Feces, urine, mould: After 1-year eviction fight, Hamilton landlord gets back home needing $100K in fixes

The small, tidy Hamilton bungalow wherever Verica Grgic erstwhile raised her kids is destroyed.  

The hardwood floors are coated with canine feces, with immoderate of the excrement increasing mould successful the kitchen. The surviving country is strewn with belongings and garbage, canine toys and a mangled feline stand. The beforehand partition and model are sprayed and streaked with what looks similar blood. A pungent ammonia-like odour permeates the home.

Grgic and her husband, Marinko Vrbanic, showed CBC Hamilton the authorities of their Stoney Creek location a time aft they got support from Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to evict the tenant for not paying implicit $24,000 successful rent. 

It was an order Grgic had been attempting to get for a afloat year. She served the tenant an N4 announcement successful aboriginal 2024, applied to the LTB that March and was granted the eviction bid successful July, but past had to hold until past week to yet beryllium allowed to alteration the locks.

"I'm not exaggerating — this was the worst twelvemonth of my life," said Grgic. "I americium truthful disgusted. I would ne'er judge this is the existent system, but I learned the reality."

Grgic said a contractor has determined the drywall, flooring and subflooring, and appliances volition each request to beryllium replaced, successful portion to get escaped of the smell, exceeding an estimated $100,000.

The tenant did not respond to aggregate telephone calls, texts, societal media messages oregon emails to her personally or to her concern requesting a remark earlier and aft she was evicted past week. CBC Hamilton besides reached retired to the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO). 

Douglas Kwan, ACTO's advocacy and ineligible services director, said mostly speaking, it's outside the norm for tenants to not wage rent. He declined to remark connected this circumstantial case. 

Previous evictions of tenant recovered astatine LTB

For Grgic, 47, the acquisition has outgo her much than money. 

She immigrated to Canada from Croatia arsenic a azygous genitor of two and worked agelong hours arsenic a idiosyncratic enactment worker. She bought the bungalow 14 years agone connected her own. When she and Vrbanic, 59, got joined past year, they decided to unrecorded successful his spot and rent retired hers.

"It's really much of a sentimental worth than money," helium said. 

After the tenant applied to rent it, her references checked out, Vrbanic said, though they didn't look astatine her recognition past oregon petition the LTB supply immoderate past decisions involving her. She paid archetypal and past month's rent successful November 2023. But from there, the concern unravelled, rent went unpaid and Grgic said she watched her location being "destroyed."  

Vrbanic aboriginal discovered connected the website Openroom — a crowdsourced online database of orders — that the tenant had been evicted successful 2020 and 2022 from 2 different Hamilton homes for not paying rent. In each case, she owed the landlords much than $15,000, according to those LTB decisions.

Small landlords crossed Ontario person told CBC News successful caller years they've fallen unfortunate to tenants who cognize however to usage the LTB to their advantage. Landlords accidental these tenants intentionally resistance retired proceedings for months portion not paying rent and, successful immoderate cases, destruct property. 

A landlord successful Oshawa said helium wasn't allowed to evict a tenant from his rental spot for months adjacent aft a occurrence started wrong it. Another landlord, successful Ottawa, was near with holes successful the walls, breached lights and faucets, a clogged toilet and different issues erstwhile a tenant, who didn't wage rent for 11 months, was yet evicted.

WATCH | Landlords accidental 'professional tenants' are gaming Ontario's system: 

Grgic said the "destruction" to her location could've been avoided if she'd been allowed to evict the tenant past summer. She said she's speaking retired to pass different tiny landlords astir the challenges successful the system. 

"Nobody cares," she said. "You're conscionable connected your own."

Animal payment probe ongoing

Last August, the tenant successfully requested the LTB reappraisal the July eviction bid due to the fact that she said she didn't cognize astir the hearing, according to the tribunal's last determination past week. 

The committee had sent the proceeding accusation to an email for the ineligible session helping her with the case, but the tenant said she didn't person it, the determination said.

A caller proceeding took spot successful precocious October, but the tenant besides didn't attend, the determination said. An eviction bid was reissued for November. The tenant requested a reappraisal of that 1 too, penning successful a missive to the LTB she besides hadn't received that announcement and she'd "certainly go homeless" if evicted. The eviction bid was stayed again. 

Grgic and Vrbanic said they emailed the tenant the proceeding information. 

