Federal New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh has joined residents of 1270 and 1280 Webster St. in their fight against renovictions.
Singh was in London Friday and joined by London—Fanshawe MP Lindsay Mathyssen in announcing a bold new plan that would protect tenants who rent affordable housing units, like those of the Webster Street apartment buildings.
“Let’s put a moratorium on any purchase of these types of rental buildings by for-profit corporations. Let’s put an end to that. Let’s stop that from happening, period," Singh said. "In addition, we would set up an acquisition fund, that’s to allow for buildings like this to be purchased by municipalities or not-for-profit organizations - local community organizations committed to keeping rents low, or even lowering them further.”
Singh acknowledged the tough spot tenants of 1270 and 1280 Webster St. were put in after a Toronto-based landlord took ownership of the buildings. N13 notices were reportedly stuffed under the doors of 20 residents, telling them they had until August 31 to move out.
"To not know if you’re going to have a roof over your head is so scary, it fills people with so much stress, and these people behind me are living that right now," Singh said. "All because a corporation, based in Toronto, has purchased these buildings with the sole purpose of evicting, renovating, and jacking up the rents to make more profit.”
Current tenants pay an average of $900 a month to live in the apartment building, but Singh claims that average rent in London has skyrocketed to $1,700 in recent years - almost double what these folks have budgeted for.
Melody Elsey and Jonathan Sanderson are two longtime tenants of the apartment buildings on Webster Street who were blindsided by the eviction notice.
Sanderson has lived in his unit for 23 years and had no plans to leave. He is on Ontario's Disability Support Program (ODSP) which helps him afford rent.
“I’m 42-years-old and I try to be self-sufficient. Living in my mom and dad’s basement is not an ideal plan," Sanderson said. "I would not just be losing my apartment, I would be losing my home in London of 23 years.”
Elsey, on the other hand, has lived in her apartment for 11 years. She had been thinking about leaving the city before any of this transpired.
"My fiancé and I were planning on moving eventually anyway, but we wanted to move on our own terms, not be forced to move, not because we have to," she said.
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Many of the effected residents described the situation as a form of bullying. Tenants were not informed of their rights, and standard procedure for evictions has not been followed by the new building owners.
"Their bullying has worked on some people. They’re attacking the most vulnerable. There’s a lot of people on ODSP, on pensions, that are living in these buildings," Elsey said. They’re attacking all the people who have been here the longest, as well, because we’re paying cheaper rent than some.”
The proposed legislation Singh announced on Friday was met with mixed reactions. Some tenants felt supported by the NDP, while others questioned the feasibility of the plan.
To this, Singh responded that the NDP in British Columbia have already managed to put a similar acquisition fund in place. A version of that plan could be enacted at the federal level.
Locally, London ACORN has been on the case. Member Nawton Chiles shared some of the ways his organization has been supporting tenants of 1270 and 1280 Webster St.
“We’ve been getting tenants in contact with legal resources, we’ve been informing them of their rights, trying to help find strategies when it goes to the Landlord Tenant Board," he said. "And, of course, we’re doing on-site actions like the action today, the action a few weeks ago, and the action we’re going to be having at city hall shortly.”
London ACORN is pressuring London's municipal government to impose a Landlord Licensing Bylaw to protect future renters from getting into similar situations.
"Housing is a human right, it is a human need, and it should not be treated like a commodity to be bought and sold on the marketplace," Chiles added.
The newly-established ACORN chapter is attending London's City Hall on June 6 in hopes of flooding the council meeting with tenant voices.