'Can we just have a little air?' Toronto apartment residents fight back after landlord screws balcony doors shut
Residents of a 35-storey apartment building in midtown Toronto say they’ll be able to breathe easier after management announced it will allow them to open their balcony doors — the only source of fresh air for many units — during a months-long renovation.
Late Thursday, people in Parkview Residences, just north of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, got a message that Q Residential, the company that owns the building, is changing its plan after two months of forcing the doors shut with a two-by-four screwed to the frame.
“For people in the bachelor suites, the only source of air is the door to the balcony and they’ve blocked that off completely,” said Marie O’Keefe, the co-president of the tenants’ association.
“It’s beginning to affect people’s mental state. We’re getting endless emails. People are frustrated,” she said.
The balcony doors were shut in September to avoid any interference with the construction. The company said that it decided to make things easier on tenants by doing only half of the building’s balconies at once, and changed the way it was working so that the balconies would open in the summer.
Jacquelyn Wint lives in a bachelor suite in the building. She said at first she didn’t expect to feel any impacts of the change — but soon she felt lethargic and foggy.
“It has contributed to me feeling disoriented which I wasn’t expecting,” Wint said.
That’s a feeling shared by dozens of others in the Parkview Residences. The building was built in the 1970s. Most suites have windows, but about 33 bachelor suites don’t have any option but to open their balcony door.
“For mental and physical health you need air,” said Sue Scully, the other co-president of the tenant’s association. “Please, there’s a better way of doing this, can we just have a little air?”
The tenants association had been considering going to the Landlord and Tenant Board, but staff there told CTV News Toronto that it’s so backlogged it takes three to four months to get most matters heard.
The City of Toronto told CTV News Toronto that there’s no requirement under its building permit to open the doors, as there’s a mechanical ventilation system in the building.
“However the inspector suggested to the building’s owner/operator that the sliding doors be permitted to open 4 inches (maximum) and advised the owner/operator to work with tenants on ways to support other ventilation opportunities where possible,” a spokesperson said.
Q Residential sent a letter late Thursday that some balcony doors may open under strict restrictions while the work is done.
“For the units in the building that have windows that open, and allow access to fresh air, the sliding doors will remain locked for the duration of the restoration project. While we recognize that this decision may cause frustration for those tenants in non-bachelor units, we are only able to make an exception for the bachelor apartments, as they do not have access to fresh air other than their balcony doors,” the letter read.
“We understand the need for fresh air, particularly as we enter the winter months and venture outside less frequently, and we hope this will help to alleviate the concern experienced by these tenants,” the letter read.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.