By Rein Tarinay
Toronto, Ontario — Eight percent. This is how much tenants of Tahanan Non-Profit Housing are facing in rent increases this year, nearly four times higher than Ontario’s 2026 rent increase guideline of 2.1%.
Residents staged a protest Friday afternoon, May 22, to kick off a rent strike rejecting the imposed rent hike. They called for rent control and demanded proper dialogue with the board of directors, whom they say have ignored their calls, emails, and letters.
Tahanan for the people, not for profit
The 44-unit social housing located at 6A Greenlaw Avenue in Davenport, has been the home for many Filipino families.
Mary Lopez, chair of 6A Greenlaw Tenants Association emphasized the community tenants have built over the decades. “We have support from our neighbors here. We eat together and help each other out when we need it. Our kids grew up together and we love this home.” Lopez said during her speech at the protest.
According to Lopez, who has lived at Tahanan for over 30 years, the housing was built for the Filipino community, many of whom are care workers, to have a safe and affordable building to call home. Tahanan, a Filipino word for home, was established with affordability in mind.
However the 8% rent increase will make it impossible for them to have safe, and affordable housing.
Lopez shared that Tahanan welcomed her when she first came to Canada as a teenager. Now, her children are being raised there.
“We know the whole community, this is our home. If even one person is pushed out, it will affect all of us as a community. We are all together here, united. We are family more than anything else. This is important to us because these are our friends and families. This is our home. Tahanan Non Profit Homes is for people not for profit. The board of directors needs to understand that,” Lopez added.
In an interview, one of the elderly residents lamented that even commercial and private apartment buildings are not imposing an 8% rent increase, while showing notes tracking how much Tahanan rent has gone up over the years.
According to the tenant, who rents a one bed-room unit, the 8% rent increase is unjust for the residents who are mostly elderly, living on fixed income, and Filipino healthcare workers in the city.
Transparency and accountability
According to the 6A Greenlaw Tenants Association, when the Board of Directors told them about the increase, they did not provide details or justification.
Many tenants say they cannot afford an 8% increase.
“This 8% is too much. We cannot really afford this. This building was built for lower-income people. We cannot afford to pay the 8%,” said Edith, a member of the Tenants Association.
The tenants first learned about the increase in January and said they were appalled. They tried reaching out to the Board but received no response to emails, letters, or calls.
Mary Lopez, chair of the Tenant Association said they had to show up to a board meeting uninvited, where they were able to schedule a meeting.
At that set meeting, the association arrived prepared with a list compiled detailing programs Tahanan may be eligible for to fund building repairs.
“We asked them if they had applied for these programs. They admitted they had not applied to a single one. Their first instinct was to drop an 8% increase on our heads. They need to do their homework,” Lopez said.
“We had no choice but to go on rent strike since none of our questions have been answered and the increase is still active. We have a lot of concerns about transparency and governance. These need to be addressed. We say to the Board: show us the books, and do your homework to fund these repairs through programs made for buildings like this.”
The 6A Greenlaw Tenants Association has drawn the support of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) and the Toronto Tenant Union (TTU).
Isaac, a member of the Toronto Tenant Union, said the increase effectively means paying an additional month’s worth of rent over the course of a year.
“This rent hike came completely out of nowhere. They cited repairs as the reason, but haven’t shared what those repairs are, how much they cost, or how they calculated the 8% increase,” Isaac said.
“Non-profits can access funding from the city and province for major capital repairs if needed. But when tenants compiled a list of these programs and asked the Board whether they had applied, they admitted they hadn’t applied to any. This is one of the last truly affordable housing in Toronto,” Isaac ended. -30-
