Tamer Abaza and his company Smart Living Properties, notorious for their history of mass evictions, are currently attempting a rebrand in Sandy Hill. Smart Living Properties (SLP) signs in the neighbourhood have been replaced by signs reading “Dwell”, the new name that the company is using to operate in the neighbourhood.

It is no surprise, given their history, that the company’s owners have decided to distance themselves from the SLP brand. Tamer Abaza, his right-hand man Rakan Abushaar, and his circle of rich investors, including Binny Kuriakose, have established a business model which is based on displacing tenants, demolishing affordable units, and hiking up rents.

SLP became particularly well-known in Sandy Hill in 2020 when it oversaw the eviction of tenants at the Osgoode Chambers rooming houses. Tenants at Osgoode Chambers got organized to resist the eviction, and they exposed the deplorable conditions of the buildings, where tenants were forced to endure bedbugs, rats, and cockroaches. Over the course of the eviction that SLP oversaw, four tenants died and three buildings caught fire. Despite SLP’s attempts, a group of tenants was able to defeat the renoviction attempt, and remain in their units.

This is not the first time that Tamer and co have rebranded. They used to be called Takyan Consulting & Development, but after gaining a bad reputation for their exploitative business practices in student housing, decided to drop the Takyan name. Now, they are attempting the same thing again.

Rebranding is a common tactic by landlords, who often understand the importance of their reputation in a community. Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate services firm, indicates that “a property’s reputation is as influential as price”. Rebranding can be a way for landlords to “reset” in a community, and distance themselves from their history. It would be a particularly appealing option to landlords, like SLP/Dwell, who have become notorious as their practices have become well-known to tenants.

Even though they have placed a different name on their buildings, the core practices of Dwell//SLP remain the same. Even as they are rebranding, Tamer, Rakan, Binny and co are actively pursuing mass evictions throughout the city. At this very moment, they are attempting to overcome the resistance of the Bank Block Tenants, who have been actively fighting against SLP’s mass eviction attempt for more than a year and a half.

They do not want Dwell tenants to know what has gone on in their buildings. They don’t want them to know about the evictions, the pests, the harassment, and the exploitation. They want to cover up their local history in order to keep taking advantage of students, working class people, and others who rent in their buildings.

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We are not going to let this happen. We at the Neighbourhood Organizing Centre will continue to doorknock in Sandy Hill, Centretown, and other neighbourhoods to make sure that tenants know exactly who their landlord is, and are armed with the tools they need to defend themselves. 

Getting organized and fighting back against the landlord is an option available to all tenants. As long as they continue their exploitative practices, Tamer, Rakan, Binny, and collaborators can expect a lot more resistance from their tenants in the future. Regardless of the name they put on their signs.