Desperation mounts after two months of no water at Hamilton building

There's no shortage of uncertainty in Chad Ward's life, but after nearly two months of dry taps in his Hamilton apartment he's sure of at least one thing.

You don't know how much you appreciate water until it's gone, or taken away."

Ward, his wife and their 18-year-old daughter, who has special needs, are among a handful of tenants at 1083 Main St. E., where the plumbing has been out since late December.

Frozen and burst pipes prompted the landlord to cut the Delta-area building's water supply to prevent flooding on Dec. 28.

The lack of running water has sparked a municipal order and an outcry from city politicians to fix the pipes.

But weeks later, Ward, who has helped distribute jugs of water dropped off by the city, marvels that the plumbing is still out of commission.

An initial deadline of Jan. 24 to restore water service to the tenants has come and gone.

This week, upon considering an appeal by the landlord, the city's property standards committee confirmed that the work must be done but assigned no compliance date.

Instead, the quasi-judicial body agreed with the property owner's paralegal that the units must be vacated to do the repairs.

As such, the committee determined a timeline can't be set until after a provincial tribunal on March 8. That's when tenants plan to resist their landlord's bid to evict them for renovations.

Before the water problem, property owner 1083 Main St. Inc. had plans to renovate the 60-unit building, which is mostly vacant and deteriorating.

If the landlord prevails, it will be the third time Ward has been displaced from a building, including once before on the King Street side of his current address.

The 48-year-old figures his family will likely be on the move again. I've been through it before, you know what I mean?"

But where his family, who live in one of the remaining seven occupied units, ends up is a big question as rents skyrocket in Hamilton.

One-bedroom units now go for an average of $1,868 a month and two-bedrooms $2,280, according to property listing service Rental.ca's latest national rent report.

Ward, who receives a disability pension, and his wife, whose line of work is inventory, pay $1,342 a month plus hydro for their two-bedroom apartment.

But he says the three of them will have to get rid of furniture and squeeze into a one-bedroom unit if they're sent packing.

I would literally have to live in the living room and probably have to buy a bed-couch."

Options for others on fixed or modest incomes are also limited, says David Galvin, a longtime tenant.

But we fully expect to win," said Galvin, 70, of the upcoming Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) hearing.

The tenants have retained legal counsel and have enlisted the support of advocacy group Hamilton ACORN.

Angela Smith, a paralegal representing 1083 Main St. Inc., didn't respond to The Spectator's latest requests for comment.

However, in a notice to tenants dated Dec. 30, Smith wrote the units must be vacated for the massive scope" of much-needed renovations."

As well, the building has further deteriorated" due to delays in securing permits needed to complete the work through no fault" of the landlord.

Moreover, bad weather caused a burst pipe, extensive damage and expanded the already massive scope of work" planned for the building, the notice said.

It will be at minimum" four weeks for a temporary solution" to restore a water supply.

In the meantime, the owner and the property manager, Grow Ontario Property Management, offered tenants alternative accommodations" for one month.

Ward said he doesn't have a car to drive to the motel on North Service Road in Stoney Creek. He also has a small dog and two cats to think about.

But his family also has another concern. We're afraid of them changing the locks on us."

At first, they took out memberships to a recreation centre to bathe but the hours were limited and the cost strained their budget. So they bought a shower bag" normally used for camping.

But washing dishes is a challenge and personal hygiene is almost impossible to keep up with," Ward said.

The situation is a public health emergency just waiting like a ticking time bomb," Galvin said, but until now, the city has been proven impotent" to react accordingly.

And, to his chagrin, the property standards committee accepted the landlord's take of the water problem, hook, line and sinker," without asking the tenants to weigh in.

Absolutely unacceptable'

On Wednesday, city councillors also aired their frustration over the protracted saga at 1083 Main St. E.

How is it that the City of Hamilton can sit back and allow a landlord to deny an entire apartment building water for this length of time?" Coun. Brad Clark asked.

I can't even use the word dumbfounded. I'm shocked."

Other landlords will be encouraged by the scenario, warned Clark, predicting they'll think, Wow, that guy got away with it. Why can't I get away with it?'"

The city can hire a contractor to do the repairs and charge the landlord, but not at the moment, staff said.

That is a remedy that ultimately exists in the bylaw if and when the order expires and it has not been dealt with," noted Jason Thorne, general manager of planning and economic development.

But on Tuesday, the property standards committee - which is an independent appeals body - via a joint submission with the landlord, left that compliance date open pending the outcome of the March 8 hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The LTB will determine issues respecting the occupancy of the units that are beyond the authority and jurisdiction" of the committee, its written interim decision states. The plan is to revisit the plumbing issue within 45 days.

Monica Ciriello, director of municipal law and licensing, told council that the committee's key consideration is whether the order is valid, but resident information does not play a role" in the hearing.

Coun. Nrinder Nann, who called the tenants' situation absolutely unacceptable," confirmed through Ciriello that bylaw had resolved a flurry of other complaints over frozen pipes after the late-December storm.

Nann, whose Ward 3 includes the Delta area, received unanimous support for a motion that directs staff to continue to take and enforce available actions" to restore running water expediently to the residents."

The city is to proactively monitor and ensure sufficient supply of safe potable water is provided" and keep tenants up to speed on the property standards matter.

Staff are also expected to report back on any changes" to bylaws to ensure enforcement mechanisms are available" to handle problems like those at 1083 Main St. E.

Cracks' in legislation

Mayor Andrea Horwath says weak" provincial legislation to protect tenants is an overarching factor in the tenants' water woes.

We are now left, as municipalities, to pick up the pieces and try to figure out how do we at a municipal level deal with provincial legislation."

That means trying to figure out how we cover off the cracks in that legislation," the former Ontario NDP leader told council.

In an emailed statement, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark's office said the province has taken decisive measures to strengthen tenant protections including increasing compensation for bad faith evictions or renovictions."

The Progressive Conservative government has cracked down on bad landlords" through hiked penalties of up to $50,000 or $250,000 for a corporation for violations of the Residential Tenancies Act, press secretary Victoria Podbielski wrote.

But it's shocking" that the province hasn't stepped in" to address the desperate situation at 1083 Main St. E., says Sara Mayo, a planner at the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton.

Where's the minister of housing to say, We're going to strengthen the Landlord and Tenant Board (and Residential Tenancies Act) so this never happens?'"

As it stands, the legislation offers a perverse incentive" for landlords to let buildings deteriorate" and make life as difficult as possible" for tenants so they leave, allowing rents to be jacked astronomically."

In Quebec, for example, new tenants are allowed to know the previous rent and appeal rates, which discourages landlords from making unreasonable hikes, Mayo noted.

Ontario's legislation must be modernized" to strengthen tenant protections" in line with the rental market's dramatic shift in recent years.

There's room for stronger safeguards provincially, but the city's property standards bylaw also has a gaping hole" when it comes to landlord-tenant relationships, Mayo added.

The fact that it's outside of the committee's mandate to consider tenant hardships has to be fixed immediately," said Mayo, noting the absurdity of potentially restoring water service to a vacant building.

City staff have hired a consultant to help study a potential anti-renoviction bylaw, drawing inspiration from policies in New Westminster, B.C. A report is expected to be before councillors in April.

Ward, meanwhile, says his apartment is perfectly fine," apart from the plumbing situation.

But allowing investors to scoop up residential buildings and evict tenants for profit is putting people at risk, he says.

You're kicking out paying tenants and putting them in vulnerable positions."

And depending on what happens March 8 before the LTB, he's bracing for a worst-case scenario.

Here I am sitting possibly looking at being homeless. That's a real possibility for me and my family."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com