Who Represents Tenants?
August 10, 2004

Apartments comprise about 35% of Hamilton homes. Sixty percent of these are having a hard time paying the rent. According to a city report published in May, about 39,000 rental households are spending more than 30% of their income on rent, with a third of these paying more than 50%.

In Hamilton , property taxes make up a large part of these rents. That's because apartments are taxed at a much higher rate than single-family homes - 2.75 times as much to be exact. Of course, the people living in these apartments don't see property tax bills. Those go to the owners, who pass on the costs to their tenants.

In 1998, the provincial government advised cities to equalize tax rates and passed legislation that prevents municipalities from increasing taxes on property classes, such as apartments, which are overtaxed. Hamilton responded by launching a Business Tax Reduction program that has now cut commercial taxes by 36% and industrial taxes by 34-38%.

But there has been no tax reduction plan for tenants. The ratio between apartment taxes and those on single-family homes has narrowed, but only because taxes on the latter have been rising steadily, while the provincial legislation has prevented city council from doing the same to tenants.

One of the reasons may be that apartment dwellers are much less likely to vote in municipal elections, or get involved in city politics in other ways. That may be why the city's Tenant Advisory Committee is struggling to find members. This group meets monthly and can provide input into council decisions affecting tenants. Applications are being accepted until August 31 by contacting the City Clerk's office at clerk@hamilton.ca.