Regent Park family gets hosed by backed-up sink in TCH home

For Zakaul Shah Bari and his family, their dream home in Regent Park has become a nightmare with no end in sight.

For the past four years the family has dealt with a mysterious sink malfunction that spews backed-up, greasy, garbage water all over their Sackville Avenue home, owned by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.

“The worst part is definitely the smell. It’s horrible,” Bari’s son told CityNews.

The family say the sink backs-up and overflows about once a month and each time requires a six to seven hour clean up.

Garbage water once coated the apartment while the family was away, leading to $6,000 in damage and forcing them to replace the carpet, sofa, and electronics — all at their own expense.

TCH paid for the family to stay in a hotel for two weeks while structural repairs were done, but there was no reimbursement for the personal belongings.

The public housing provider recommends tenants take out renters insurance for such costs, said Sara Goldvine, a TCH spokesperson.

Snaking the lines and power washing the pipes has offered short term relief, but Goldvine said a permanent solution to the family’s problem has been hard to come by.

“Our staff have looked at all possible causes of this problem and we haven’t yet been able to identify a lasting solution,” Goldvine said.

TCH has offered to move the family into a new unit, but they declined saying they waited six years for this place and don’t want to uproot their three young children after being in the area for 13 years.