Tenant advocates across Toronto report continued mismanagement by property company
Posted November 23, 2021 4:43 pm.
Last Updated November 23, 2021 6:24 pm.
Tenants of buildings owned by a Montreal-based property company are once again speaking up over the company’s alleged mismanagement.
Some residents at 2460 and 2500 Keele Street claim the Golden Equity Properties took money out of their bank accounts on the first of the month despite many of them giving notice that they were withdrawing their consent to pay rent by pre-authorized debits.
Despite paying by cheque or money order instead, some say they have received threatening messages about legal actions, and some are even receiving additional mystery charges.
They are also reportedly waiting on “badly-needed” pest control for both buildings, along with water leak issues at 2500 Keele.
Meanwhile, at an apartment complex on Trudelle Street in Scarborough owned by Golden Equity, tenants recently received a letter, saying they were “strictly prohibited” from conducting meetings or gatherings in the common areas of the three buildings, including exterior parts of the property like lawns and parking lots.
The letter cited COVID-19 concerns as the reasoning for the ban on gathering. In a separate letter, tenants were instructed to call building management or police if they see “strangers” circulating “unsolicited written materials” or talking to tenants.
Alicia Ludwig with the Trudelle Tenants Association said the property managers are “trying to paint those that are advocates as troublemakers,” by saying their meetings are illegal.
It’s not the only issue in the building. “We are asking for proper rodent and pest management because we do have cockroaches, bed bugs and rodents in the buildings that are not being addressed.”
Ludwig says every time she’s had an issue with her apartment she has to “fight tooth and nail” to get Golden Equity to do anything.
“There’s always an excuse. There were always delays and it literally turned into a part-time job just trying to follow up and trying to get issues resolved,” added Ludwig. “It’s very sad to know that there are issues and our experiences, they are the norm for Golden Equity.”
Samuel Mason, a lawyer with Parkdale Community Legal Services, is currently representing tenants of a building owned by Golden Equity on King West.
Mason said the company has been unwilling to come together and negotiate when it comes to maintenance and disrepair issues, meaning they have to go through the Landlord and Tenant Board and litigate each issue individually.
“[This] takes up a ton of time, a ton of resources, public resources at the Landlord Tenant Board, but also public resources at the local community legal clinics. And I worry about so many of the tenants in some of their other buildings that aren’t represented by a local legal aid clinic,” said Mason.
He is currently dealing with multiple cases in which the tenant is in rent arrears, also known as failure to pay rent, which some tenants have done as a result of the maintenance issues.
“We’re looking to come together to make an agreement where the landlord is paid the money that they’re owed in rent, but also the landlord commits to doing what they’re legally required to do and that keeps their building up to standard and compensate the tenants for some of the really atrocious disrepair issues that they’ve had to endure over the past year,” said Mason.
This is not the first time CityNews has covered tenant issues at buildings owned by Golden Equity Properties.
Last month, a tenant who had been at his building on Wilson Avenue for over 50 years was issued an eviction notice for not paying rent despite not having missed a payment.
Other tenants on the property had reported several maintenance issues that had been left to worsen. Golden Equity had taken over the building early this year.
Emina Gamulin with Parkdale Organize, a tenant advocacy group, has previously told CityNews about the manner in which Golden Equity operates when taking over a new building. “They try and force them to sign up for preauthorized debit. They have extra fees taken out of their accounts. Tenants start getting eviction notices over nothing.”
The landlord, Golden Equity Properties, is based in Montreal but owns more than a dozen buildings in Toronto. The company declined CityNews’ request for comment. Tenants also say company representatives continue not to speak to them.
