On Friday, May 22nd, a crowd of approximately 40 residents and community supporters gathered for a press conference and rally outside of Tahanan Homes, a small apartment building tucked up in a quiet neighbourhood north of Davenport Rd and Lansdowne Ave in Toronto. During the press conference, tenants of the building (supported by the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations and Toronto Tenant Union) announced a rent strike after being hit with an 8% rent increase this past January.
Tenants of Tahanan Homes condemned the unexpected increase, which is notably almost four times higher than Ontario’s 2026 rent control guideline of 2.1%. The Above-Guideline Increase (AGI) comes via a legal loophole in which designated housing projects like Tahanan Homes are exempt from the prohibition of rent increases beyond the provincial guidelines. In previous years, the tenants’ rent has gone up in accordance with the provincial guidelines, making the 8% increase a shock, especially in a time where the cost of living is becoming increasingly unaffordable for renters across the city.
Tenants betrayed by non-profit landlord
Tahanan Homes, named for the Tagalog word for “home,” is a 44-unit social housing complex whose tenants are working-class Filipino families. The Tahanan Non Profit Homes Corporation — the non-profit organization that runs Tahanan Homes — was established in the early 1990s specifically to provide affordable housing for the Filipino community. Today, the building reportedly offers a combination of Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) units and market-rent units. There has been an active Tenant Association for the building since 2009.
“This building was built for Filipino communities, many of whom are care workers, to have a safe and affordable building to call home. Today this is some of the last truly affordable housing left in Toronto and it’s very important to have our voice be heard. We cannot afford 8%,” said Mary, a resident and the chair of the Tahanan Tenant Association.
Tenants also demanded financial transparency from the non-profit’s board who have stated the price increase was needed for “building repairs”. Tenants claim that repeated requests for budget details, minutes from board meetings, board members’ detailed expenses, and justification for the 8% figure have been ignored.
Tenants also stated they were forced to crash a board meeting without notice, showing up with a well-researched list of programs that Tahanan Homes is eligible to apply to for funding for repairs. Tenants said that during this confrontation the board admitted to not applying for any funding opportunities that would potentially help pay for repairs — instead, they opted to transfer the financial burden directly to tenants.
“We are withholding our rent until the board explains how they got to this rent increase, and shows us they have done their best to find the funding elsewhere,” said Edith Mendoza, a tenant leader, during her speech at the rally.
Tahanan tenants setting the tone for Toronto
Following the press conference and rally the crowd marched through the neighbourhood with signs and chants, creating a visible presence for their demands.
This is the first rent strike action happening under the banner of the Toronto Tenants Union, which launched on April 18th. The Toronto Tenants Union is an expansion of the successful York-South Weston Tenant Union, and is now dedicated to protecting renters’ rights city-wide.
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