The agency responsible for housing some of Toronto’s most vulnerable people has 500 units so dilapidated that they are considered to be in “critical condition.”
Of those units, 138 are boarded up, but the rest are still occupied -- despite leaking kitchen ceilings, collapsing drywall and rusty plumbing.
“We're not happy about that,” says Toronto Community Housing Corporation CEO Greg Spearn. “They are deteriorating fast.”
The agency, which provides subsidized housing to 60,000 families, recently approved a 2015 budget that includes a record $175 million for capital repairs. It’s part of a plan to spend $2.6 billion fixing units over the next 10 years.
Only a third of the 10-year plan capital is funded. The City of Toronto has kicked in about $864 million. The TCHC hopes the province and federal government will both provide the same.
If they don’t, thousands more units could soon be in critical condition, says the TCHC.
According to the THC website, the average age of its 2,000-plus buildings is 42 years.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Janice Golding