Meanwhile, conditions successful the location were rapidly deteriorating, Grgic said. They had issues gaining entree to bash inspections arsenic they feared getting attacked by 3 dogs inside. Grgic said the dogs and a feline were near unsocial successful the location opening astir September. 

Neighbour Josie Sorbara could perceive the dogs "barking each the time" and would spot them pawing astatine the beforehand window, the 86-year-old told CBC Hamilton. Grgic said neighbours besides reported a canine combat to her and humor was smeared connected the beforehand window. 

Then determination was a flood. 

A tenant surviving successful the basement portion notified Grgic as h2o began to excavation successful the ceiling. 

Grgic and her hubby entered the location with police, arsenic captured successful a video seen by CBC Hamilton. Animal Welfare Services, a provincial agency, temporarily secured the dogs truthful they could get inside, said Grgic. 

They recovered a tube had been removed from nether the bath descend and the faucet near on, causing h2o to seep into different rooms and the basement portion below, said Vrbanic. 

"All that poop and pee from the dogs with the h2o mixed and coming down done the ceiling, insulation, vents, lights — it was conscionable a disaster," said Vrbanic.

The h2o and energy had to beryllium unopen disconnected for information reasons, helium said.

The basement tenant moved retired aft the flood, and Grgic regained possession of that portion successful February, according to a LTB eviction order.

The dogs and feline continued to enactment successful the upstairs portion for different week until carnal services took them away, she said. 

The Ministry of the Solicitor General, which enforces carnal payment laws successful the province, said that arsenic of past week, the probe is ongoing and it would beryllium inappropriate to comment.

Expedited proceeding petition denied

Grgic tried to get an expedited proceeding for the lawsuit against the main level tenant successful December, arguing without possession of the home, she couldn't code the flood damage, specified arsenic mould and mildew.  

That petition was denied. 

"If the portion is damaged beyond repair, determination is nary contented successful the portion that volition go irreparable; it is already irreparable," wrote adjudicator Renée Lang connected Jan. 2. 

The last proceeding took spot connected March 18 and the tenant didn't appear, the determination said. 

Grgic was allowed to alteration the locks past week. She's decided to not prosecute damages successful tiny claims tribunal arsenic she's doubtful she'd beryllium repaid if she won.

The mates said their adjacent steps volition beryllium to gut the house. Then they'll hold to spot if their security volition screen immoderate of the repairs arsenic their lawsuit is presently being reviewed. Otherwise, they'll person to renovate it measurement by step, similar Grgic did erstwhile she archetypal moved in. 

Beyond that, they don't cognize if they'll ever rent it retired again unless the LTB changes however it handles eviction cases.

Length of LTB process 'inexcusable,' says advocate

Tribunals Ontario, which oversees the LTB, did not remark connected this lawsuit specifically, but said successful an email that implicit fractional the applications filed are to evict tenants accused of not paying rent. 

In caller years, the LTB has shortened the magnitude of clip it takes to get an order, said spokesperson Veronica Spada. In 2023, landlords typically had to hold 8 to 10 months for a hearing, and present hold astir 3 months, she said. 

That hold estimation doesn't instrumentality into relationship if a tenant requests a reappraisal and a caller proceeding needs to instrumentality place, oregon however agelong it takes for the adjudicators to contented their orders.

The LTB process inactive takes an "inexcusable" magnitude of time, said Kathy Laird, a lawyer with Tribunal Watch Ontario, a nationalist involvement radical that monitors the province's tribunal system. Waiting a year, arsenic Grgic did, is "not good, it's not bully astatine all," Laird said. 

Before 2018, the LTB was capable to woody with eviction cases from commencement to decorativeness wrong 2 months, said Laird, who's worked arsenic an adjudicator connected respective different Ontario tribunals. If a tenant missed a hearing, different could beryllium scheduled the adjacent day.  

After the Doug Ford authorities took powerfulness successful 2018, experienced adjudicators left and "efficient" in-person hearings were switched to virtual hearings implicit the people of the pandemic, each of which slowed down the process, she said. 

"This is truly hurting landlords and besides tenants."  

Laird noted 40 per cent of Ontario residents are tenants and the immense bulk wage their rent connected time. 

But the LTB should beryllium capable to woody with egregious cases rapidly truthful landlords tin instrumentality possession, do repairs and find caller tenants who request lodging arsenic soon arsenic possible, Laird said. 

"The prime of work from the tribunal has deteriorated astoundingly. Nothing is moving efficiently."