R E N T C O N T R O L N O W !!!

To: Marie-Josée Houle, Federal Housing Advocate

We are students of Toronto Metropolitan University. We are witnessing the devastating effects of rent de-control! Government complacency amid Toronto's rental housing crisis is leading to astronomical rent increases, widespread renovictions, demovictions, displacement, loss, and homelessness.

In 2018, your federal government passed legislation recognizing housing as a human right. But we are yet to see this law implemented and enforced. Vacant rental units remain uncontrolled, and the Ontario provincial government removed rent control on all new units built after 2018. Predatory, institutional investors are emboldened by these weak rental policies – buying up Toronto’s purpose-built rentals at unprecedented rates, inflating the prices and permanently removing them from our city’s affordable housing stock.

We call on you, and Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, to enforce - in a manner that reflects the urgency and gravity of this issue - Canada’s housing as a human rights legislation. We demand immediate action from you, along with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, as follows:
• Immediate repeal of 2018's Bill 57 that de-controls rent on newly built units
• Immediate enforcement of vacant-unit rent control to curb predatory rental inflation
• Immediate ban on above-guideline-rent increases (AGIs) for corporate and financialized landlords
• Imposition of policy that forbids the purchase of purpose-built and affordable housing stock by large investment firms and financialized landlords (REITs)
• Increase fines and accountability for renovictions
• Create a mandatory rental housing registry to protect tenants and provide transparency and history of rent, land owner, previous issues, etc.