at another Klein building in Cambridge<\/a>, where residents are past their move-out date and have already installed cameras, afraid for themselves and their pets.<\/p>\n\u201cMy twin doesn’t want to leave the house because we don’t know if somebody’s gonna come into our unit and lock the door on us,\u201d said 94 Beck St. resident Paige Pires. \u201cYou don’t feel safe in your own home. You have to sleep clearly with one eye open, because what’s next?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pires has been living at her Beck Street apartment in Cambridge for over 15 years and was given her N13 to move out by Sept. 30. The building is owned by 94 Beck Inc., which lists Klein as its director.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the remaining residents of the building received a $3,000 cheque slid under their doors. According to resident Kristie Syvret, the tenants were urged to deposit the money by a legal team they have retained to help them through this process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the amount they legally had to give us for the three months rent,\u201d she said. \u201cOur lawyer Mitchell Kent kept saying: \u2018Cash it, you need to put it in the bank because this is the only cheque they’re going to give you.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
They are now awaiting an L2 document from the landlord, a form given to residents after the N13. According to the LTB it is an \u201capplication to end a tenancy and evict a tenant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Syvret describes getting the cheque with no other paperwork, information or notices attached to it. They have also not heard from the management, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a lot of pressure, everybody is on edge because you don’t know what’s gonna happen,\u201d said Pries.<\/p>\n
She said the contact between residents and management has been so rare that even during emergencies they can\u2019t get anyone on the phone.<\/p>\n
She recalls scrambling to try and find someone to call after a flood from the utility room sent water into her unit. Pries only had two phone numbers to call; she said one didn\u2019t work and one was for a woman in Montreal.<\/p>\n
Multiple attempts to reach building management and ownership for comments were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Tenants are frustrated they don\u2019t know the face behind the corporation that owns their building and has control over their living spaces. They say that lack of contact leaves them relying mostly on rumours, which only feed the fear and confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s a ghost,\u201d Pries said of Klein.<\/p>\n
Besides property records, which show 94 Beck Inc. purchased the Cambridge building for over $4 million, one of the only traces of Klein-linked corporations are frequent legal battles in Hamilton to Toronto, often by vendors who\u2019ve done work for him.<\/p>\n
The Toronto-based Klein has been accused by at least one contractor in Waterloo of non-payment to the tune of $80,000. The contractor, who asked not to be named, was working on a commercial property on King Street for Klein.<\/p>\n
When Klein stopped making payments and taking his calls, he said he spent a great deal of time trying to track him down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was ignoring me completely until I took him to the Ontario Dispute Adjudication,\u201d the contractor wrote in an email to GuelphToday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasted more time than I should have trying to chase him for that. I probably would have wrote it off if the guy wasn\u2019t such an asshole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lawyers at Riverview Legal Services representing the band of 10 units at the Cambridge apartments have had no luck finding or contacting Klein or his associates to send the first right-to-refusal paperwork. The legal team wants to make sure that whoever owns the property has the documents that show intent to return if they are forced to leave for renovations.<\/p>\n
Since 94 Beck Inc. has taken over the building, Syvret and the other tenants report they have been given three separate addresses to send rent payments to via mail.<\/p>\n
According to Syvret, she had a representative from the property owner refuse to confirm if the address listed on the N13, 140 Tycos Dr. was the correct address to send documentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a representative literally sit in my living room, I showed him the address and he would not confirm that is the address we\u2019re supposed to send our information to,\u201d she said. \u201cThey want us to mail our rent in and our cheques have been lost in the mail, I can\u2019t tell how many times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having gotten the runaround from management and previously having their rent cheques lost in the mail, the validity of these addresses continues to confuse her lawyers who want to confirm their notices are being received.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of what Michael Klein has been doing, I think when people say he is currently the biggest renovictor in the province of Ontario, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s an exaggeration,\u201d said Clendenning.<\/p>\n
Clendenning said that using new corporations for each purchase is a tactic often used by companies or individuals \u201cdoing this a little more systematically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a structure that some people try to use, because you can obviously hide behind the numbered corporation, and it can make it more difficult for tenants to link the properties together.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Cambridge real estate and business lawyer Bill Schwarz said owning dozens of corporations isn\u2019t necessarily nefarious; it might just be a way of self-preservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a prudent way to protect your investment,\u201d said Schwarz.<\/p>\n
