Forty days without gas at 27 Bold St but tenants are organized!

HAMILTON— It’s been over forty days since the gas was shut off at 27 Bold Street. Tenants are living without the ability to cook, take hot showers, or cool their units during a dangerous heatwave. The disruption, caused by a structural issue in late May, has turned into a prolonged crisis marked by silence, neglect, and mounting health and safety risks.

For weeks, tenants received little to no information from Valour Group, the building’s owner. Residents were forced to rely on city bylaw officials for updates, while their day-to-day lives were upended. Without access to working stoves or hot water, tenants have had to spend money on takeout, rely on friends and family, or use makeshift setups to meet their basic needs. The lack of air conditioning is still unresolved, despite extreme summer temperatures that pose health risks for seniors and people with medical conditions. Valour Group still lists air conditioning as of of their amenities included in the lease agreements.

In response to the ongoing crisis and management’s refusal to communicate directly, tenants organized a tenant union with ACORN Hamilton.

Tenant Organizing Forces a Response, But It’s Not Enough

Once organized, the newly formed ACORN Tenant Union at 27 Bold Street drafted and delivered a formal demand letter to Valour Group on June 26. The letter laid out five key demands:

1. A meeting between Valour management and tenant representatives
2. A clear, confirmed timeline for gas restoration with regular updates
3. Immediate restoration of air conditioning or provision of cooling alternatives
4. Transparent communication directly to all tenants
5. Fair compensation for loss of essential services and out-of-pocket expenses

Only after receiving this letter did Valour respond with a letter to ACORN representatives with an assurance to keep communications accessible to all tenants. The notice stated that Valour was “working with multiple parties” to restore gas and gave a tentative restoration date. However, it failed to address most of the tenants’ concerns, and included only a vague mention of “rent abatement” with no clarity on who qualifies or how much compensation would be offered.

Tenants Want a Real Meeting, and Real Compensation

Tenants are not happy with Valour’s current response and agree that it is not enough. The demand for a meeting stands and tenants are calling for it to happen sooner than the timeline implied in the letter. Moreover, the mention of “rent abatement” is too vague to satisfy tenants who have spent money replacing meals, buying fans, paying for alternative bathing options, or even seeking temporary relief elsewhere.

What Tenants Are Fighting For

Tenants in 27 Bold St  are exercising their right to organize, not just to fix a gas line, but to demand the accountability, respect, and dignity that every tenant deserves.

The tenant union at 27 Bold Street is now demanding:

• A meeting with Valour management and tenant reps
• Clear compensation details that address the true scale of tenant inconvenience and costs
• Ongoing accountability to prevent future failures