New year, new rent increases! We need a co-op more than ever!

'Repair costs footed by tenants'

New year rent hikes have become such a standard practise that a whole generation of 1 of our co-op member's family had rent hikes going into 2024. Another member's rent went up not long after. What a wonderful way to start the year! None of us can really afford this without wiping ourselves out as we head into middle age. But really, why should we pay for what our landlords already profit from? We end up with nothing & in the meantime we are talked to as though some imposed burden. Its like having your money and food, your coat, shoes and socks stolen from you at the school gate, because a bully is in a position where they can, then making you pay to retrieve them. So, it's either suck it up, work longer and pay or more upheaval in the hop of somewhere more affordable. Which mean work paused, creative projects paused, activism paused, exercise routines paused, day to day stability paused. More paperwork, moving expenses, not to mention all the building of self esteem and confidence of a home feeling yours, a sense of agency, standing on your own 2 feet. We need stability to help see the housing co-op through. Life shouldnt be about fighting for something so basic. Its a waste of sparkle.