He noted if an individual is interested in securing investors or loans to buy a property, a separate corporation could insulate investors from other dealings with failed properties elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing is, you wouldn\u2019t want one tenant at one building contaminating the business record going forward,\u201d said Schwarz. \u201cThis is done to limit personal liability.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is also a way to avoid responsibility for failed investments in the past and would limit what would have to be reported to other financial institutions or lenders.<\/p>\n
Still, it concerns Clendenning, who said the Residential Tenancies Act was updated a few years ago to require landlords to disclose any previous N13s issued within the last two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge is that when the person doesn\u2019t personally own each building, the question becomes, is he still required to name all of the corporations, when he\u2019s probably the one who\u2019s acting behind them?\u201d<\/p>\n
In her view, Klein is ultimately acting in bad faith, and that it\u2019s important for him to come out of hiding \u201cso this doesn\u2019t continue to happen. Because otherwise, we\u2019re just putting out fires as they keep popping up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at what he\u2019s been doing and how long he\u2019s been doing it, it\u2019s so widespread that I think we really need to shut this practice down once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klein is 62. The Waterloo contractor said he interacted primarily with Shaya, Klein\u2019s 29-year-old son, who \u201cseemed like a pretty good guy, and the project was going fairly well for the most part.\u201d<\/p>\n
From his perspective, it seemed like Shaya was taking over, as Klein was rarely around, though he\u2019s listed as the director and officer of the corporation 622 King Holdings Inc.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Michael Klein showed up to a couple of site meetings. I haven\u2019t got anything nice to say about the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was actually considering working on another project with Shaya until Klein stepped in.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter meeting Michael, I closed that door pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
When payments fell through, he said Klein stopped answering his emails. The contractor said he hasn\u2019t heard from him in six months. Eventually Shaya stopped answering too.<\/p>\n
He said they\u2019ve stopped maintaining the site altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe site just looks all overgrown, it looks like crap,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The address the contractor had on file for Klein was 2929 Bathurst St. in North York. The owner of the property, Vivian Murphy, told Village Media that Klein hadn\u2019t been a tenant at the building for nearly two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took off on us and I\u2019ll tell you right now I\u2019ve had numerous people call me about him, but I don’t know where he went, he left,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cWe tried to get a hold of him, none of the numbers were connected that we had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy noted that after two months of non-payment for rent, she decided to go down and check in on Klein. When she arrived, the unit was empty, with no trace of Klein.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t end his tenancy, he just left without paying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Corporations linked to Klein at 2929 Bathurst date back to 2000, the most recent being 622 King Holdings Inc., the same building the contractor from Waterloo worked on. Murphy adds that though Klein is gone, his businesses still receive mail and visits from people trying to find him.<\/p>\n
The warehouse at 140 Tycos Dr. in North York is another longtime Klein-affiliated building, with incorporations naming Klein as director dating back to 1986.<\/p>\n
The three-building apartment complex on Brant Avenue in Guelph currently facing renovictions is one of 16 Klein-related corporations tied to 140 Tycos Dr.; at least four more are facing renovictions.<\/p>\n
The main driving force behind these corporations is Family Properties, which was incorporated in 2016 with Michael Klein as the sole officer and director. Its registered address is at 2929 Bathurst St., along with 21 other active corporations, some of which also own buildings where tenants have faced, or are facing, renovictions.<\/p>\n
Its website lists apartments for rent in many buildings owned by Klein corporations. Further confusing things, the website states Family Properties is also known as the Blazin Group, which was incorporated in 2007 with a 2929 Bathurst St. address.<\/p>\n
The Family Properties office is located at 140 Tycos, confirmed by someone who said they were an employee when reporters visited the office. Only one business is advertised on the side of the building, a large sign for Artetex Fashions, which is no longer in business according to Google.<\/p>\n
Reporters from Village Media went to the offices located at 140 Tycos to try and make contact with Family Properties, Klein or anyone associated with the business.<\/p>\n
The Family Properties employee confirmed it was the right office, but that Michael and Shaya Klein were not in.<\/p>\n
