Norma Jean Quibell’s $1,780.00 rent for her four-bedroom townhome is set to increase by $88 per month in the new year. For a mother of two on semi-permanent disability, that is a substantial amount.
Quibell lives in Accora Village, a west-end neighbourhood formerly known as Bayshore. As a resident and leader of the Accora Village ACORN Tenant Union, she is asking for the closure of a province-wide loophole that allows landlords to increase rent above government guidelines.
Accora Village is adjacent to the Bayshore Shopping Centre and was built by Minto Properties in the 1960s. Ownership was transferred to Ferguslea Properties in 2003, and now, over 9,000 residents live in the community of 10 high-rise buildings and 986 homes.
The company has also applied to build two mixed-use high-rise units on Woodridge Crescent at 37 and 40 storeys on two acres.
A rendering of the development that Ferguslea Properties has applied to build on Woodridge Crescent.
Lee Galka, director of marketing and business development for Ferguslea, told the Lookout that the official plan and zoning amendments have been approved, but the site plan control and building permit processes have not started.
“The 70 Woodridge building remains part of our long-term vision for the community—an inclusive, healthy, and connected village that provides residents with ample day-to-day amenities in an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable way,” he said.
But Ferguslea is taking advantage of provincial guidelines that allow landlords to increase rent to offset certain costs, says Quibell.
“At this point, it is ridiculous,” Quibell told the Lookout. “There is a power imbalance there because we don't have lawyers. We don't get that option, especially when we're low income, and that power imbalance really does swing things in the landlord’s favour.”
Provincial guidelines stipulate that landlords must cap rent increases at 2.5 per cent in 2025. In 2026, the allowable increase will be capped at 2.1 per cent. The allowable increase is based on information from Statistics Canada, including cost of living expenses and inflation.
However, landlords can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an above-guideline increase (AGI), which allows for an increase in rent in order to offset “extraordinary” costs.
What is an AGI?
An AGI is a rent increase that is higher than the provincial guideline. Landlords can apply for three reasons:
Capital expenditures: the landlord made significant repairs, renovations, replacements, expansions or new additions to the building or unit. This does not include regular maintenance, upkeep or cosmetic work.
Municipal taxes and charges: The landlord’s costs for municipal taxes or utilities have increased an “extraordinary” amount, according to the LTB guidelines.
Operating costs for security services: The landlord paid a substantial increase in costs for security services or began offering security services to tenants.
If a landlord has applied for an AGI, tenants should receive a separate notice. All affected tenants have the right to oppose the application. Tenants can challenge an AGI through the LTB or put pressure on their landlord externally.
Tenants can organize among themselves to issue a collective demand to their landlord to drop the AGI.
Alternatively, tenants can challenge the AGI through the LTB directly by proving that the costs claimed by the landlord do not meet the requirements, or by proving that the landlord has failed to adequately maintain the building or unit.
In the case of Accora Village, Ferguslea has done this for multiple units, including Quibell’s. She says hers will commence Jan. 1, 2026, at a rate of 5.3 per cent. But she objects to the premise of Ferguslea’s application.
“We want Accora to realize that retrofitting, energy conservation and related expenses should not be put on the tenants because that is mandated by the province, by the federal government,” she said. “They also should not be doing AGIs to support repairs that are due to neglect.”
Quibell said some units have cracked foundations and have been leaking.
“AGIs should not be used to subsidize your neglect,” she said.
According to figures compiled by ACORN, Ottawa ranks second in Ontario in the amount of AGI applications filed by landlords between 2017 and 2022 — a total of 365 applications.
ACORN is demanding three things: that expenses related to “chronic neglect” be considered “ineligible” and that once AGIs expire, the onus of enforcing rent reductions should be on landlords and the Landlord and Tenant Board, not the tenant. They also want energy conservation-related expenditures such as retrofits not to be covered under the AGIs.
Quibell says that many tenants feel that Ferguslea is raising rent simply for profit.
“We really do feel like they're abusing the system here because they are a large landlord. They're trying to paint themselves…like they're only a local landlord,” said Quibell. “But it's like, ‘No you’re Ferguslea. You are a large, large corporation’.”
Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh, who represents the area where Accora Village is located, said the community is a vibrant neighbourhood consisting of a lot of seniors, families and new Canadians. While she said it is thriving, she confirmed that some residents are complaining about rent increases.
At a recent meeting of ACORN, Kavanagh says there were a lot of people coming from the community to find out how to push back on rent increases. “Obviously people are concerned and they are going to push back, which is not unexpected,” said Kavanagh.
When asked for a comment regarding the rent increases, Galka said, “it’s not simply to raise rents — it’s usually to recover the cost of major capital investments that improve the quality, safety, and longevity of the property.”
He further explained that AGIs provide a mechanism for landlords to reinvest in their buildings while still being regulated and transparent through the Landlord and Tenant Board.
“Ultimately, these improvements benefit residents by maintaining and enhancing the overall quality of living, energy efficiency, and reliability of essential building systems. Our buildings are approaching the 60-year mark.”
David Lyman, an Ottawa lawyer representing Ferguslea in some AGI applications, says the maximum increase for an AGI is nine per cent for capital expenditures. The increases can also be predicated by an extraordinary municipal tax increase, he says, but Ottawa has not experienced that in recent years.
“The application may affect different tenants in different ways in that for each capital expenditure, the board will calculate a percentage increase based on whether the tenancy was in place at the time,” he said.
Lyman characterizes rent control in Ontario as strange.
“Typically, if you’re buying a product, the supplier isn’t restricted to what prices to charge. It is whatever the market will bear,” he said. “If you sign a one-year contract, at the end of that year, the price can increase to what the market can bear.
“The government doesn’t get involved with that pricing, but with rent the government can limit what the rent increases can be on renewal.”
Rent control ultimately protects the consumer, he says.
“Rent control is to their benefit,” he says. “If their rents are higher, then landlords are not going to be giving rent increases that are higher than what the market rents are because tenants would leave and move to another place.
“So the rent control restrictions are limiting how much a landlord would be able to increase a tenant’s rents,” he continued. “So the government makes its determinations on where those restrictions are going to be.”
Lyman said the government needs to strike a balance between restricting rent increases to benefit the tenants, and ensuring that there is a proper ability to pay for necessary repairs.
“If there are no increases, the investments back into the building just don’t occur.”
