“A broken, unfair system:” NDP calls for an end to predatory rent gouging as LTB continues to prioritize requests from corporate landlords

TORONTO – Ontario NDP MPP Jill Andrew (Toronto – St. Paul) is renewing her call to ban Above Guideline Rent Increases (AGIs) that benefit real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other corporate landlords after media reports showed that the Landlord Tenant Board has prioritized rent increase applications filed by Starlight/PSP Investments amidst ongoing tenant action in their Thorncliffe Park buildings.

“The Landlord and Tenant Board is a broken system that is not working for anyone, except for corporations targeting low-income Ontarians, including seniors, with predatory above guideline rent increases,” said Andrew.

“The tenant action seen in buildings across the city is not about non-payment of rent; something these tenants have done each month for years, if not decades. It’s about standing up against unabashed corporate greed that is pricing Ontarians out of their homes.

AGIs serve as a loophole for what little protection is left for affordable rentals across the province. Corporations like Starlight/PSP Investments have repeatedly used this tool to increase profits at the expense of tenants who are already struggling through a cost-of-living crisis.

As the LTB faces backlogs that compromise housing rights across the province, we need to ensure a fair and efficient process. Instead, multi-million-dollar corporations are being pushed to the front of the line to exploit this loophole, making life even less affordable for Ontarians. It’s time the Ford government wakes up to this reality and cuts off their gravy train at the source.”

Earlier this year, Andrew tabled another motion in the Legislature calling for a ban on AGI requests filed by REITs like Starlight/PSP Investments. Her earlier motion tabled in 2021 was voted down by the Ford government in 2021.