🚀 go-pugleaf

With continuing rumours being fueled by speaches by the Minister of 
Housing as well as the Premier himself, I can not say how much longer
this list will remain valid.


          Tenant Resources in Ontario
          by Bob Levitt (no rights reserved)

This text is meant as a resource for tenants in Ontario and
primarily the Metropolitan Toronto area.  

I am not presesntly actively involved in tenant matters, so do
not post to me nor e-mail me on these matters, as your questions 
will NOT be answered.  I am not a executive member nor on the
Board of any organizations of any sort.

I am posting this to give tenants sources of information and
some basic information so that you can help yourselves.

If anybody or preferably any organization would like to 
edit this document to add additional information and to
repost this information from time-to-time, I welcome 
your efforts.


Housing is regulated by the province and municipalities.
Housing issues are regulated by the Ontario Ministry of
Housing, (primarily under the Rent Control Act,) and 
by your particular municipality primarily under their
Building's Inspections and Health departments.
Rent increases are the jurisdiction of the province, and
building standards are first the jurisdiction of the
municipality but can also be taken to the province
(to prevent a rent increase or even initiate a rent 
rollback).

The Ontario Ministry of Housing has many publications that
will not only inform you of your rights but also your
obligations as a tenant.  It is a good idea to visit your
local Ministry office or call them to get free publications
such as:
     A Guide to The Landlord and Tenant Act <booklet>
     What is Maximum Rent? <booklet>
     What is The Rent Registry? <1 page>
     Rent Control and Tenants <booklet>
     What Tenants Should Know About A Rent Increase Above Guideline
                                                    <1 page>
     Maintenance and Repairs <booklet>
     Illegal Rent and Illegal Charges <1 page>
     Getting Your Money Back (Information for Tenants) <1 page>
     The 1995 Rent Control Guideline <1 page>

Ontario Ministry of Housing, Rent Control Programs Offices where
you should be able to get these publications are:

CENTRAL REGION

Etobicoke - City of York Office
5233 Dundas St. W. 4th Floor
Tel: (416) 236-2681

Mississauga Office
4 Robert Speck Parkway, Suite 550
Tel: (905) 270-3280
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

North York
47 Sheppard Ave. E., 4th Floor
Tel: (416) 314-9550

Scarborough - East York Office
1200 Markham Road, Suite 415
Tel: (416) 314-8640

Toronto City Office
56 Wellesley St. W, 8th Floor
Tel: (416) 326-9800 

SOUTHWESTERN REGION

Barrie Office
114 Worsley St, 5th Floor
Tel: (705) 737-2111
Toll-free: 1-800-461-2882

Hamilton Office
25 Main St. W, Suite 620
Tel: (905) 528-8701
Toll-free: 1-800-668-9565

Kitchener Office
30 Duke St. W, Suite 401
Tel: (519) 579-5790
Toll-free: 1-800-265-8926

London Office
240 Wharncliffe Rd. N, Suite 100
Tel: (519) 679-7270
Toll-free: 1-800-265-0937

Owen Sound Office
1077 Second Ave. East
Tel: (519) 376-3202
Toll-free: 1-800-265-3737

St. Catherines Office
43 Church St., Suite 505
Tel: (905) 684-6562
Toll-free: 1-800-263-4937

Windsor Office
880 Ouelliette Ave., Sute 302
Tel: (519) 253-3532
Toll-free: 1-800-265-6924

EASTERN REGION

Kingston Office
265 Ontario St., 1st Floor
Tel: (613) 548-6770
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

Oshawa Office
40 King St. W., Suite 700
Tel: (905) 723-8135
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

Ottawa Office
10 Rideau St., 3rd Floor
Tel: (613) 230-5114
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

Peterborough Office
139 George St. N., 1st Floor
Tel: (705) 743-9511
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

NORTHERN REGION

North Bay Office
189 Wyld Street
Tel: (705) 476-1231
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

Sudbury Office
128 Larch Street, 6th Floor
Tel: (705) 675-4373
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

Thunder Bay Office
540 West Arthur Street
Tel: (807) 475-1595
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000

Timmins Office
111 Wilson Avenue
Tel: (705) 264-9555
Toll-free: Ask operator for Zenith 9-6000


                                                            
GETTING REPAIRS DONE AND THE HEAT TURNED ON IN METROPOLITAN TORONTO

(Sorry I don't have this information for other regions so if
anybody wants to update this file with that information, 
please do so.  Outside of Metro Toronto you will have to look
in the blue section/government of your telephone directory
"White Pages" to get the appropriate number to call.)

- Contact your neighbours.  They may have similar problems
  If you act together you will be more effective.

- Call your landlord and tell them about the problem(s).
  Ask when they will be fixed.  Keep a written diary of the 
  dates of telephone calls and their subject as well as copies
  of all letters you send or receive for future reference.

- Write a leter to the landlord asking for the repair to be
  done.  give the date you first told the landlord about the
  problem.  Put in the date you expect the repair to be done
  by.

- If the repair is not done in reasonable time, call the local
  government department that looks after your problem.  (eg.
  Buildings and Inspections Department and/or their Health
  Department)  Make an appointment with an inspector to inspect
  your apartment (this is FREE).

