[homeles_ot-l] Fwd: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT... smart submetering!

[Terrie]

--


 FYI. This email is from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants of Ontario (ACTO) -
www.acto.ca


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Many tenants in the GTA have been approached by their landlords and asked to
consent to having their utilities put in their names – or have been told
that they must.  This is becoming an increasing problem in the GTA and in
other cities in Ontario. Some landlords are also trying to turn the issue
into a legal quagmire.



In this respect, ACTO has revised the two-page legal information sheet for
tenants that we had sent out earlier this year. The revised version is
attached in MS Word format. Please feel free to distribute electronically or
photocopy and give out to any tenants who are affected by this issue.



Information on who tenants should contact is included in the leaflet. In
addition to seeking legal advice, ACTO is recommending that affected tenants
make a complaint to the Ministry's Investigations and Enforcement Unit (IEU)
.

The IEC has already received complaints from tenants about this issue.  The
IEU's position is the following:



Since sections 137 and 138 have not yet been proclaimed, our position is
that unless the tenant has agreed to the changes proposed by the landlord
(and the original agreement has not been changed unilaterally), we will
handle those as we would any other attempt by a landlord to withhold or
interfere with a vital service.



If a landlord sends out notices that sub-meters will be/have been installed
and require tenants to sign an agreement to start paying for their own
utilities otherwise the services will be disconnected, IEU will take this as
an offence under 233(a) with reference to section 236 and attempt
intervention to avert the disconnections.












-- 
Terrie ( mocharebyl at gmail.com )
"If you see an injustice being committed, you aren't an observer, you are a
participant." June Callwood
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and
renders the present inaccessible. Maya Angelou
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