Renters in region set to share their concerns at a town hall meeting

A housing advocacy group is trying to get a better overall picture of the issues renters and low-income earners face in the region.

They’ve been fighting against renovictions across the province, after seeing a rise in issues since the Ontario government removed rent control on buildings built in 2018 or after.

Community members are being invited to share their voices at a town hall planned for Jan. 25 at the Kitchener Public Library. It’s hosted by ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

“There was a conscience decision to remove rent control by people who claim that Canada is not for sale, but Ontario clearly is for sale,” Ryan Murdock, Secretary of the local ACORN chapter, said.

“There’s now incentive to demolish old affordable apartments and replace them with a new build because then that new build is not rent controlled.”

Waterloo Region’s ACORN chapter has held numerous rallies over the last year trying to get Kitchener to adopt a renoviction bylaw that protects renters from being removed from handing them “an N13” – a notice given to tenants to remove them for renovations.

Over in Hamilton, their ACORN members were able to win an anti-renoviction bylaw, which came into effect at the start of the year. It requires landlords to apply for renovation licenses, pay a fee of $715, submit documentation and arrange temporary accommodations for tenants who use their right to return without having the rent rise.

Guest speakers will be at the town hall Saturday, including a Hamilton ACORN organizer to share how they won.

“We hope to be able to really learn from that and take heart from that in our fight here,” said Murdock.

“We want to hold an open discussion of issues that people are facing across the region and just get a broader spectrum of what people are facing.”

ACORN holds meetings each month which dictate the direction they move, their hoping community members will take part in the town hall not just from Kitchener-Waterloo but from Cambridge and the Townships too.

Murdock added that people in small towns are being renovicted too or pushed out of their homes, they want them to come out to share their voice.

ACORN’s local chapter is trying to get a better sense of the numbers so organizers plan to launch a new survey, which they think will help show the number of people impacted, what’s impacting renters in the region the most and get a look at how low-income earners really feel.

“This is an important issue for many constituents, and it needs to be an issue in the upcoming election.”