About 100 households awaiting an eviction decision over a two-year rent strike say they rejected their landlord’s final settlement offer because it would “silence” them if future issues were to arise.
°Õ³ó±ðÌýtenantsÌýat 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe ParkÌýDr. stopped paying landlord Starlight Investments in 2023, claiming the landlord purposely left their apartments in disrepair and gave them unfair, unaffordable above-guideline rent increases (AGIs). The landlord said the AGIs were necessary to cover improvements to the building.
When settlement talks ordered by the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) broke down at the end of March, the landlord continued pursuing eviction, with hearings taking place over four days in June. A decision could come within weeks or months.
Tenants say a “non-disparagement” clause in the final offer was a sticking point.
According to documents shared with the Star, tenants would be forbidden from making “any false, disparaging, and/or defamatory” claims “that would be likely to harm, demean, or negatively affect” the landlord, its reputation and/or its business.
Tenant Sameer Beyan said tenantsÌýwere fine with forbidding false and defamatory claims, but they wanted “disparaging†removed.
The tenant association said they wanted to resolve the dispute, but the landlord would not do so “unless they could silence us.”
Starlight Investments, Canada’s largest private landlord, told the Star it cannot comment on the specificsÌýof the negotiations because they are private and privileged.
Penny Colomvakos, senior vice-president of residential operations and communications at Starlight, added however, that the firm “has never sought to prevent residents from raising concerns, and our intent in any interaction is to foster respectful dialogue.”
Negotiations broke down over clause, tenants say
When tenants went on rent strike in May 2023, their landlord applied to the LTB to evict them. The LTB later ordered tenants to pay rent in trust to the board for the months of November 2023 until March 2025,Ìýwhen it ordered tenants to resume paying their landlord directly. In December 2024, the LTB also ordered the parties to enter settlement negotiations, which began this February. In March, the landlord presented its final offer.
Thorncliffe Park tenants have withheld rent from landlord Starlight Investments since 2023.
The offer included commitments from the landlord to meet with tenant representatives regularly, investigate and correct maintenance issues, and keep tenants informed about timelines and reports on the building’s infrastructure.
In addition,Ìýthe landlordÌýwould haveÌýagreed to communicateÌýwith the tenants’ association about installing water shut-off valves “to prevent the necessity of multipleÌýwater shutdowns,” and if the installations proceeded, the landlord would not seek an AGI for the cost.ÌýAmong other commitments, the landlord also said it would not seek any AGIs to be implemented before 2030.
As part of the agreement, the tenants would commit to ending their rent strike and permitÌýthe LTB to give the landlord the rent paid in trust.
They also would have committed to withdrawing their Divisional Court appeal of the LTB’s decision to approve the landlord’s AGIs.Ìý
After tenants agreed to the landlord’s offer in principle, the landlord added the “non-disparagement” clause, Beyan said.
Renters at a trio of Thorncliffe Park buildings want the case heard at the Divisional Court.
“That’s what (led) us to think the landlord is acting not in good faith,” he said. “We said yes to everything.”
Landlord ‘unwavering’ in commitment to safe, well-maintained homes
Tenant organizer Phil Zigman, who does not live in Thorncliffe Park but has supported the renters’ advocacy, believes the clause is revealing.
“If you’re refusing to resolve the dispute because it’s so important to you that you can silence tenants forever, what does that say about what you think about these people and also what you think about your business model?â€
To Beyan, the offer proves the landlord could fix the problems in the building all along, and still can,Ìýbut that since the talks broke down, it won’t.
The Thorncliffe Park Tenant Association added that tenants recently endured a heat wave with no air conditioning due to a power outage, and “the landlords’ continued disregard for the well-being of residents in Thorncliffe Park is why we could not agree to remain silent about future issues in our homes.”
Tenants at the Summerhill used to have two water shutdowns per year. In 2025 alone, there have
Colomvakos, for Starlight’s part, said the firm is “unwavering” in its commitment to providing safe, high-quality and well-maintained homes.
During the recent heat wave and power interruptions, “our team worked diligently to restore power as quickly as possible” and “proactively scheduled and completed essential electrical upgrades” to address the issue long-term, she said.
Starlight has invested more than $30 million in “essential capital improvements” to the Thorncliffe sites, she added, and its RentSafeTO score improved from 62-to-74 per cent preacquisition to 95 per cent.
It also offers individualized, confidential rent assistance for applicants experiencing financial hardship, she said.
“Concerns about potential neglect are contradicted by both our ongoing investment in the community and our continued efforts to expand rent relief and support our residents.”
The Thorncliffe Park tenants are one of two groups of about 100 households in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ to face eviction over a rent strike. North York rent strikers livingÌýat 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Avenue WestÌýwere inÌýeviction hearings brought by their landlord, Barney Investments, at the LTB this week.
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