My neighbor, who is on welfare disability (for something physical) did something crazy again. He caught up to his rent (after taking legal action against the bank), then fell behind a month because he had ignored at least three Hydro bills. They took money out of his new bank account. It's possible they sued him.
My building is rent-controlled and the tenants want to raise rent more than the guidelines. They do this every year. To be fair they have expenses, and a lot of neighbors are acting paranoid. They say they deliberately paid for expensive services so they could boost the rent, which makes little sense, since they don't get to keep any of that extra money. Unless they're in cahoots, but there's no proof.
Many building residents are seniors on "fixed income" or welfare. Normal rate increases keep pace with seniors' fixed income but outpaces that of those on welfare. Above-rate increases, of course, make it harder even on seniors. The buildings are old and need lots of maintenance (which naturally neighbors complain they aren't getting). There are legitimate complaints on both sides.
Some of my neighbors are participating in a rent strike. A lawyer has been telling them they can get away with not paying rent for three months, even if they get an eviction notice. Ontario rules are so tenant-favored that this advice might be accurate (though not "good advice"). The landlord promised not to punish the rent strikers, which I'm sure will bite them in the rear because some of their tenants will spend the money rather than save it.
So my irresponsible neighbor is "pretending" to participate in the rent strike. I saw him coming back from the grocery store today. I have no idea how he carried all that stuff (at least twelve full-sized plastic bags, not exaggerating), since he didn't have a cart. A taxi? Uber? Given his health issues, there's no way he carried all that by himself. He bought a lot of stuff on sale, but he also bought a lot of luxuries like pineapples. He's even buying treats for my dogs (nice, but not necessary, as I'm gainfully employed and he knows that). He also offered my mother $20 to wash his dishes. While my mother is a poor senior on "fixed income", she is clearly better off than him.