Toronto tenants, landlord reach agreement after lengthy rent dispute

Tenants at three buildings in Toronto’s east end and their landlord say they have reached an agreement to end a public battle that lasted more than two years.

Tenants at three buildings in Toronto’s east end and their landlord say they have reached an agreement to end a public battle that lasted more than two years.

In May 2023, around 100 residents of 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive in East York stopped paying rent to protest what they said were deteriorating building conditions amid a rent hike.

The landlord, Starlight Investments, and renters who had been staring down eviction notices say they have reached an “amicable” deal without providing further details because the terms of the agreement are confidential.

They say tenants are no longer withholding rent.

Philip Zigman, a tenant organizer who worked with the Thorncliffe Park Drive residents, says the fact that tenants got an acceptable agreement “speaks to the power of working class organizing.”

He says the residents have set an example that could encourage other Toronto tenants to organize and start their own rent strikes when they are facing similar issues in their buildings.

Their efforts drew media attention, inspired praise from activists and their collective action was followed by similar rent strikes pushing back against landlords.

In the months after the Thorncliffe renters made the first move, the residents of 33 King Street and 22 John Street in Toronto’s west and tenants at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Avenue West in the city’s north also began their own rent strikes.