Viewer Pictures Reveals Disturbing State Of Apt. Building

It’s a depressing place

Cockroaches crawl along the hallways.

Leaky pipes sit near hydro outlets. 

And there’s garbage galore out back.

It’s an apartment building at 2777 Kipling Ave.

And some people are forced to call it home.

Carl Knee is one of them. He and his girlfriend moved into the Etobicoke building about a year ago. Since then, he’s been fighting a losing battle to get things fixed.

He sent CityNews some pictures of the interior of the building and then invited us in for a closer look.

Broken wires dot many electrical junctions. And he fears some are truly dangerous.

“A leaking pipe as you can see, condensing right here,” he points out as he leads a tour of the interior. “It’s never been fixed. It’s right by an electrical light which could cause an electrical fire. This is what our money pays for.

“The fire alarm isn’t even in the right place.”

It’s held up by a rope tied to a door.

There’s a burnt-out car sitting in the underground garage.

And while a fire hose is in its proper recessed place in a hallway, it’s not properly hooked up and there’s no glass in it to keep someone from reaching in and taking the equipment.

Fire officials admit they’ve heard about problems in the building before.

“This is unacceptable to us,” agrees Division Chief Michael Gerrard of Toronto Fire Services.  “I’m familiar with the building. We get a lot of complaints for it and we’re in there roughly every seven to ten days.”

But he adds building management has been very cooperative in fixing the problem and that the place is now back up to code.

Still, when CityNews went to confront the manager about the troubles inside, building brass immediately began arguing with us.

“You’re trespassing. You are trespassing,” a woman declares, threatening to call the police, although we were invited in by a tenant.  “Can you please get out?”

She then seems to push at the camera trying to keep the operator from capturing any more pictures.

The Tenants’ Association maintains the building has been problematic for years.

For Knee, it’s all been too much. “It’s not right that people have to pay money for this,” he complains. “Horrible.”

What can you do if you’re similarly dissatisfied with the complex where you live?  

1. Speak to and write to the property owner / manager of your building about your concerns (put your concerns in writing and keep a copy).

2. If after a reasonable period of time the repairs are still not done, contact your local Municipal Licensing and Standards (ML&S) district office:

OR

3. If the repairs done by the property owner / manager are not done properly or in a workmanlike way, you can get in touch with your local ML&S district office for assistance.

4. When you call the ML&S office, staff will discuss the matter with you and may arrange for an inspection. A ML&S officer will come to inspect the property. A ‘Notice of Violation’ or ‘Order to Comply’ may be issued to the property owner if they have made no or improper repairs.

5. If your request is an emergency or of an urgent nature, contact your property owner / manager for immediate attention to the problem. If the problem isn’t addressed, contact ML&S staff who may then issue an ‘Order to Comply’.

ML&S District Offices

North York District     416 395-7011
Toronto & East York District     416 397-9200
Scarborough District     416 396-7071
Etobicoke York District     416 394-2535

Source: City of Toronto

If you’d like more information or to find out how to check on whether an apartment complex in Toronto has had a previous violation, click here.