Toronto organizers just formed the biggest tenant union in the city’s history.

Saima Desai reports from the launch of the Toronto Tenant Union, as they organize to tilt the scales of housing power.

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6 comments

Hi can I have a flyer to print for my building (25 Cosburn) we recently had a new company (greenwin) take over after the landlord died and didnt replace them, everything is rapidly declining in the building.and grounds and its disgusting I dont know what to do, my rent is great because I’ve been in this unit 30 years so moving would be +1000 rent or more.

Thanks,
Eli

Thanks for finally talking about > ‘Landlords
watch out’: Toronto renters form a city-wide tenant
union ⋆ The Breach Perguntas Frequentes (FAQ)

There is no mention anywhere, that I could see, of how tenants can contact this new union, So, basically, not very useful to people who have no way to search for further information.

Yes something needs to be done for renters! There are more and more renters and buildings ( new rentals ) because the system has been one so corrupt and dehumanized that NO ONE but the ultra rich can afford to buy a home. It is a tragedy and a travesty. I have been saying for several years that the answer is a gigantic Union of renters . So this is great news!

Yes something needs to be done for renters! There are more and more renters and buildings ( new rentals ) because the system has been one so corrupt and dehumanized that NO ONE but the ultra rich can afford to buy a home. It is a tragedy and a travesty. I have been saying for several years that the answer is a gigantic Union of renters . So this is great news!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T93n4cFphA&t=129s

“Stop raising rents”? But the city never stops raising property taxes and water rates. Someone in this video claims 50% of rents are profit, which is absurd. Profit is often below 5% or even negative. That’s why the condo market has collapsed — you can’t rent condos for more than your costs. And if profits were so high, then the city would have no problem providing affordable housing without losing money — but it can’t. Toronto Community Housing got a subsidy of $372.795 million for 43,776 units in 2024, which implies an $8,516 subsidy per year per unit. Also, TCHC properties are exempt from property and education taxes, which is probably a subsidy of another $1,000 per unit at least. TCHC is also receiving $1.828 billion in capital funding over the 2025-2034 period. Plus the cost of the land and original construction are also subsidies, not included here. So the total subsidy per unit is in the tens of thousands. Needless to say, you could get a palace for that much on the private rental market.
Even with these huge subsidies, TCHC often fails to provide acceptable maintenance, something these activists condemn private landlords for!

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