Commonwealth _
Toronto apartment residents endure weeks without heat, hot water due to landlord’s repair challenges. For nearly three weeks, Justin Cowen has endured the cold within his Toronto apartment, resorting to boiling water for chores and relying on gym showers due to the absence of heat and hot water since December 19. Enbridge’s gas shutdown over safety concerns with the building’s steam boiler heating system affected dozens of residents in the Church-Wellesley neighborhood.
A 27-year-old PhD student and resident since May 2022, Cowen expressed the immense difficulty of the situation. Despite the property manager providing space heaters, the temperature remained challenging, especially when those heaters were inactive during a reading that fell significantly below city bylaws.
Acknowledging the severity, the building’s management spokesperson assured ongoing efforts to restore heat within two weeks, attributing the delay to necessary repairs. However, this incident has underscored a contentious relationship between management and tenants. The building’s ownership and management structure is intricate. A numbered company, 14792670 Canada Inc., acquired the century-old heritage building for $7.5 million in March 2023. It spearheads decisions on renovations and finances. 30 Charles Management oversees project management, while Harrington Housing, a company specializing in “co-living” arrangements, handles tenant placement through its tech-enabled platform.
Interestingly, a director from the numbered company also holds a position in Harrington Housing, as indicated by corporate records. This complex structure has further fueled tensions amid the ongoing struggle between residents and the management entities involved. The challenges faced by Cowen and fellow tenants extend beyond the current heating issue, reflecting a decline in their living conditions following the building’s acquisition by the new owner. Cowen noted the stark change post-March 2023, citing issues such as hallway lights being off, heating problems, laundry breakdowns, and unresponsive maintenance services. These grievances represent a deteriorating trend in the building’s upkeep since the change in ownership. City records highlight a significant increase in complaints after the property was sold. While only one service request was lodged between 2017 and January 2023, the city received 61 complaints between March 1 and December 31, 2023. This surge included 23 reports related to property standards and 22 concerning insufficient heating, with a notable concentration 19 complaints linked to a singular heating issue. Cody Bell, the representative for the property manager, attributed the rise in city complaints to various concerns, including boiler issues, a broken basement window, ceiling repairs, and a laundry room leak. Bell suggested that the increased complaints were due to the concerted efforts of “some tenants” against the new management, characterizing these actions as orchestrated.
Tanya Osmond took proactive steps by addressing concerns regarding the boiler’s maintenance with the landlord, her Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), the city’s RentSafeTO program, and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) the regulatory body overseeing fuel and boiler safety. Following Osmond’s efforts, a TSSA inspector conducted an examination of the building’s mechanical room on December 19, uncovering multiple “code non-compliances,” as confirmed by spokesperson Alexandra Campbell in an email to CBC Toronto. Campbell highlighted that some of these non-compliances were severe enough for the TSSA to involve the gas distributor, Enbridge, necessitating the shutdown of the fuel supply due to safety concerns. She emphasized that such actions shutting off the gas supply during winter are taken only in the presence of significant safety hazards, understanding the inherent difficulties residents face when deprived of gas services in cold weather. According to Cody Bell, the safety issues flagged by both the TSSA and Enbridge weren’t outlined in the building assessment report conducted before the sale in March 2023. Additionally, these concerns hadn’t been reported by the licensed technicians responsible for the boilers’ maintenance and upkeep.
