The City of Toronto confirmed that a non-profit affordable housing provider is in the right to keep old tenants’ rent above the market average, citing the program’s intention to help maintain “long-term financial sustainability of both the building and the non-profit housing provider.”

This comes in response to questions raised by Andrew Harris, a tenant facing eviction from his home in a building owned and managed by charity Fred Victor.

Last month, The Green Line reported that Harris, his partner Nikkole Harris and dog Ruby might lose their housing after falling behind on rent.

Harris and Stone live in 3000 Queen St. E., a mid-rise building that was acquired by Fred Victor in 2025 via the City of Toronto’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program (MURA). Under MURA, non-profits, land trusts and local organizations can receive City funding and tax exemptions to turn private market rentals into permanent affordable homes.

But there’s a catch. There’s no mechanism for non-profit housing providers to lower the rent for tenants who already lived in purchased buildings. That’s where Harris and Stone fell through the cracks.

Eileen Wennekers, a licensed paralegal and local housing advocate who’s offered to help Harris pro bono, has been trying to get Fred Victor to reduce the rent and eliminate his arrears. She argued that under MURA rules, all units within a purchased building need to be affordable.

In an emailed letter to Wennekers on Oct. 5, which The Green Line reviewed, Fred Victor’s lawyers disputed her interpretation.

“The MURA arrangements applicable to the property expressly contemplated the continued operation of the existing tenancies,”  the letter states. “The Contribution Agreement provides for the transition of the property to the applicable affordability requirements through a Rent Transition Plan. Under that plan, existing market-rent units transition to affordable rents upon tenant turnover.”

In other words, the MURA agreement only requires Fred Victor to charge affordable rent to new tenants — not existing ones. 

That’s consistent with what the City of Toronto told The Green Line in an email last month when we asked about MURA, as well as in an email Harris received from Erik Hunter, manager of Housing Development and Improvement at City of Toronto Housing Secretariat.

In that Oct. 8 email, reviewed by The Green Line, Hunter writes, “City staff have reviewed the program funding terms under which Fred Victor was assisted in purchasing 3000 Queen East and confirmed that existing rents were not intended to be changed after Fred Victor’s acquisition.”

But Harris wonders why? 

“It seems like a recipe for creating a system where residents are displaced, so preferred tenants can be installed at the lower rate,” he told The Green Line in an email. 

In an email to The Green Line on Oct. 16, the City of Toronto explained, “When Fred Victor acquired the building through the MURA program in 2023, it took over the existing leases with the understanding that rents would remain unchanged. Keeping rents stable is intended to help maintain a consistent rental income, which supports the long-term financial sustainability of both the building and the non-profit housing provider.”

Over the past month, Harris has reached out to his local councillor for Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest, Parthi Kandavel, Mayor Olivia Chow’s office and staff at the City’s Housing Secretariat.

“Nobody has really done much except pass me around to different departments and tell me to apply to things that, for various reasons, I don’t qualify for,” he said in an email.

Coun. Kandavel and Mayor Chow didn’t respond to The Green Line’s request for comment at the time of publication. Fred Victor also declined to comment.

When asked about supports available to Harris and avenues for feedback about the impact of MURA, the City of Toronto said tenants experiencing financial challenges are encouraged to contact their housing provider as early as possible. It added, “Members of the public can provide any comments or feedback about the MURA program by contacting the Housing Stability Services team at HSS@toronto.ca.”

In an attempt to find more immediate solutions, Harris has also reached out to candidates running for city council, including mayoral candidates Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford, as well as Ariel-Rachel Karokis, Sharmina Nasrin, Mohammad Ali Reza and Kevin Rupasinghe, who are all running for city councillor in Scarborough-Southwest.

“None of them have even responded,” he said. “It’s really making me doubt the importance of representative democracy if you’re not one of the chosen few the political class have decided are important.” 

The Green Line reached out to all the candidates. Nasrin and Reza both expressed an interest in learning more about Harris’ situation. Bradford, as well as Nasrin and Reza, each said they support the MURA program. Reza and Bradford also called for more clarity and accountability from City-supported initiatives. The other candidates didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

For now, Harris continues his job hunt, and hopes that the few gigs he completes this fall will pay him on time, so he can pay rent.

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Sources and
further reading

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The Green Line

Why these Torontonians are struggling to afford affordable housing

CITY OF TORONTO

Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program