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‘It really seems like no one cares about us:’ City was forced to evict tenants of rooming house

Owner of 200 Dundas St. S. building had been renting out units for years, despite zoning as a commercial property, unfit for habitation

Multiple departments at the City of Cambridge thought 200 Dundas St. S was just another vacant building, but the 10 people who lived there said otherwise.

What was once a used car dealership, hair salon and various other commercial businesses has been their home for about four years, according to the tenants.

The occupants of the building were told by the landlord the units they were renting were fit for residential use, but recent property standards violations reported by the tenants themselves brought to light the fact the building is neither zoned for residential use, nor meets fire code for that purpose.

“I’ve been living here for about four years and never once has anyone told me these weren’t residential units,” Rob Hawco said. “Now all of a sudden that the owner has to pay for all of these things he wants us out; the situation is worse than anyone could even imagine.”

Tenants in the building moved in around 2019, shortly after Kahlil Malik and Pureland Investments Inc. took ownership of the property.

The plan was to eventually demolish the old dealership office and redevelop the land into a five-storey apartment building with a commercial unit on the main floor.

Malik said when they first purchased the building, it was clear it was going to take around four years to demolish and start construction. Meanwhile, he said he decided to rent out the property to a subcontractor he identified as “Frank,” to live on site and help pay the mortgage.

“But we knew that four years, it’s gonna take time and we give this place to him. We said, that’s okay you can do whatever, you’re contracting people, they can live over here, if you want,” Malik said over the phone.

Acting director of communications for the City of Cambridge Allison Jones confirmed in an email that staff became aware the property was being used as a rooming house following a property standards complaint made June 15.

In a letter of convention provided by the City of Cambridge they state, the current by-law 150-85 does not permit a residential use or rooming house at this location.

According to official plan and zoning bylaw amendment applications filed by Malik with the City of Cambridge on Feb. 7, 2022, the building is listed as vacant and there are no tenants.

It was presented that way to councillors by city planner Jacqueline Hanneman during a public meeting for the proposal on May 31 last year.

Cambridge Today, however, was told by Malik that tenants have been living in the building for at least three years.

Residents are confused by how the city managed to only find out now that their dwellings are illegal, despite staff handling development applications and hosting public meetings about the property.

Hardy Bromberg, deputy city manager for the city, explained that the city doesn’t go and site check every property that goes through the planning process.

Even if the application said the building was vacant, that information would be irrelevant to the approval process, he added.

“There are obviously people living where they shouldn’t have been and bylaws are going out and addressing it,” Bromberg said. “We rely on the applicant to fill out the application to the best of their ability.”

All of the tenants said they signed a lease agreement, but according to Hawco and his neighbors they denied a physical copy.

“It took me three and a half weeks to get a copy of my lease for my Ontario Works paperwork and they gave us no rent receipts,” said Justin Dwyer, a resident who lives on the upper floor of the building. “And when I first signed it they would only let me take a photo of the lease and said if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have a copy.”

In Ontario, a landlord is required to provide a standard lease to occupants.

“If you are entitled to a standard lease but didn’t get one, ask your landlord in writing for a copy,” reads the province’s website. “Once you request it, they must give it to you within 21 calendar days. If they don’t, you can withhold one month’s rent.”

For years, Hawco, Dwyer and the other residents were paying rent to Frank, but they claimed no work had been done to improve the condition of the building, leaving them living in “dangerous conditions.”

“I called Kahlil and the other property manager for months to fix an outlet that kept blowing,” said Dwyer. “I ended up covering it with a chair so no one would use it and start a fire.”

Dwyer details the conditions of his and his neighbors’ units, which they’ve been living in for the past three and a half years.

“There is mold growing in the bathroom upstairs, my tiles are all chipping and falling apart and not one cent that I’ve paid in rent has gone back into the building,” he said.

“The fire department thinks this place is vacant. What are they going to do when that plug explodes and this place burns down? There are going to be 10 bodies and all of our dogs trapped under the rubble.”

Chief fire prevention officer for Cambridge Fire Department Eric Yates said the building was not on their vacant list and they recently attended the property to confirm there were people living there.

He said CFD responded to all fires at buildings listed as vacant or not with the assumption there may be someone trapped inside.

In the main floor units, it is almost as if the commercial businesses moved out and the tenants moved right in. Hawco points to a unit that still features the sink from the hairdresser in the middle of a room.

Another resident who lives on the main floor, William Ouillette, says he is also on Ontario Works and cannot afford to find a place in today’s market or in the time frame given by Malik.

“I have a hearing issue and my support dog lives with me,” Ouillette said. “If I have to leave here in six weeks, I’ll be out there on the streets.”

Ouillette’s story is similar to most of the tenants who pay considerably less than the market value for their rents.

After the city served Malik with the Letter of Contravention, his legal team has been out to the property to issue N11s to the tenants to end their tenancy.

“The lawyer looked me dead in the eyes and said if you don’t sign this, I will have you out in seven days,” Dwyer said. “This is just classic slumlord business and he doesn’t answer to anyone.”

Malik said he is trying to work with the residents to find new accommodations.

“We were letting them live there but there is a complaint and we have to comply with the city code. Whatever the order comes, we have to work with it,” said Malik. “We give them until the 20th of September to find a new place.”

The N11 that was provided by Ouillette stated that they needed to be out by the end of August.

City manager of municipal compliance John Mattocks said they are working with the property owner to make sure all residents are out of the property and it is reverted back to it’s original state.

As far as the consequences for any alleged misdoings by Malik, Mattocks said the city is only responsible for issuing a court summons if the property owner fails to comply with the bylaws.

“The only course of action we could take is a summons to court. It’s a form of a charge that we would summon the property owner to court and the case would be heard in front of a justice of the peace,” he added.

For now, the residents of 200 Dundas St. S. are continuing to live in a property deemed illegal and unsafe by the city and as every day passes the uncertainty weighs on their shoulders.

“Every day I go to work and I don’t even feel like the same person. I’m usually the fun guy always smiling and laughing, but now I just keep to myself,” Dwyer said. “I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’ll have to live in my truck and it really seems like no one cares about us.”