Webster Street tenants relieved after landlord backs off, ending 2.5-year renoviction battle

Tenants at an east London high-rise apartment complex will no longer have to move out of their homes as their landlord officially withdrew his application to evict them to do renovations and raise rent, ending a lengthy renoviction fight.

Dozens of residents at 1270 and 1280 Webster Street learned less than a week before their Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) hearing that their landlord had dropped an appeal that was filed in April 2023.

"It's been a nightmare the entire time, so to get to this point is absolutely wonderful," said Sharon Hodgson, who has lived at 1270 Webster for eight years.

"We're all in a bit of shock because we've been harassed and dealing with this for so long. Myself and other tenants have been living in boxes because we never knew when we'd be kicked out."

The seven-storey buildings were purchased in March 2023 for $2.3 million by Toronto-based Webster Apartments Inc. The director is listed as Michael Klein with a Toronto mailing address.

One month later, several residents, many of whom were seniors and low-to-middle-income earners, began receiving orders to vacate their units as the landlord planned to conduct repairs.

Hodgson said since then, tenants have dealt with alleged acts of intimidation, such as threats from property management, refusals to perform regular maintenance and increasing charges for utilities already included, such as parking. About a third of residents moved out as a result.

"Tenants were being told if they don't comply, they are going to lose their home and they'll have no place to live," she said. "And that scared a lot of people because they couldn't find places to live."

Klein's legal representative said he cannot comment on the matter as it is before the LTB.

In response, tenants joined forces with the tenants' advocacy group ACORN and held several protests. Their efforts gained the attention of city officials, who passed London's renoviction bylaw in September 2024.

The bylaw, in effect since March, requires landlords to pay a $600 licensing fee within one week of issuing an N13 eviction notice. They must also provide a certified engineer's or architect's report showing that units need to be vacant during renovations, as well as an information package advising tenants of their rights. Fines range from $1,000 to $5,000 per unit for violations.

ACORN praised the Webster Street outcome as a win for grassroots organizing.

"This win was only made possible because of persistent community organizing and direct action. Even when those in power fail us and the law is not on our side, we can still win – but only when we organize," the group said in a statement.

"With the massive growth of large corporate landlords acquiring more and more below-market rentals to flip them for profit, and the growing playbook of tactics used to push long-term tenants out, the housing crisis we're in is only getting worse."

Tenant advocates say London's bylaw doesn't go far enough. They want landlords to cover rent top-ups for displaced tenants and to take responsibility for finding alternate housing. Under provincial law, landlords must currently provide three months' rent when evicting for renovations.

City staff have said rent top-ups may create a loophole where landlords can get exemptions if a tight housing market prevents them from providing relocation. They also said compensation from the city will complicate the licensing process and possibly delay it.

Staff will monitor the bylaw to see how it's working throughout its first year and report results to council. The bylaw has also set a precedent for other cities such as Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, which have similar requirements.

For Hodgson, the fight has been an empowering experience that taught her about the holes in the system.

"These systems are supposed to support tenants and anyone vulnerable, and renoviction is a direct path to homelessness," she said.

"It's completely unacceptable to tell people they don't have a right to stay in their own home because we have a right to make more profit than we are currently making."

ACORN said it will continue advocating for the province to set a cap on how much landlords can increase rent when tenants move out, and for federal standards for tenants' rights.