Hamilton tenants 'thrilled' after LTB blocks landlord's renoviction attempts

Samantha Beattie · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 8:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Tenants astatine a Hamilton flat gathering are nary longer surviving nether the threat of renoviction after a triumph astatine Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). 

Beverly Hoadley, 87, and Amanda Dick, 42, were among the much than 20 radical living at 103 Emerald St. S. who fought N13 eviction notices —  saying determination are plans for enactment astatine a building, similar a demolition or repairs — determination were filed by landlord Jon Pilon.

Many, including Hoadley, person lived determination for decades. 

As soon arsenic Dick received the LTB's determination Friday morning, she went down the hallway to stock the "super exciting" quality with Hoadley.

"Bev feels great. She is thrilled," said Dick. "Her 50-year tenancy is going to proceed indefinitely." 

The landlord, based successful London, said he needed tenants to determination retired truthful helium could make 4 basement units and, successful each the existing units, paint, regenerate flooring and windows, and upgrade kitchens and bathrooms, according to the LTB decision. 

A punctuation from a operation institution "highly recommended" the gathering beryllium vacant during renovations, but didn't accidental it was required, the LTB found. The punctuation besides said the h2o and plumbing would request to beryllium unopen disconnected "for extended periods of time," but didn't specify for however agelong oregon if it could beryllium done intermittently. 

Landlord vague connected details: LTB

At the LTB hearing, Pilon wasn't capable to supply immoderate much details astir the work disruptions for tenants, the determination said. 

Under astir circumstances, landlords indispensable get each permits earlier the LTB volition let them to renovict tenants, wrote adjudicator Camille Tancioco in the decision. 

However, Pilon told the board he hadn't obtained city permits that would let him to renovate the basement due to the fact that of the ransomware onslaught that affected metropolis services implicit a twelvemonth ago, but that they'd beryllium coming successful soon, the determination said. 

 "[Pilon] has not provided capable documentary grounds that helium had taken each tenable steps to get the indispensable permits," Tancioco said. 

As for the different units, Pilon admitted the renovations were cosmetic and didn't necessitate a gathering permit, the decision said. 

"There is insufficient grounds for maine to reason that the repairs/renovations are truthful extended that vacant possession is required," Tancioco ruled. 

Pilon did not respond to a petition for remark done his legal typical and spot manager. 

City bylaw kicks in

Dick said she's "very, precise relieved" with the determination arsenic it would beryllium challenging to find a caller flat she could spend connected fixed disability enactment payments. She presently pays $850 a month. 

Her landlord could reapply to evict tenants astatine immoderate time, Dick said. But she is hopeful an further furniture of extortion added by the City of Hamilton will assistance support tenants if it's done successful atrocious faith. 

"The renoviction bylaw removes immoderate of the fiscal inducement for him to bash that successful the archetypal place," said Dick. "We're hoping helium finds it to beryllium excessively overmuch occupation and moves on." 

As of Jan. 1, a new bylaw requires landlords to use to the metropolis for a licence that costs $750 wrong 1 week of giving tenants N13 notices. 

The landlord is required to supply documentation, specified arsenic a gathering licence and engineering report, that specifies units indispensable beryllium vacant for the enactment to beryllium done and reviewed by metropolis staff. 

If licensed, the landlord is required to relocate tenants who program to determination backmost successful aft renovations. The landlord must provide them with similar units successful presumption of size and rental complaint and, ideally, successful the aforesaid building. 

If a portion of a akin size, determination and outgo can't beryllium found, the landlord indispensable supply tenants with "rent spread payments" — the outgo quality betwixt their existent rent and mean marketplace rent — for arsenic galore months arsenic they're displaced. 

If the landlord doesn't comply, the city can issue fines ranging from $400 to up to $10,000 per portion for an idiosyncratic landlord and up to $50,000 per portion for a corp depending connected the severity oregon if determination are repeat offences. 

In mentation for the LTB hearing, the Emerald Street tenants formed a national and received support from advocacy radical ACORN and the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic (HCLC). 

"This is the culmination of 7 months of hard, stressful work," Dick said. "Without ACORN and HCLC's help, we would've been lost. There's nary mode we could've pulled this disconnected connected our own."