Bank Block Tenants – Statement of Unity

BankBlockTenants@gmail.com

Who we are:

We are a group of tenants living in 227 Bank St. and 178 Nepean St. which are part of a block that has been targeted for demolition.

The housing on this block has never been subject to the level of upgrades that would push marginalized tenants out; either by Renoviction, or Above Guideline Rent Increases (AGIs). As such, the turnover on these units has been low, and rent has also stayed relatively low. Some of us have been living on this block for 40+ years.

Income and savings tend to be low on this block. Access to credit and loans are limited. We do not have property to liquidate in cases of emergency.

Why we are being targeted:

In housing investor language, this block would be described as an undervalued and mismanaged financial asset. Which means that there is an opportunity to add value to the asset by finding a more lucrative use for the property.

The planned demolition on this block would create added value in two ways, through:

• 1)    Intensification, which, according to the plan for this block, would result from construction of a taller structure, packed with comparatively small units.
• 2)    Displacement of us in favour of a more affluent clientele paying market rate. If this development were to proceed as planned, rents would be raised 3-5x their current rates.

*** For this development proposal, Mass Eviction appears to be central to the process of adding value. Though we, as current tenants, would occupy only 5% of proposed new units, there is certainly no plan to rehouse us in the finished development at our current rents. Why is this the case? ***

Where would we live following a Mass Eviction?

Market rate for a 1-bedroom apartment rental in Ottawa is currently averaging $2000/month. This is completely out of reach for most of the tenants on this block.

What if we were to contact the Social Housing Registry upon eviction?

We would be told that the waitlist for subsidized housing is 5+ years. If we became homeless due to our eviction, then we would qualify for priority status, which brings the wait time down to 2+ years. The waitlist for subsidized housing on the Social Housing Registry is currently 12,000 individuals and growing. This is at a time when provisioners of subsidized housing are moving away from the Rent Geared to Income (RGI) metric, in favour of the Below Average Market Rate (BMR) metric. For example, the new Ottawa Community Housing Mosaiq811 development at 811 Gladstone includes 0 new RGI units. The subsidized rents established for Mosaiq811 under the BMR metric require a household income of $30,000-$60,000 per year to ensure a household is not paying over 30% of income in rent. This is well beyond the average household income of OCH tenants ($17,000 in 2019). In short, Mosaiq811 has absolutely nothing to offer the most vulnerable individuals on the waitlist for subsidized housing.

How is this struggle bigger than our block?

Numerous similar processes of displacement of marginalized people have unfolded in Centretown and throughout the city over the past two decades. On this block, many people sleep in our doorways at night, all year round, themselves in some cases, dispossessed of housing in processes of Reno/Demoviction. What does this development proposal offer our homeless neighbours? Likely, an increased police presence, and displacement further away from the lifesaving supports available in parts of the downtown core.

Are we in a housing crisis?

No. A crisis poses risk to a society at large. Our housing system, on the other hand, benefits one segment of society at the expense of another. Our elected officials cannot be relied on to substantively change this exploitative system, because it is working quite well for an important constituency.

Destruction of our block would eliminate some of the last market-rate
housing in the city that is accessible for a low-income household.
Our Mass Eviction would put us at risk of homelessness.
We stand in defence of our homes on this block.
We work in solidarity with our homeless neighbours, and all tenants
in rejection of a housing system that restricts access to housing.