Landlords in Hamilton, Burlington, and Niagara Seek Rent Hikes Above Provincial Guidelines
Since 2017, landlords in Hamilton, Burlington, and Niagara Region have applied to raise rents above the provincial guidelines set by the Ontario government. An analysis of data from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) obtained through an access-to-information request revealed that 275 properties in these areas applied for above-guideline rent increases (AGIs) between 2017 and 2022.
In 2022, 28 out of 32 applications in the Hamilton region could be traced back to 19 corporate landlords. These landlords own and operate numerous rental properties across the city. The data analyzed by CBC News enumerates each AGI filed to the LTB between January and August 2022. It was obtained through an access-to-information request, initially submitted and exclusively shared with CBC News by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a community union of low- and moderate-income people.
Amidst Ontario’s housing crisis, rental prices have risen sharply in recent years. Hamilton’s rental market has seen the average listing price across the city grow from $1,681 in 2019 to $2,212 in 2023, according to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Zumper. The average is based on units of all sizes.
Lulu Xi, a former tenant in a Hamilton highrise, shared her experience of living in a building with deteriorating conditions while facing a $400 above-guideline rent increase request. She moved out of the building due to issues such as flooding, unannounced entry into units, mice, cockroaches, and bed bug infestations.
Equiton, the company that owns the building, stated that the increase was necessary to cover the cost of ongoing maintenance and improvements. They highlighted that the building had numerous deferred maintenance issues when they acquired it in 2021. Equiton has invested over $8.3 million in property improvements and plans to spend an additional $5.3 million in the coming years.
Tenant advocates, such as ACORN, argue that such increases should be banned. Liz Scott, Stoney Creek’s ACORN chair, said these kinds of increases make life especially hard for people like her, who have a fixed income through programs like the Ontario Disability Support Program. She suggests that landlords explore federal and provincial government programs that promote energy retrofitting instead of applying for AGIs.
Tony Irwin, president of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario, said about 80 percent of Ontario’s apartment buildings were built before 1980 and require significant capital projects to maintain. He emphasized that the AGI system allows some of these costs to be passed along to residents. Irwin also pointed out that some applications for AGIs are turned down by the LTB, indicating that the process involves scrutiny of the costs claimed by landlords.
