A Solution To Slum Landlords

Bring in legislation that would allow the city to bypass the landlord if work orders are not completed and that tenant's rents would go into a fund to have the work done. This fund would be managed by a professional property management company who be at arms length from the city and the taxpayers would not incur any additional expense or see another bureaucracy put in place. BTW this legislation would also apply to housing that is now controlled by the city.

Should City Apartments Be Inspected Like Restaurants?
Thursday April 12, 2007

The building located at Spencer and King looks a lot like any other from the outside.

But get inside the place Julianne Nguyn calls home and the landscape changes.

There are cockroaches crawling around inside, mould on the walls and occasionally a glimpse of a rodent or two. They may be fast and scurry away, but their droppings are evidence of their presence.

Julianne pays $800 a month for the privilege of living here. She's been at the same address for the past six years and has watched as conditions have gone from bad to worse.

"I feel so upset about it," she complains. "My daughter too, every time when she was eating, she looks at the cockroaches."

But that's nothing compared to what her neighbour has to endure. When she uses her bathroom she has to take in a special extra. "The ceiling is leaking from the ninth floor so I have to sit down here and use an umbrella so I don't get wet," the unnamed tenant explains.

And the list goes on - a garbage disposal that's locked so renters don't have access to it; an exhaust fan that doesn't work; mouse droppings by the fire extinguisher - which hasn't been inspected since 2005.

It's the kind of place Councillor Howard Moscoe desperately wants to see cleaned up. The head of the city's Municipal Licensing and Standards Division is suggesting apartments should be subject to the same kind of inspections that the city's eateries are forced to undergo.

"The restaurants that prove to be problems get multiple inspections and prosecution," he points out. "They get closed down. I think they have to start taking the same approach to apartments and rental accommodation."

But those inspectors don't work for nothing and critics predict it would force tenants to fork over thousands of extra dollars in license fees, which would be passed on to them by the landlords.

"Licensing all landlords would impose a financial penalty on good landlords while not helping us get to the bad landlords," believes Councillor Karen Stintz.

As for the people in charge of this building?

"I only answer to city government, I don't have to answer that, OK?" Nancy Wang responds when CityNews reached her by phone.

Meantime, Julianne can't afford to move, and must cope with several unwanted guests - cockroaches which sometimes appear in her bed.

"Sometimes I get scared it goes in my ear or my daughter's," she laments.

Moscoe admits his plan is still two years away. What can you do in the meantime?

You can try contacting the city's Municipal Licensing and Standards Division that can enforce existing bylaws designed to try and get you satisfaction.

Among the things that are regulated:

* heat,
* water,
* lighting,
* general maintenance
* fences,
* long grass and weeds,
* graffiti,
* debris,
* abandoned appliances,
* noise
* signs.

They suggest you try to work it out with the landlord or building owner before you launch it into official channels.

Write your property manager and explain your concerns. Make sure you have proof of delivery and that you keep a copy.

If you don't receive a reply that satisfies you - or any reply at all - or if work is done but things are still not up to snuff - call the office in your area. They can send out an inspector to check on whether there's an infraction.

North York District (416) 395-7011
Toronto & East York District (416) 397-9200
Scarborough District (416) 396-7071
Etobicoke York District (416) 394-2535

To see if an apartment or building you're considering moving into has been the subject of past complaints, click here.

Source: City of Toronto