Various tenant groups in Ontario organize to fight rent hikes and evictions, sometimes with help from tenancy advocacy organizations. Below, we have compiled a list of some of the active groups and organizations. Additionally, we have included a second list of reports and analyses that can be useful for tenants who are resisting predatory landlordism. Please note that these lists are not exhaustive but simply the best of our knowledge as of the time of writing.
Organizations
- The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association (torontotenants.org) offers various tenant services, including support for tenants who want to organize to dispute AGIs. It also keeps a list of existing tenant groups and associations, torontotenants.org/associations
- RenovictionsTO (renovictionsto.ca) is a volunteer-run source of information and reports about landlord predatory practices and tenant-organized responses.
- The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (acto.ca/for-tenants) provides free legal advice to tenants and organizes advocacy campaigns around tenant rights.
- Over the years, ACORN (acorncanada.org) has organized several campaigns for stronger rent controls in Ontario.
Other active tenant groups fighting rent increases, AGIs, and demovictions in Ontario include:
- 312 Cumberland Tenants Circle (Ottawa): facebook.com/cumberlandtenants/
- 71, 75, and 79 Thorncliffe Park Tenants (Toronto): X: @tparktenants
- East Scarborough Tenants Union (Toronto): X: @eastscarbtu
- East York Tenants Group (Toronto): eastyorktenantsgroup.com
- Herongate Tenant Coalition (Ottawa): herongatetenants.ca
- High Park Tenants’ Association (Toronto): HPTA.ca/
- Katarokwi (Kingston) Union of Tenants: katarokwitenants.wordpress.com
- London Tenants: facebook.com/ldnonttenants/
- Niagara Tenants Union: facebook.com/niagaratenantsunion
- No Demovictions (Ontario-wide): nodemovictions.ca/
- Parkdale Organize (Toronto): parkdaleorganize.ca
- People’s Defence Toronto: X: @Peoples_Defence
- Tenant Association of Cornwall and Area: sdccornwall.ca/tacaalcr/
- Tenants of 146-170 Osgoode St (Ottawa): facebook.com/OsgoodeStRenovictions
- Trudelle St. Tenants Association (Toronto): X: @StTenant
- York South-Weston Tenant Union (Toronto): tenantunion.ca
Useful and recent studies and analysis
- ACORN, 2024, Ontario Renoviction Report 2024. https://acorncanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ontario-Renoviction-report-2024-2.pdf
- Cole Webber & Phillip Zigman, 2023, “Renovictions: Displacement and Resistance in Toronto,” RenovictionsTO, renovictionsto.com/reports.
- BCGEU, 2023, Evaluating Prospects for Vacancy Control Policy in B.C.’s Housing Affordability Crisis, AffordableBC, affordablebc.ca/vacancycontrolreport.
- Scott Leon, 2021, Hiking the rent when doing repairs: Above Guideline Increases in Toronto, Wellesley Institute, wellesleyinstitute.com/publications/hiking-the-rent-when-doing-repairs-above-guideline-increases-agis-in-toronto/.
- Anton Ösgård, 2021, “Sweden’s Collective Bargaining for Rents Must Be Defended,” Jacobin. jacobin.com/2021/07/sweden-left-party-social-democrats-housing-crisis.
- Phillip Zigman and Martine August, 2021, Above Guideline Rent Increases in the Age of Financialization, RenovictionsTO, renovictionsto.com/reports.
- Cole Webber and Ashley Doherty, 2021, “Staking out territory: District-based organizing in Toronto, Canada,” Radical Housing Journal 3 (1), radicalhousingjournal.org/2021/staking-out-territory/.
- CMHC, 2020, The Impact of Rent Control on Housing Affordability, cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/research-reports/housing-needs/research-insight-impact-rent-control-housing-affordability.
- Emily Power & Bjarke Skærlund Risager, 2019, “Rent-Striking the REIT,” Radical Housing Journal, 1 (2), radicalhousingjournal.org/2019/rent-striking-the-reit/.
- Phillip Mendonça-Vieira, 2018, “Actually, Rent Control Is Great: Revisiting Ontario’s Experience, the Supply of Housing, and Security of Tenure,” Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, http://okayfail.com/2018/rent-control-great-security-of-tenure.html.
