The following blog is provided courtesy of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)

(Toronto) June 6, 2013 – Tenant advocates call for change at Canada’s largest social housing landlord in response to a damning evidence of mistreatment of senior tenants contained in a report introduced this morning by the City of Toronto Ombudsman, Fiona Crean.

“The Ombudsman found Toronto’s most vulnerable continue to be afraid of losing their home,” said Grace Pluchino from Downsview Community Legal Services. “Everyone has the right to housing and TCHC has the right to collect the rent, the point in which we disagree is how they go about rent collection – which does not maintain the tenants’ dignity.”

On February 27, 2013, the Ontario Government reintroduced the Non-Profit Housing Co-operative Statute Amendment Act, 2013 as Bill 14. In May the Bill passed second reading and has gone to the Standing Committee. With cross-party support from the NDP and the PCs, the Bill is expected to pass into law fairly quickly.

Most recipients of Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) are aware that the provincial government ended the CSUMB benefit as of January 1, 2013. What many people don’t know however is that municipalities were instructed by the province to create new Community Homelessness Prevention Initiatives (CHPI), including the Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF).  Toronto Employment and Social Services (TESS) did so, but officials have advised Toronto legal clinics that the requests for Housing Stabilization Fund assistance are quite low. NLS wants to help get the word out that some additional forms of assistance are still possible. 

This article is provided courtesy of CLEO

At this time of year, many tenants are moving into new places. And while moving can be a fresh start, sometimes problems with a previous landlord can linger.

This month's On the Radar looks at what the law says about some of the most common of these scenarios.