St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik said he's confident most landlords in the city are doing their best to ensure tenants have a safe, affordable space to call home.

But after hearing concerns of tenants living in a 40-unit apartment building at 2B Arlington Ave. who feel they are being harassed, Sendzik said the city may have to take action if the situation escalates.

"We have a housing crisis. We have an affordability crisis when it comes to housing. This is a notice to landlords out there who feel they want to evict people to make more money — the city has tools in its toolbox to help in some ways to protect the tenant as well," he said.

"If we start seeing more examples like this, we'll have to look at our licencing bylaw and bring that back to the table to see if we can start creating some regulations that will prevent them from doing this kind of stuff."

Rents are regulated by the provincial government through the Landlord and Tenant Act, but Sendzik said the city can impose additional regulations on rental properties.

Kasey Wong, the landlord at the Arlington Avenue building, has denied tenants' allegations. He says he's required to provide notices threatening eviction if payment is late — or even a penny short — and he would only pursue eviction if he had no other choice.

Tenants, however, remain concerned.

Niagara Community Legal Clinic executive director Aidan Johnson said his office is seeing a significant increase in similar concerns among tenants at other buildings around the region, as housing prices continue to increase.

A National Rent Report, published Friday by website rentals.ca/national-rent-report, lists St. Catharines as the 16th-most expensive city in Canada for its average cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment at $1,244. That's a six per cent increase over December.

Johnson said his office staff are also seeing increases in the number of tenants they're assisting.

"Clearly the problem is getting worse. What we're seeing is an escalation of longstanding problems," he said. "The dark side of property values going up in Niagara is the housing crisis and violations of tenant rights."

Although rent increases are limited for existing tenants, landlords can charge higher rents when new ones move in. As a result, he said, "landlords have an incentive to evict."

"As property values in Niagara increase, we are seeing a trend of landlords who use every means at their disposal to increase rents, and that does include advocating for evictions so as to facilitate higher rents," he said.

"We have a housing crisis in Niagara, and the work that our legal clinic does is part of the solution to the housing crisis. We keep people who are very close to being homeless, housed."

Sendzik, who also chairs Niagara Regional Housing's board of directors, said the social housing agency feels added pressures as a result of those issues.

"When people are expecting to be evicted and they can't afford the rent that's going up in double digits, it puts a downward pressure on Niagara Regional Housing because our wait list becomes even greater."

He lauded the residents of a St. Catharines apartment building who recently took steps to organize, while reaching out to Niagara Community Legal Clinic and MPP Jennie Stevens for assistance.

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"If it wasn't for them reaching out to legal aid, if it wasn't for them working with the landlord tenant board, what essentially happens is they fall through the cracks," he said.

"If they don't have the right support, they … end up on our waiting list and some of them could end up being homeless, living in shelters."

Johnson advised tenants of other buildings to take similar actions and form residence associations, especially if they have similar concerns.

"Tenants communicating with one another is a wonderful step," he said. "Tenants educating themselves and their neighbours about their legal rights is another great step."

Allan.Benner@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1629 | @abenner1

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