The tenants of 21 Balsam Coniston apartment complex, those who fear they are about to face eviction over the building owner’s move to conduct “extensive renovations”, came together April 29 in the games room of their building to meet with their Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas to figure out what to do next.
Sipping coffee, the residents laughed about how the letters from the building owner telling them they needed to leave their homes for an unknown period of time have brought them closer together.
Then, they got down to business.
After they shared their fears with Gélinas, concerns about where they would live and how they would afford current market rental amounts, they told her the new owners of their building were from Richmond Hill and couldn’t possibly care about the lives of Northerners.
Gélinas told them, “They don’t know Sudbury … yet.”
Last week, Sudbury.com brought you the story of these tenants, mostly seniors on a fixed income, who were left reeling after a letter from their new landlord’s lawyer arrived in their mailbox, or for some, a phone call and a message left. The apartment complex at 21 Balsam was purchased by a numbered company, 1000738746 Ontario Inc., which was incorporated on Dec. 13, 2023.
The tenants have not received what is called an N-13 form, a notice to end your tenancy due to a landlord’s need to demolish, repair or convert a rental unit, which is legally binding and would need to be approved by the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB). Rather, the landlord sent the tenants the letter discussed above, hoping, as Gélinas said, “to scare you off.”
The N-13 form is to be completed by the landlord and sent to the LTB for approval before tenants are required to vacate their units. It can be a long process, and the owners may not have their N-13 approved – they can't evict tenants under the N-13 without the renovations being drastic enough to require a permit.
If it is approved, and tenants state in writing they intend to move back in, they are entitled to three months’ rent (or an amount equal to rent for the period of time they must be out, whichever is less), and must be offered another rental unit that is acceptable to the them and at the same rental rate.
After consulting with the Sudbury Community Legal Clinic, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh and Gélinas, the tenants told Sudbury.com they believe this renovation is a way to get them out of their apartments, and potentially charge new tenants more, and they want to call their landlord’s bluff, they said.
Currently, the tenants pay an average of $800 for a two-bedroom apartment. A vacant apartment in their building is now online, and according to the tenants the new owners only made cosmetic changes, such as paint and flooring. That two-bedroom apartment is listed at $1,675.
Gélinas told the tenants she felt the lawyer writing to the tenants, not the owner, was a “red flag.”
“There's only one reason for that,” she said. “It's greed.”
The tenants, many of whom are on a fixed income and in their 60s and 70s, have been in turmoil since they received the letter.
One tenant, an 88-year-old woman who told Sudbury.com she has no family and nowhere to go, was in such a state that another tenant, Pauline Boivin, stayed with her when they first received the letters. Fortunately, the elderly woman, who asked not to be named, just received a call that an apartment has opened up at the Elmwood, the new seniors apartment building that opened in Coniston in the fall of 2023.
The news is welcome because, while she told the group she wanted to stay in her home, she didn’t think she could survive the uncertainty of the situation.
Another tenant, Jeannette Brunet, told Gélinas she had been looking for another apartment but found nothing she could afford.
“I have no place to go. If I have to move out, where am I going to go? I’m terrified,” she said, adding it was affecting her sleep, and her blood pressure. She said she was even asked for her Social Insurance Number by one potential landlord, which is illegal.
“I don't know what to do, and I'm all by myself,” she said.
Next steps
Gélians told the group the best course of action for them would be to respond, as a group, to the landlord’s lawyer, and demand more information.
The tenants got to work quickly, drafting a letter asking what the renovations are, how long they are expected to take, why the apartments were chosen for those renovations, and several other pertinent questions.
“If the lawyer doesn’t respond, we know they have nothing to say,” she said. “If they do, at least we can make an informed decision about the renovations, including asking contractors what the expected timeline should be for the work they are proposing, and whether it could be done without you moving out.”
She added, “People change their carpeting all the time, they don’t sell their house in order to do it.”
The Balsam tenants’ fear of homelessness is not an unreasonable one, said Ray Landry, co-ordinator of housing services of the Homelessness Network in Sudbury. In an earlier unpublished interview with Sudbury.com, Landry said there has been an increase in the number of tenants offered money to move out of their apartments, what he refers to as “cash for keys.”
Some do take the funds, especially if they are having trouble making ends meet, but Landry said the money doesn’t last long in Sudbury’s housing market.
“And unfortunately, we've seen an increase in people losing their housing, and becoming homeless because of these nefarious methods that are out there.”
He said the staff at the Homelessness Network have observed not only an increase, but in each situation, “there's no clear reason why or no official reasons why people are being forced out of their apartments or threatened to be forced out of their apartments.”
He recommends every tenant become as familiar as possible with their rights.
Tenants’ rights
Some communities, including Sudbury, are beginning to take a second look at N-13 evictions in Ontario. For instance, there is a new bylaw in Hamilton meant to protect tenants of what housing advocates there referred to as “bad-faith N-13 evictions.”
The bylaw was passed following a jump in the number of tenants receiving N-13 notices. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of N-13 notices rose sharply, by 986 per cent.
Under Hamilton’s new bylaw, anyone issuing an N-13 will be required to apply for a renovation permit for $715. The application will require landlords to share information about the scope of work, the number of units involved and verification from experts that vacancy is required.
From there, Hamilton’s bylaws and enforcement team will be able to assess if tenants really do need to move, and help educate landlords and renters about their rights and obligations during renovations.
Resources for tenants can be found at the Sudbury Community Legal Clinic. You can also find help by visiting Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO), where they have written resources to help tenants if they find themselves unsure of their rights.
Importantly, if you have received an N-13 notice from your landlord and want to keep your apartment, inform the landlord in writing that you plan to move back in once the work is complete. You have the right to move back into your apartment at the same rental amount, as long as you inform the landlord in writing prior to moving out.
Back at the games room with coffee and donuts, and a few tenants looking a bit more hopeful after speaking with the MPP, Fern Gilbeault asked Gélinas why the government “doesn’t do more to stop this.”
“We have a government right now who supports this,” she replied solemnly. “They changed the rules to make it easier for that kind of stuff to happen. There's a lot of rich investors that are getting a whole lot richer at the expense of people like you.”
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com.
