The tenant rent strike in Toronto's York South-Weston community first gained traction in June, when approximately 200 residents at 33 King St. — located near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West — refused to pay rent in protest of their corporate landlord, Dream. 

On July 1, tenants of another Dream-owned high-rise building in the community, 22 John St., joined their neighbours in the strike. 

33 King and 22 John share the same corporate landlord, Dream Unlimited, who has over $16 billion in assets and 30,000 rental units under its control. pic.twitter.com/5y0IjMJNvA

— YSW Tenant Union (@YSWtenants) July 15, 2023

Now, a coalition of climate groups is gearing up to deliver an open letter to Dream Unlimited's downtown Toronto headquarters to support tenants at both buildings who are rent-striking against what they call "excessive rent increases." 

According to the York South-Weston Tenant Union, the corporate landlord has attributed the double-digit rent increases to "decarbonization" renovations to reduce emissions. 

“For the last 6 months, Dream has been shopping around to local community organizations seeking to donate moderate sums of money, but amount of so-called charity will fix the problems they have created & intensified by increasing rents so exuberantly.” - Bryan Douthwright, WKNC pic.twitter.com/EisO6MTMsx

— YSW Tenant Union (@YSWtenants) July 15, 2023

However, the coalition of climate groups has now come forward to reaffirm and support the tenants' demands. In a press release, the coalition condemned the "greenwashing of rent increases" and stood against "green retrofitting that displaces tenants." 

Tenants in both buildings, which together house over 300 units, gathered to protest "years of rent increases and mismanagement" in a Rally for Fair Rent on July 15. The group claims that the owners of the two buildings have used a controversial tool called "above guideline rent increases," otherwise known as "AGIs," to increase rents over the past few years. 

“Whose wage goes up 10 percent every year? Not mine. Not my neighbours’. Just Michael Cooper’s.”

- Anthony Alao, tenant leader at 22 John & @YSWtenants.

Michael Cooper is CEO of Dream Unlimited, whose latest financial statements boast 50% of the rent they collect as profit. pic.twitter.com/uwTQPc9kkp

— YSW Tenant Union (@YSWtenants) July 15, 2023

Despite living in a rent-controlled building, tenants at 33 King St. claim to have seen rent increase by 22 per cent in the last five years, while tenants at 22 John St. claim to have seen rent increases from seven to 10 per cent year-over-year, even though the building only opened up in 2018. 

According to the union, Dream boasts "over $16 billion in assets and 30,000 rental units" as a corporate landlord. 

Instead of sitting down to negotiate, Dream has tried to intimidate striking tenants.

1/ Every week they call tenants on rent strike demanding payment and send all kinds of notices, including N4 eviction notices... pic.twitter.com/JKMb0w1Qng

— YSW Tenant Union (@YSWtenants) July 11, 2023

Last month, members of the union met with Dream executives with three specific demands: to withdraw existing applications for above guidelines increases and follow rent control, to commit to no more AGIs in the building, and to pay tenants compensation for loss of services and amenities. 

However, the union alleges that the corporate landlord "failed to meaningfully engage with any of their demands," offering instead to collaborate with tenants on community programming.

.@UniforTheUnion supports the strike with a clear message from @Lanampayne:

“The fight for tenants’ rights is directly linked to our struggle for workers' rights, as such Unifor stands in full solidarity with striking tenants at 33 King & 22 John”

PS: thanks for the ponchos!✊ pic.twitter.com/oWd8KKoB66

— YSW Tenant Union (@YSWtenants) July 15, 2023

"This isn't about free rent, it's about fairness. We'll pay our rent when Dream Unlimited sits down to negotiate these excessive increases with us as a tenant union, but so far they only want to talk about 'community programming,'" said Sharlene Henry, co-chair of the tenant union. 

"We don't want charity. We want rent control." 

The coalition of climate groups is set to deliver the open letter on July 27 at Dream Unlimited's headquarters at 30 Adelaide St. E.