Housing in Ontario has gone from bad to worse. Renters in Ontario face skyrocketing rents, housing insecurity, and a lack of affordable options. Whether it’s through a false own-use eviction or a renoviction, the end result is the same: The absence of full rent control means renters are evicted from their homes just so landlords can make more money.
Now, new U.S. tariffs threaten to raise costs of living even higher!
The province has the power to protect renters. All they need to do is eliminate the loopholes that allow landlords to charge such high rents. It’s time to:
- Scrap the 2018 Rent Control Exemption for new builds;
- End Vacancy Decontrol; and
- Eliminate Above Guideline Rent Increases
New Blog Post!
August 11th, 2026 – Ontario’s vacancy decontrol loophole allows landlords to charge any amount they want for a rental unit after a tenant moves out. For financialized landlords, this turns tenant turnover into a profit-making strategy: the sooner a long-term tenant leaves, the sooner their home can be re-rented at a much higher price.
Vacancy decontrol rewards displacement and accelerates the loss of affordable housing:
- Long-term tenants become financial targets because their homes could generate significantly more rent if they were vacated.
- Affordable units disappear when landlords re-rent vacant homes at prices far above what the previous tenant paid.
- Lower-income, racialized, and immigrant communities are disproportionately affected, particularly in parts of Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke.
Research highlighted in our new blog found that eviction filings increased by 220% following acquisitions by Starlight Investments and by approximately 195% following acquisitions by Akelius, while rents increased by as much as 90% when units turned over.
When displacement becomes a business model, who pays the price?