Apartment Tenants in Stoney Creek on rent strike

Tenants in four different apartment buildings in Stoney Creek are on a “rent strike”, after the property manager proposed a rent increase of nearly ten percent over two years. The tenants feel they’re being priced out of their homes in favour of newer higher paying renters.

80 year old George Direkze cannot use his balcony at 77 Delawana Drive he said that’s not the worst of the problems in the building.

“There’s a lady up here who’s been here for 34 years she’s got a piece of pressboard for window and she’s 92 years old.”

The property manager of the Stoney Creek Towers east of Centennial Parkway, are asking for a rent hike of 4.8% each of the next two years.

That’s why George, and over a hundred other residents have withheld their rents this month

“We are all working class people here and if they raise the rent at that rate a lot of us will lose our places here.”

Landlords can increase rent 1.8% this year, but apply for more of an increase if renovations or significant repairs have been made to the property. While tenants have said the inside of their units need fixing, they admit cosmetic work has been done to the exterior of the buildings.