What to know
- Residents at 3434 Eglinton Ave. E. report ongoing problems including mice and cockroach infestations, water shutoffs, leaks, poor heating, and exposed wiring.
- Tenants say issues have persisted since a 2021 ownership change, with repeated complaints to management yielding little action.
- Some residents report worsening health concerns, citing cold indoor temperatures, possible air quality issues, and persistent leaks.
- The East Scarborough Tenants Union has organized petitions, contacted city officials, and is considering a rent strike to force repairs.
- Property manager MetCap says it has completed over 2,100 work orders and is addressing remaining complaints.
Residents at an East Scarborough building are speaking out after facing years of issues on their building, from mice and cockroaches infestations to constant water shutoffs.
East Scarborough Tenants Union (ESTU) members and tenants at 3434 Eglinton Ave. E. have long been trying to address several concerns in the building over the past three years, without much success.
According to building residents, they have been dealing with several concerns which significantly impact their quality of life, including frequent water and hot water shutoffs, leaking heating vents and ceilings, inconsistent heat during the winter, exposed piping, pest control issues, and more.
“A lot of units have open holes in their unit walls. So there’s exposed piping and exposed electrical wiring, which is a safety hazard and concern, especially for those who have children. And because of that, there’s also become an issue of mice in the building within the last few months. We suspect [a] mice colony has grown in our building,” ESTU’s communication secretary and tenant at 3434 Eglinton Ave. E., Carolyn Hinds, tells Now Toronto.
Among several issues, the resident says one of the most pressing ones has to do with frequent water shutoffs, which she says happen almost weekly and last several hours a day.
Hinds, who has Fibromyalgia and Multiple Sclerosis — which impact her body’s temperature regulation — says she has also had to deal with inconsistent heat and lack of hot water during the winter months.
“If the outside is super cold, my body gets colder than other people’s bodies. So, that’s been a big problem for me during this winter, not being able to be comfortable in my own apartment,” she explained.
Another resident at the building, Sandy Weiri, says she has faced similar issues in her unit, including three open holes with exposed pipes and wiring across her unit since December, an ongoing leakage in one of her unit’s bedrooms, and heating problems. She says the issues have not only been making her feel uncomfortable in her own home, but she suspects she’s also developing sinuses from living there.
“I think I’m getting sick. I’m always coughing when I’m there. So, I’m wondering if it’s the oil and the vent that is down, even though it’s not in my room, because I’m stuffy,Weiri said. “I’ve been like this even when I’m not exposed. When I go home, I have a runny nose.”
“At one point when it was extremely cold, it was -11 C, I had to be using home and duct tape to cover my balcony door to get at least some heat.”
In addition, both residents said they’ve been noticing an inconsistent burning smell, which makes them worried there have been more issues in the building’s boiler room.
“That’s not normal. You’re not supposed to be getting this weird burning smell coming through your apartment at 2, 3 o’clock, 6 a.m., 1 p.m., it comes at any random time. So, I’m concerned it’s a problem with the boiler and the heating system that needs to be addressed,” Hinds said.
In addition to impacting residents, Hinds says the issues have been impacting a licensed childcare centre, which also operates in the building and has been facing inconsistent heat and water interruptions.
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Issues taking place for years
Both residents say they’ve been facing these issues since an ownership change back in 2021, when real-estate investment company Starlight Investments bought the building, and manager MetCap Living took over as the property manager.
Since then, residents have tried to contact the property manager several times, but say no sufficient repairs have been made.
Earlier this year, the ESTU submitted a petition letter with nearly 100 signatures to management asking them to address concerns. The union was also told a manager would meet with them on March 2, but they didn’t show up to the meeting.
“He has not called me back since. Since then, other tenants have tried reaching out to MetCap, sending their complaints to MetCap through the digital portal,” Hinds said.
Hinds says the union also reached out to Mayor Olivia Chow for help, and said they’ve received a response from her office confirming a meeting between the union and Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie on March 27. According to her, Chow might also attend the meeting if her schedule allows.
The resident also said she has recently seen RentSafeTO officers in the building. But so far, they’ve only noticed an improvement on the building’s elevators.
“While they were here, they noticed that one of our elevators wasn’t working, and they [said]… ‘Having your elevators not working is an accessibility issue, and it’s also a structural integrity issue, because you should not be having elevators not working.’ So, that got fixed yesterday, so yay for that. But I feel like MetCap and Starlight, they’re being spiteful to us, the tenants,” Hinds said.
In the meantime, Weiri said she will continue to try to contact 311 so they can come to the building and analyze the issues.
Despite failing to fix any issues, Hinds says Starlight Investments has repeatedly gotten approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to increase tenants’ rent above the guideline limits in Ontario since it took control of the building.
“Last year, we actually had two meetings with the LTB…to arbitrate the raising of the rent above the tenant guidelines. And both times, the LTB allowed them to raise the rent above the guideline.”
MetCap responds
MetCap tells Now Toronto it has a longstanding policy of responding to residents’ concerns on a timely basis. As part of this policy, the company says its Customer Service department reaches out to each resident who made a complaint to confirm the issue has been resolved.
“We are responding to all resident requested work that [has] been brought to our attention; in the past three years we have completed 2,156 work orders at 3434 Eglinton Avenue,” a spokesperson for MetCap wrote in an email.
According to the spokesperson, the building is currently working on some outstanding complaints, including:
- Four outstanding heating complaints which relate to radiator leaks, with two of them are from the same resident;
- One outstanding pest complaint.
The spokesperson also said there have been five water shut offs since last September, with only one of them affecting the whole building, while residents were notified 48 hours in advance each time. In addition, “there may have been two or three emergency shutoffs in the last six months.”
The company also says residents have several ways to submit their complaints, including through their online portal, phone number, email, or mail.
Nevertheless, Hinds says the union is now trying to escalate residents’ concerns to the city, and have also been reaching out to media to spread word on the buildings’ conditions, hoping that will spark action from the property management.
In addition, she says the union is also considering the possibility of launching a rent strike if issues are not resolved.
“I’m willing to take this as far as we need to take this; not only for my own well being and my own sake of my sister’s sake of living here, but I am willing to like help what needs to be done for everyone in this building, because this is a community, and what’s happening to us is not right. It’s not just it’s not fair. And if we need to do a rent strike, I’m all for a rent strike because I’m paying my rent, and they’re doing nothing,” Hinds added.
