Residents of four apartment buildings in east Hamilton are holding a rent strike next month to protest their landlord's push for higher rates.

The proposed increase would work out to nearly 10 per cent over two years, say organizers of the strike in the highrises just east of Centennial Parkway and south of Barton Street East.

Resident Jolly Augusthy said an extra $76 to rent her family's two-bedroom unit on Grandville Avenue means sacrificing about five days of groceries for her two young children.

But moving out their home of two-and-half years isn't a viable option, she said.

"I was actually checking it out in surrounding areas. I think all around the city, the rent is going up and up. The hard thing is the availability."

So Augusthy, 47, will join her fellow tenants in withholding her rent of $782 as of May 1 until CLV Group withdraws its application and addresses problems in units.

CLV, property manager for owner InterRent, is seeking an increase from tenants that's above the annual guideline set by the Ontario government, which is 1.8 per cent this year.

Above-guideline increases (AGI) are meant to cover significant renovations to address structural problems, health and safety, plumbing, heating or electrical issues, for instance.

But residents argue their landlord's AGI wrongfully asks them to pay for cosmetic upgrades in common areas, while they've put up with drafty windows, poor heating, broken cabinets, old appliances and busted floor tiles.

A CLV representative didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but previously a spokesperson said the property manager "strictly" follows "all rules and regulations" for AGIs. Roseanne MacDonald-Holtman added when CLV took over the buildings, they needed "a very substantial amount of maintenance, repair and capital investment."

Brendan Jowett, a lawyer with the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, called it "absurd" that large landlords would need to tap renters for costs.

Arun Pathak, president of the Hamilton and District Apartment Association, countered that Ontario's aging rental stock badly needs upgrades and would continue to deteriorate were it not for AGIs.

The Stoney Creek Towers includes 50 Violet Dr., 77 Delawana Dr., 11 Grandville Ave. and 40 Grandville Ave.

A group of residents took their fight last Friday to the Landlord and Tenant Board where they'd hoped to reach a compromise with CLV. No agreement was reached.

But the tenants found "huge inspiration" in recent high-profile rent strikes in Toronto, notably in the Parkdale neighbourhood, said Emily Power, a member of Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Network.

Kevin M.A. Laforest, the residents' legal representative, said renters in general face a "gross power imbalance" in hike fights.

The disclosure for this case is 1,100 pages long, for instance, and tenants are typically hard-pressed to pay expert witnesses, which large landlords are able to do, LaForest said.

Ontario's rental dispute system is generally stacked against tenants, said Jowett, whose office is helping the tenants.

This is where rent strikes are advantageous, he said. "What tenants have is numbers, and this is a way for tenants to show their dissatisfaction at the regime."

But Pathak argues the Landlord and Tenant Board settles disputes fairly.

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"Obviously, some people do not agree with the process and that is something that should be taken up at Queen's Park to get the process changed."

Amid the dispute, CLV has renovated vacated units and charged higher rates to new arrivals to Stoney Creek Towers. In Ontario, there's no cap once an apartment is vacated.

CLV is advertising one-bedroom apartments at Stoney Creek Towers in the $1,300 range and two-bedrooms in the $1,400 range.

The landlord has offered cash incentives to encourage longtime tenants to leave. Some say they've felt pressured to vacate.

In December, MacDonald-Holtman said: "Our objective, and that of our dedicated staff, is to provide a safe, secure and comfortable environment for all of our residents."

On Wednesday, Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Paul Miller called "renoviction loopholes" a "systemic problem across our province, everywhere you look."

"We have got to make a change here," the NDP veteran said in a news release.

In an emailed response, Housing Minister Peter Milczyn said AGIs are "only allowed in exceptional circumstances," noting regular maintenance and cosmetic changes don't qualify.

"With respect to the issue of 'renovictions,' I am disturbed any time I hear of renovations being used as a pretense for removing a tenant and I take this issue very seriously."

The ministry's Housing Enforcement Unit is "investigating certain instances, and if warranted, charges will be laid," he added, noting he couldn't speak about specific cases.

Milcyzn said the Liberals have "worked to strengthen protection for tenants" by expanding rent control measures and creating a new standard lease, effective April 30, to "help eliminate illegal and confusing terms."

tmoro@thespec.com

905-526-3264 | @TeviahMoro