{"id":5007,"date":"2021-08-19T10:52:47","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T14:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/torontocom-rexdale-tenants-demand-landlord-fix-black-mould-bedbugs-and-broken-down-appliances\/"},"modified":"2021-08-19T10:52:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T14:52:47","slug":"torontocom-rexdale-tenants-demand-landlord-fix-black-mould-bedbugs-and-broken-down-appliances","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/news\/torontocom-rexdale-tenants-demand-landlord-fix-black-mould-bedbugs-and-broken-down-appliances\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto.com: Rexdale tenants demand landlord fix black mould, bedbugs and broken-down appliances"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPosted August 19, 2021<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\"\"Rexdale tenants of 1960-built low-rise apartment buildings and townhouses are protesting what they charge are years of maintenance and repair issues not addressed by Pinedale Properties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tFour low-rise apartments and 60 townhouses on Bergamot Avenue gave long-standing tenants affordable homes as city rents skyrocketed beyond reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tThe Hussain-Ezzi family pays $1,200 a month, plus hydro and parking, for a three-bedroom apartment. Monique Gordon pays $1,220 rent for her three-bedroom in the same building.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tBut both say living conditions at Bergamot are bringing some tenants to the breaking point.\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tSakina Hussain-Ezzi said she was pregnant, and later bathed her newborn son, Burhanuddin, in their bathroom riddled with black mould on the bathtub, tiles, walls, ceiling and under the sink.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tBlack mould along the bathtub and tile of the Hussain-Ezzi’s bathroom in their Pinedale Properties’ Bergamot apartment, where daughter Sakina bathes her baby son, Burhanuddin. The superintendent has since removed the mould. Sakina Hussain-Ezzi and Radiyah Hussain-Ezzi photos<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s terrible, really terrible,\u201d she said. \u201cThey painted right over the existing mould and said it wouldn\u2019t come back. A year later, not only did it come back, it spread even further. (Since then) our superintendent came in, scrubbed down the mould and applied some chemicals to kill and prevent it from coming back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tLast week, the family got a new stove after earlier attempts to repair it failed. Hussain-Ezzi said she was asked verbally to contribute $250 toward the new unit. She refused.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur stove was sparking even when it was off. You could smell the wiring burning,\u201d she said. \u201cI have a baby. They said if we wanted to replace the stove it would cost us $250. I said no. That doesn\u2019t seem right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tIsabelle Garcia, Pinedale Properties\u2019 property manager of 9-27 Bergamot Ave., did not respond to repeated calls and emails requesting comment on tenants\u2019 repairs, maintenance and security concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tLast Friday, housing advocacy group Toronto ACORN (Association of Community Organization for Reform Now) members and 9-27 Bergamot Ave. tenants rallied for improved living conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tThis comes after a Toronto ACORN letter to Pinedale dated June 17 demanded action on tenants\u2019 issues, including mice, cockroach and bedbug infestations; building maintenance, plumbing and security issues; frequent sewage backup; and no building security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tThis year, the city has issued two property standards orders against Pinedale and is working with them to bring them into compliance. Municipal licensing officers have also visited the properties 19 times this year and investigated 30 tenants\u2019 complaints, city spokesperson Lyne Kyle said in an email.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis includes conducting ongoing inspections and issuing property standard orders for areas of concerns that do not meet regulations set out under the City\u2019s Property Standards Bylaw and\/or Apartment Buildings Bylaw,\u201d Kyle wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tMany tenants feel trapped.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe problem is rents are so high in Toronto,\u201d Hussain-Ezzi said. \u201cWhere can low-income people live? We can\u2019t afford double the rent for a two-bedroom apartment. But management is really pushing our limits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tAt the rally, Monique Gordon, a Toronto ACORN member and Hussain-Ezzi\u2019s neighbour, urged tenants to first email Garcia their complaints, then call 311 if repairs did not happen, and keep the report number.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tCity bylaws require landlords respond to urgent service requests, such as no heat or water, within 24 hours, and non-urgent service requests within seven days.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cStop being afraid,\u201d Gordon told tenants. \u201cStop paying $250 for a fridge and $250 for a stove. You as a group need to fight back against Pinedale. If you need help, come to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\"\"Gordon took a reporter to her apartment, where paint is peeling on her kitchen cabinets and mould is growing on her bathtub stopper. She also showed a reporter the lockers in the basement of two townhouse complexes where black mould was forming two feet up the wall and on the stairs from what Gordon said was flooding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLife has been rough for the majority of tenants,\u201d Gordon said in an interview. \u201cPeople are getting tired. They\u2019re tired of fighting the battle. \u2026 \u201cIf (Pinedale) would just (repair) one thing at a time and do it properly, the place would be livable. Right now, it\u2019s not livable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tArticle by Tamara Shephard for Toronto.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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