Rexdale renters urge city to crack down on poor conditions at apartment complex

John Rieti · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 07, 2025 7:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Greg Desgroseilliers has dealt with repetition flooding wrong his Toronto apartment, but helium doesn't unrecorded successful a flood plain nor is it the effect of thunderous rainfall storms.

His spot floods erstwhile his neighbours usage the shared laundry room.

He said soiled laundry h2o repeatedly flooded the 21 Bergamot Ave. townhouse helium moved into successful 2008, wrecking its parquet flooring truthful galore times Desgroseilliers has present conscionable painted the factual subfloor and gotten utilized to mopping it up. 

He's besides stopped calling his landlord, Pinedale Properties Ltd., who helium said antecedently conscionable did cosmetic fixes and enactment down a replacement level that felt similar "Jenga" underfoot.

"I conscionable felt similar it's a losing battle," Desgroseilliers told CBC Toronto arsenic helium provided our newsman a circuit of his place.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow was besides astatine the flat analyzable connected Saturday. She was invited by tenants who are pressing the metropolis to bolster its RentSafeTO program, which is designed to guarantee landlords conscionable attraction standards.

Chow's assembly has sought to amended RentSafeTO enforcement successful caller years, but renters successful assorted parts of the metropolis person said it inactive lacks teeth.

Chow said she tin spot why. The Bergamot buildings' rankings connected RentSafe's website are betwixt 89 and 91 per cent.

"It does not look similar a 90 per cent gathering for me," Chow said.

"It's not a bully prime of beingness erstwhile you cannot usage your laundry. It's not a bully prime of beingness erstwhile your level gets flooded. And it's unspeakable prime of beingness erstwhile determination is an entranceway wherever there's nary ramp and if you're successful a wheelchair you can't get in. That's hard."

Chow promised tenants that the gathering inspections carried retired by bylaw officers would improve.

"It has not been perfect, but it volition improve. OK, you person my word, it volition improve," Chow said.

Pinedale Properties Ltd., which manages some rental buildings and commercialized sites portion besides serving arsenic a developer, runs the buildings.

CBC Toronto has sought remark from the institution for this communicative but hasn't heard backmost arsenic of 7 p.m. Saturday. This communicative volition beryllium updated if Pinedale responds. 

Tenants asked to wage for upgrades that landlord keeps: ACORN

Saturday's circuit was organized by ACORN Toronto, a civic radical focused connected improving the lives of low-and-moderate-income radical successful the metropolis that besides helps tenants organize. 

The enactment has publically called Pinedale a "slumlord" and posted a database of complaints from the tenants connected its website.

Those issues see everything from pest infestations to mediocre information to tenants being asked to wage to upgrade appliances, which Pinedale is past allowed to support erstwhile they determination out.

ACORN provided paperwork that showed a tenant was asked successful September of 2024 to walk $398.33 to upgrade a fridge, and that fridge would "remain the spot of Pinedale Properties Ltd."

Monique Gordon, who works with ACORN and has lived astatine the analyzable for 13 years, said she has faced harassment from the landlord for speaking retired astir mediocre conditions including mediocre plumbing, deficiency of somesthesia power and more. 

Gordon said she's been fixed an eviction for mid-July, though she's vowing to combat it, and has heard respective different renters are successful the aforesaid situation. 

City unit were contiguous astatine that March meeting, and ACORN said it won a committedness from those workers to analyse imaginable violations astatine the building. 

Coun. Vincent Crisanti, who represents the country wherever the buildings are located, besides attended Saturday's lawsuit and encouraged tenants to stay unified and support speaking up. He said his bureau is engaged with the enactment of seeking improvements. 

For her part, Chow erstwhile again said if the institution doesn't marque improvements the metropolis volition measurement successful to bash the work, and past nonstop the institution the bill.