  If you do not get the service you expect, call your 
  alderperson/city councillor or the Mayor's office to help you.
  Your local M.P.P.'s constituency office can also be of help.

- If the repair is still not done, contact a legal clinic or
  lawyer.  You may need to take your landlord to court, or take
  other legal action to get the work done.  

REMEMBER:  Document everything you can.  This documentation 
will be necessary if you take your landlord to court, or if
you want to prove neglect to prevent an "above guideline"
rent increase, or to get the province to order a rent
rollback.

Examples of repair problems include: no heat, no water,
cockroaches, mice, noise-problems and dirty conditions.

EAST YORK
Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to May 31 20�C/68�F
Property Standards Department -- 461-9451 (ext. 339)
Health Unit -------------------- 461-8136
Emergencies (after hours) ------ 461-8136

ETOBICOKE
Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to June 15 20�C/68�F
Property Standards Department -- 394-8002
Noise By-law ------------------- 394-8363
Health Department Swithboard --- 394-8000
Health Inspections ------------- 394-8272
Health (Emergencies after hours) 394-8615

NORTH YORK
Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to May 31 20�C/68�F
Property Standards Department -- 224-6043
Health Department -------------- 224-6315
Emergencies (after hours) ------ 224-6433

SCARBOROUGH
Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15 to May 31 20�C/68�F
Property Standards Department -- 396-7071
Health Inspections ------------- 396-7431
Emergencies (after hours) ------ 396-4808

TORONTO
Tenants must have heat: Sept. 15to June 1 21�C/70�F
Buildings Inspections Department
     East ---------------------- 392-0827
     North --------------------- 392-6940
     West ---------------------- 392-0855
     Central ------------------- 392-7559
     If you don't know your ward 392-7501
     Emergencies (after hours) - 392-7149
     Noise by-law -------------- 392-0791
Health Department -------------- 392-7401
Health (emergencies after hours) 392-7149

YORK
Tenants musthave heat: Sept. 15 to June 15 21�C/70�F
Property Standards Department -- 394-2534
Health Department -------------- 394-2436
Emergencies (after hours) ------ 394-2630


COMMUNITY LEGAL AND INFORMATION CLINICS

In addition to assisting you with specific problems these
offices will have information pamphlets which are very
informative on tenant and other issues.  Like the
Ministry of Housing pamphlets, they are good resources
for you to obtain, read, and keep for reference and they
are free.

Some tenant-specific pamphlets you should try to get
include:
     Privacy and Your Rights 
     Repairs and Maintenance
     Moving: Assigning and Subletting
     Pets
     Rent Increases
     Ontario's Rent Registry
     Eviction


Metro Tenants' Legal Services
720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 410
Toronto
(416) 926-9693

Bloor Information and Legal Sevices
1072 Dovercourt Road
Toronto
(416) 531-7376

Downsview Community Legal Services
520 Wilson Heights Blvd.
North York
(416) 635-8388

East Toronto Community Legal Services
785 Queen Street East
Toronto
(416) 461-8102

Flemingdon Community Legal Services
(Don Mills/East York area)
10 Gateway Blvd.
(416) 424-1965

Jane-Finch Community Legal Services
1315 Finch Ave. W., Suite 409
(416) 398-0677

Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services
489 College Street, Suite 205
(416) 924-4244

Mississauga Community Legal Service
130 Dundas Street East
Mississauga
(905) 896-2050

Parkdale Community Legal Services
165 Dufferin Street
Toronto
(416) 531-2411

Scarborough Community Legal Services
695 Markham Road
Scarborough
(416) 438-7182

York Community Services
1651 Keele Street
(416) 653-5400

If you are not in one of these areas and can't find your
community legal aid clinic in the telephone book, your
municipal, provincial and federal representative's office
which is in the phone book can give you the telephone
number for the closest legal aid clinics.


TENANT ORGANIZATIONS

Remember the only rights you have are the rights you are
informed about and fight for.

There are tenants' organizations that not only help to
inform you, they also help you to organize yourselves, and
they lobby for tenant rights with our governments.  They
lobby with the governments to keep rents at reasonable
affordable levels, and so deserve your support.

Most of the information is available and should first
be sought from the Ontario Ministry of Housing and from
your local legal and information clinics, but if you
are having difficulty in obtaining this information 
these groups can get it for you too.  Additionally
they have newsletters for members that inform you
about general and new issues for tenants, and they
will help your organize your own building associations
to get proper maintenance, and to fight against rent
increases.

Landlords have their own lobbying organizations to try 
to convince the various levels of governments to loosen
building and health standards and to deregulate rents.

The following organizations represent the voices of TENANTS
in government hearings and commissions.  Support them
and you are supporting yourself.
              
PROVINCIAL
UTOO - United Tenants of Ontario
(416) 927-8363
Outside of Toronto: 1-800-363-4208

GREATER METRO TORONTO AREA
FMTA - Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations
(416) 921-9494

OTTAWA
Federal of Ottawa-Carleton Tenants' Association
(613) 594-5429


Additional resouces may be found in your local telephone book
and the blue section (government) of your "White Pages".