London political candidates pitch rental policies at downtown tenant rights rally

Tenant rights advocates rallied in downtown London, Tuesday, calling on provincial political parties to tighten rent controls and put housing affordability at the forefront, with the provincial election days away.

The rally, organized by tenant advocacy group ACORN, invited candidates from all political parties to discuss their plans to tackle the high cost of rental housing.

"We're here because we've got an election coming up, and our top priority is rent control. We're trying to get people to pay attention," said Jordan Smith, chair of the Carling-Stoneybrook chapter of London ACORN.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rental costs have exploded across Canada. Following an initial period of rapid increases, now rent has started to level off in London, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Still, the average price of a one-bedroom rental in the city exceeds what people living on government support or minimum wage can often afford. Factors like renovictions and Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) delays continue to cause issues for renters, according to ACORN.

Prior to the rally, ACORN encouraged provincial parties to adopt the group's recommendations, including full rent control that applies to all buildings, includes vacant units and bans many above guideline rent increases.

Currently, any apartment, house, condo, basement or mobile home that someone has lived in since before Nov. 15, 2018 is covered by rent control, which limits yearly rent increases to 2.5 per cent.

The provincial Liberals and NDP had candidates at the rally. The Green party sent a representative. Ontario's Progressive Conservatives were invited, but did not attend, Smith said.

"It's disappointing. ACORN in an apolitical organization. We're ready to work with any candidate who supports what's necessary to protect the poor and working class," Smith said.

The PCs have been criticized throughout the election for seldom having their candidates attend events and debates in their ridings with the reasoning that those candidates are busy meeting voters at their front doors.

"It's not really surprising because they haven't shown up to anything. It's questionable how they're looking to solve these problems and these crises on the ground when they're not even willing to show up," Smith said.

Terence Kernaghan, the NDP's candidate for London North Centre, took aim at decisions made by PC and Liberal governments at the rally — including the last provincial Liberal government's decision to remove rent control from vacant apartments.

"What that became was an unwritten incentive to kick good, long-term tenants out of their homes, to renovict them, to harass them and bother them until they left their home, so that they could jack up the rent," Kernaghan said. 

The NDP candidate's case for his party pointed to its recently unveiled platform, which includes more affordable housing and directives for municipalities to create more student housing.