Toronto tenants receive eviction notices in dispute over AC units
Dozens of tenants in west Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood have been issued eviction notices for reportedly having air conditioning units in their apartments and refusing to pay extra to cover the costs of running them.
Back on June 20, roughly 30 households at 130 Jameson Ave., just south of King Street West, received a N5 eviction notice that ordered them to either vacate their apartments by July 7, pay a monthly fee to offset the higher hydro costs associated with running the units, or pay for hydro directly through sub-metering.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
All of those affected have lived in the building for at least 15 years, life-long tenant Shelly Dunphy told CP24.
Calling the whole thing a "cash grab," Dunphy said after receiving the document several worried tenants gathered in the building’s lobby to express their concerns and talk about how they can stay in their homes.
One of first things they did was contact their local MPP Bhutila Karpoche. They also reached out to Parkdale Organize, which bills itself as “working class people in Parkdale who organize to build neighbourhood power,” for help.
About 80 residents met with the group and Karpoche in front of the building last Friday. A representative from Parkdale Legal Clinic was also on hand.
They gathered again Tuesday evening to raise awareness about the situation and call on their landlord, The Myriad Group, to withdraw the N5 notices.
“The fact is, these tenants don’t have to move out,” said Karpoche, who created a long Twitter thread about the situation.
“The landlord has created a sense of panic. The tenants, thankfully, are talking to one another and are organizing as a group.”
Karpoche, who represents Parkdale-High Park, said she believes what is happening at 130 Jameson Ave. isn’t about tenants breaking the terms of their lease by installing AC units. She said it’s the result of a loophole in the Residential Tenancies Act, which allows landlords to increase the rent as much as they like for empty units.
“Once those units are vacant the rent will go up very high,” said Karpoche.
In a statement responding to Karpoche’s social media post, The Myriad Group said they want to “move forward together with a beneficial result for the tenants.”
The landlord said every year they inspect all of the units at 130 Jameson Ave. for any “deviations to what is allowable under the tenant’s lease,” including air conditioners or other appliances not included in the agreement.
“Tenants are then supplied with a warning letter and provided approximately a week to two weeks’ time to remedy the situation including options to pay for hydro directly through sub-metering (with the required rent reduction) or paying a monthly fee to us,” they wrote.
“Those tenant’s suites are then re-inspected after the initial warning period and if they continue to use unapproved appliances, we issue the LTB proscribed form N5. Some tenants, upon receiving the warning letter, will sign up for one of the options, at that point we consider the matter closed.”
The landlord went on to say tenants who chose not to “pursue one of the options available to them and have been issued an N5” are the ones who contacted Karpoche.
The Myriad Group underlined that its actions fall within the Residential Tenancies Act, which is enforced by the Landlord Tenant Board. They also said they’ve informed affected tenants of their options and some have agreed to them, while others have not.
“It was not, has never been and will never be our intent to evict someone without providing them the opportunity to remedy the situation in a reasonable manner and amount of time,” the landlord said.
Speaking to CP24 Wednesday morning, Toronto Mayor John Tory said people shouldn’t be getting evicted for what he called a lease “technicality,” especially during a time where the city is in a “housing shortage situation.”
“I would just hope that this landlord, you know, could be in a situation where he probably has a lot of very loyal tenants in there who’ve been paying their rent and living there in an orderly fashion for many years and that they could come to some better agreement than even hinting at threatening or carrying out evictions of people who, you know may not have an easy place to go in a time of housing shortage in the city of Toronto,” he said.
“We’re talking about a relatively small amount of money for the cost of the air conditioning. I understand that. I don’t know the lease says. I don’t know all of those facts. But the bottom line is when we’re in a housing shortage situation we cannot have people evicted on that kind of a basis, that’s for sure.”
Emina Gamulin, of Parkdale Organize, said it appears the landlord is “hitting these tenants from all kinds of different levels. … More and more stuff is emerging as we go along,” she charged.
“These aggressive tactics make life uncomfortable and push people to move.”
Gamulin, who is also a long-time renter in Parkdale, said the best thing tenants can do is to understand their rights and take a “collective, direct” approach when faced with pressure from their landlord.
“Divide and conquer is a common landlord tactic,” she said.
“Hopefully (the landlord) realizes these tenants are organized and prepared to fight for their homes.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.