Other employees could be seen moving behind the frosted glass of the office and refused to come to the door.<\/p>\n
The phone number listed on the Family Properties website goes to a voicemail for \u201cDiamond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diamond International Management Inc. was incorporated in 1994 with a Michael Klein listed as the director. Its registered address is a home on Glengrove Avenue; the man who lived there claimed to have never heard of Klein. A \u201cDiamond Internationa\u201d is listed in Yellow Pages as 140 Tycos Dr.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, \u201cDiamond International\u201d is listed at 508 Dawes Rd. in East York, another Klein-affiliated building. Klein, Shaya and Brahmbhatt all use \u201cdiamond\u201d email addresses \u2013 but with common domains like Rogers and MSN.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, information about Diamond and Family Properties is slim.<\/p>\n
Village Media visited a number of these business offices in an attempt to contact Klein, all to no avail.<\/p>\n
After numerous attempts to contact Klein through various email addresses, phone calls, and office visits, Village Media decided to go knock on his door.<\/p>\n
He appears to live at a North York address in the upscale Forest Hill North neighbourhood, which is also listed as the mailing address for another property Klein is tied to: a lavish multi-million dollar property in sunny Miami.<\/p>\n
There were three cars in the Forest Hill home\u2019s driveway and someone who resembled Klein was seen inside sitting on a couch by the front window. When he heard the reporters knocking, he looked right at them, got up and walked out of sight. But no one answered the door.<\/p>\n
When reporters stuffed a business card in the mailbox and walked back to their car, a man who looked to be a scowling Shaya Klein, Michael Klein\u2019s son, appeared on the sidewalk wearing tinted glasses, a ball cap, white shoes and a Nike shirt and track pants.<\/p>\n
He was upset.<\/p>\n
Claiming to be a concerned neighbour, he wanted to know what the reporters were doing in front of the house.<\/p>\n
When told they were looking for Klein, he said \u201che doesn\u2019t live on this street,\u201d and asked repeatedly where the reporters obtained their information from.<\/p>\n
Property records show the address belongs to Klein, purchased in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d you see that?\u201d the man asked.<\/p>\n
When reporters explained the address was found on documents available to the public, he changed his tune, questioning why they would show up at someone\u2019s house, claiming it was harassment.<\/p>\n
He refused to give his name. Reporters told the man he looked like Klein\u2019s son and he became defensive, asking how they knew what Shaya looked like.<\/p>\n
When shown a photo, he didn\u2019t respond, but continued to pepper reporters with questions about their sources, asking where the pictures and documents came from, wanting specific names of the people who confirmed the people in the photos were the Kleins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just curious,\u201d the \u201cneighbour\u201d repeatedly said.<\/p>\n
He finally walked back up the driveway of the house next door (which does not belong to Klein), though reporters did not see him go inside before driving off.<\/p>\n
Numerous attempts through various means to contact Michael Klein, Shaya Klein and their business associates have so far gone unanswered.<\/p>\n
Before her building was sold and the new owners took over, Beck Street resident Wendy Spittal had never heard the word \u2018renoviction\u2019 until it happened at her apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel like he’s more than wealthy enough to need it that bad to throw people out on the street. Why?\u201d asked Spittal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t know how this is legal. It really makes me mad at the government, everything like how? Why would they let this happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Like many residents, Spittal is refusing to leave after building a life in her unit. She sees no reason why she should have to give that up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it the way it is. My place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Thomas Kaufman, who lives at 8 Brant Ave. in Guelph, feels the same.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s spent the last 10 years making his house a home with unique and custom pieces designed to fit the space, and doesn\u2019t want to move, or to be separated from his son Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be okay, but I won\u2019t have a home anymore. Whatever I have left from our family \u2026 because what we\u2019re paying her for rent, I\u2019ll barely get a room somewhere. We\u2019ll probably be separated.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the renovations are unnecessary and nothing more than \u201ccandy coating,\u201d and intends to fight the renoviction alongside other tenants.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to make an example out of somebody like him. If we don\u2019t, we\u2019re really just letting it happen,\u201d Kaufman said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t stand for our rights, what rights do we have in the end? What are other people going to have to go through too?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lichty agrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust hang in there. There\u2019s got to be something good to come out of this. Fight, don\u2019t back down.\u201d<\/p>\n
**********
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