate for the additonal risk.
Collapse2038 on
Interesting. Is this precedent setting?
BasicYesterday9349 on
Barney river investments just soiled their brand with their lenders. Good luck to them if they can ever find another lender to trust them.
6 Comments
> What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a “huge victory.”
>The Landlord and Tenant Board had issued an interim order requiring Barney River Investments, which managed the properties at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Ave. West, to do immediate maintenance work on long-needed repairs.
>The decision, which the tenants’ lawyer said might be the first of its kind, came after a 10-month rent strike.
>The Lawrence Avenue tenants said they had done everything they could to resolve the issue before withholding rent, from sending petitions, trying to meet the landlord, speaking with local politicians and making calls to the city — all to no avail. The problems went unfixed, they said: broken tiles, mould on ceilings, holes in the walls that gave cockroaches and mice free rein.
>Tenant Yogesh Khatri said the landlord started inspecting units in need of repair less than a week after the board’s order came.
>”They have to check all the units. They have to fix all the problems,” he said.
Power to the people! Well done!
Wow, and after all these years of taking slumlords to the LTB and being told “you’re not allowed to withhold rent because of lack of repairs”…
I guess we know what it takes now.
Not requiring the repayment of the back rent upon the fixing of the building sets a precedent for more tenants to do this, which will increase the risk to landlords, which will increase the rent prices in the future. This post will get downvoted like crazy for stating facts. It’s a win for these specific tenants, but watch, you will see rents get upped to compensate for the additonal risk.
Interesting. Is this precedent setting?
Barney river investments just soiled their brand with their lenders. Good luck to them if they can ever find another lender to trust them.