Illustration by Kumé Pather

In this issue

Editor's Letter by Nicholas Hune-Brown

How We Misunderstand the Housing Crisis

The “housing crisis” isn’t a crisis for everyone—for some it’s a windfall. That fact infuses every aspect of our response to it.

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Feature by Tahmeed Shafiq

At the Landlord and Tenant Board, Tenants Wait Twice as Long as Their Landlords

Applications by tenants take up to seven months longer than those by landlords. Behind this disparity is a skewed system of Zoom hearings and inexperienced adjudicators that can’t keep up with a mile-high case backlog.

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Feature by Jason McBride

Meet Your New Landlord: a Local Non-Profit

The Neighbourhood Land Trust has been snapping up buildings across Toronto, taking them off the market and into the community. Over 200 units later, they say they’re ready to do much more.

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Feature by Sakeina Syed

What It Takes to Get Someone Housed

Each day, housing support workers like Madison McElroy are asked to do the near impossible: get clients out of homelessness and onto a lease in the midst of a raging rental crisis.

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Short Feature by Steph Wong Ken

Stuck in Social Housing

With an 80,000-household waitlist, just getting affordable housing is hard enough. But once they’re in, residents find themselves with few options to leave.

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Feature by Inori Roy

When a Guest Takes Over

Unit takeovers are a hidden crisis in Toronto social housing, at the intersection of unaffordability, social isolation, and an epidemic of addiction.

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Feature by Ashley Okwuosa

The Realities of Renting While Black

Black renters have always faced discrimination in Toronto. The rental crisis makes it worse.

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Feature by H.G. Watson

The Airbnb Loophole Pushing Out Long-Term Tenants

Despite regulations, short-term rentals continue to keep apartments off the market in neighbourhoods like Kensington Market.

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News by Olivia Rania Bowden

How to Protect Seniors From Eviction

A new report on seniors in TCHC buildings shows that current eviction prevention methods need to be strengthened.

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News by Tahmeed Shafiq

Landlord and Tenant Board Wait Times Continue to Grow

Wait times for tenant cases have risen by four months since last count, as a new report from the Ontario Ombudsman declares the LTB to be “fundamentally failing in its role.”