‘We’re sending the bill to the landlord’: City undertakes $200K in repairs at long-problematic east Toronto rental building

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says remedial action powers were used to address the issues at 500 Dawes Rd. and the landlord has been fined. Beth Macdonell reports.

The City of Toronto is fixing up an apartment building in East York that has a long history of violations and infestations – and is sending the bill to the landlord.

Several tenants of 500 Dawes Rd., near St. Clair and Victoria Park avenues, showed CTV News Toronto the extensive repairs that are needed in their units.

Bria Jones, who has lived in the building for 17 years, says virtually nothing has been upgraded in her apartment.

“I want to flee from here. It’s still going to get worse,” she said.

Fellow renter Craig Smith says repairs are badly needed in his kitchen and bathroom, and around the entrances to the building.

“It’s very hard. I’m ashamed to have my grandchildren. You know, I’m ashamed. My family wonders why I live here,” he said.

On Monday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow visited 500 Dawes Rd. as part of her efforts to crack down on bad landlords. She said recently $200,000 in fines have been issues at the building.

“And (the landlord) kept right on ignoring you, you, the tenants, not anymore,” she said during a news conference.

Chow said she got city services and bylaw officers to coordinate and hired companies to better living conditions and deal with pests there.

“We’re doing the work and we’re sending the bill to the landlord,” she said, adding that not only will that bill be added to the owner’s property taxes, this type of intervention is a template to improve rental housing across the city.

Ryan Endoh, a renter at the building and a member of the tenants right group ACORN, called this move “significant.”

“Not because of the numbers, but because of what it represents. It represents a shift from delay to action, from a fragmented system of enforcement to coordinated intervention,” he said.

Other tenants who spoke with CTV News Toronto, however, said while they’re encouraged to see the mayor and city taking action, they’re still unsure if it’ll lead to long-term improvements.

Cole Webber, of Parkdale Community Legal Services, is also skeptical that these efforts will result in meaningful changes for renters in the city.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think tenants should put too much stock into today’s announcement,” said Webber, who is also the co-author of the recently released book Renoviction and Resistance in the Capitalist City.

The community legal worker said the city has consistently proven that it is unable or unwilling to enforce standards.

“It sends a message that 500 Dawes Rd. is an isolated incident, when in fact when you look at apartments and standards across the city, many, many tenants are living with poor conditions,” he said.

CTV News Toronto reached out to the landlord for their side of the story, but no one took our call.

To keep improving apartment, Toronto’s mayor says in additional to the city’s work, tenants should call 311 and organize with neighbours.