Tenant Act needs more work

I was interested but disappointed by MPP Eric Hoskins’ column “[url=https://streeter.ca/residential-tenancies-act-works-to-protect-renters.html]Residential Tenancies Act works to protect renters[/url], ” September, 2010.

This Act is somewhat better than the former Tenant Protection Act; it couldn’t be worse. But the current law has failed to protect tenants from landlords who fail to maintain the rental property to even a minimum standard. Just ask the tenants of 200 Roehampton who filed an application based on 43 violations of the local bylaw. Twenty-two months after making the application, the Landlord Tenant Board has not made a decision. Justice delayed is justice denied.

The city has inspected 337 buildings in the last 20 months and found [url=http://www.toronto.ca/licensing/mrab.htm]19,631 deficiencies[/url].

Yet those tenants have continued to pay full rent and have not been protected from rent increases. I attended a meeting with the member’s staff and we pointed out that the board needs reform. Will the member fight for that?

Then he refers to the fact that the government will not allow a landlord to get an extra rent increased based on the Harmonized Sales Tax. This was a second best move. Applying the HST to heat or hydro was a mistake.

In fact, this is not an act of harmonizing but adding tax since the province formerly did not tax home heating or hydro. Further, about 24 percent of tenants pay their utilities directly and they will have to bear the HST. This number will grow as more and more landlords turn to so-called smart meters.

Let us hope that the government gets more serious about protecting good tenants. Let us hope that with an election coming up next year, tenants will demand better from government.

Dan McIntyre
Tenant Advocate
Dunfield Ave.