Ashley Metzger, Centretown News
School board trustee Chris Ellis (front) supports protesters at theACORN Ottawa’s anti-eviction rally.Despite adverse weather conditions, dozens gathered at the corner of Heron and Sandalwood Drive last week to protest the imminent winter eviction of tenants from their rental Heron Gate townhouses.
The 80-unit northeastern block (block seven) of the Timbercreek Asset Management-owned Heron Gate townhouse complex is to be demolished and redeveloped. A low-rise apartment is to be built in its place.
Tenants were served with eviction notices in late September, stating they had to be out no later than Feb. 29, 2016.
The tenants requested an extension to June 30 because of low rental availability during the winter months, the difficulty of moving in winter weather conditions, and the negative impact of removing children from their schools and neighbourhoods mid-year.
Timbercreek has turned them down.
Anas Mashaly is an Egyptian immigrant with three children who has lived in Heron Gate for three years. Her children are enrolled in schools in the area.
Mashaly says she began hearing rumours over the summer about an upcoming eviction and demolition, but when she asked Timbercreek, “they denied everything,” she says. So she arranged school enrolment and extracurricular activities for the upcoming school year, only to receive an eviction notice the next month.
Alta Vista and Rideau-Rockcliffe public school board trustee Chris Ellis expressed concern over students having to change schools mid-year.
“There is no doubt in my mind it will have a negative impact on their learning,” he said at the protest.
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“I don’t want to leave. But, I have to leave. At least give me time, (an) extension (until) summer, so that my kids (can) finish school, Mashaly pleaded in an interview after the protest. “I can’t find an affordable unit. It’s very difficult for me.”
Timbercreek has offered to relocate tenants to other Heron Gate units across Sandalwood Drive, and says many have taken this route, negating any impact on children in school.
However, tenants have complained that when considering this, they’ve been shown units in sub-par condition – not comparable in quality to their current ones.
These units will also cost more, tenants say. Rent is higher and previously included utilities and services like heating and parking are no longer included, raising monthly fees considerably.
Timbercreek rejects the complaints. In a letter to tenant representative Mavis Finnamore, it says that “rents for all units vary by type and size. These rents are based on market values. Timbercreek staff has been working with each resident to secure suitable housing at competitive rents.”
Some tenants claim that pressure to leave their townhouses has crept up over the past two years. They say that Timbercreek stopped acting on repair requests and altogether ceased maintenance on their units.
“(Timbercreek) was actually telling them ‘we are not going to be doing any more repairs in here and we would suggest that you move out and find something on the other side,’” says Finnamore, who has lived in her Heron Gate townhouse for 31 years. “They deliberately pushed some people out.”
Timbercreek, however, says it “has not been approached directly by any residents with this type of complaint so we are not in a position to respond to this issue.”
“The last couple of years, they’ve played games with these people,” says Sanna Dia, a Heron Gate tenant of 22 years. “It’s disgusting.”
“In the meantime, I was starting to hear rumours that they wanted to demolish this area,” says Finnamore. When she inquired about these rumours, management denied them, she says.
“I was going to meetings and saying ‘what’s going on with these units?’ . . . I never got a straight answer,” says Finnamore.
Tenants have been given five months notice to vacate, two months more than the three required by law, plus compensation equivalent to three months of rent. Timbercreek is also offering an additional $1,500 to assist with moving costs.
“What they don’t tell you is that you don’t get that in advance, so that you can use that for first and last months rent, or paying for your moving truck. You only get that when you turn your keys in,” says Finnamore.
She says that this has made it difficult for tenants to pay for moving fees, resulting in them leaving furniture and other large possessions behind.
“It’s all perfectly legal,” says Finnamore. She says “surprisingly,” there seem to be minimal maintenance standards preventing landlords from allowing rental properties to decay, and no laws in place preventing winter eviction.
“If the city allows this, I think it’s a problem with the city. The city has to protect low-income people … this is not right,” says Mashaly.
“Anybody who’s living in an older unit, I would be a little bit leery, because if people see Timbercreek getting away with this, there are others who might be considering this too,” says Finnamore.
“If you want to redevelop, here’s a good way to do it. Let the whole place rot for two years inside. Everybody gets scared. Then pay off the last bunch that’s still hanging on, and blam! You get all your approvals for whatever you want to redevelop.”