Tenants intend to purchase building to avoid rent hikes, renoviction

A group of tenants are taking action to protect themselves from rent hikes or redevelopment. With the cost of rent skyrocketing, and their building up for sale, the residents of 272 Caroline Street South are forming a co-op, with the intent to purchase the property and manage it themselves.

The idea is being supported by the local Ward 2 councillor Cameron Kroetsch,
who brought a motion before the emergency and community services committee on Thursday, asking the city to contribute $84,000 from his ward’s capital reinvestment reserve, to help with the down payment.

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James Reynolds has lived at 272 Caroline Street South for more than three decades, “in 30 years my rent has not really gone up, and being on pension, a fixed income, this co-op thing is what I want.”

When his building went up for sale in December, he became concerned it could be sold to a developer, and worried about what would happen if he ended up having to find a new apartment at market price.

When he heard fellow tenant and housing advocate Emily Power’s idea to form a non-profit housing co-operative to buy the place, to keep rents low and ensure everyone can stay, he was on board. All the residents of the 21-unit building are also on board.

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“We’ve all heard the stories about cash for keys, pressure, and renovictions in Hamilton and we thought if an investor bought the building for the price the landlord is asking, it would be just a matter of time before they would try and push us out,” Power said.

Andrew Robertson is the current owner and says he and the tenants have a conditional sale agreement, with inspections and due diligence work underway, “I support the idea of what these guys are trying to do, but at the end of the day it’s all about business.”

The final price is still being negotiated. The building was originally listed as $5,250,000.

Kroetsch and city staff are working with the tenants to help them buy the building through rental subsidies and an $84,000 grant.

Kroetsch says this could be a model for helping other Hamiltonians protect their affordable housing, “We’d have to think about funding this from our operating budget in terms of if we’re going to be expanding our rental subsidy program if we are going to be offering these kinds of services, there’s no chance we have a sustainable model set up at this point to do this in a really broad way.”

His motion to give the tenants the $84,000 passed unanimously Thursday afternoon at the emergency and community services committee meeting.

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