Eviction

Last week, ten people became homeless overnight due to their apartments on Clothier Street being condemned.  After receiving a complaint by an unknown source, the Municipality’s Inspector was sent over to inspect the building. His report declared it an unsafe place to live.

The Times was able to connect with one of the tenants to get more details on what happened. Not one of the ten tenants were aware of the complaint until Thursday, when they were told the place was condemned and they had less than 24 hours to pack up some belongings before the place was locked up, preventing anyone from entering the premises.

At the time of writing, Sunday, these tenants have heard nothing from the property owners, Adjele Wilson and Patrice Badji of Orleans,  despite their many messages to them and the Property Management company, Filament Realty.

They have no clue as to what to do and have found temporary shelter with family or in motels, just waiting to hear back on the future of their homes, some having lived there for over seven years. All tenants were aware of the state of disrepair of the building, but had no recourse to complain, fearing eviction by the landlord. With rents being so out of reach for many here in North Grenville, theirs was at least something they could afford.

Repairs on the building, one of the oldest structures in North Grenville, have long been overdue. Last year an unused brick chimney had fallen and hit a car parked outside the place. The tenant had never been recompensed for damages to their car by the landlords, whose reason for not paying was, after talking to their lawyer, that she was not obliged to cover the expense.

One just has to look at the back of the building to see even more neglect, from fallen eaves troughs still lying on the ground from last year, to a rotting roof top, and a questionable fire escape. Now, after the complaint , we have 10 more people that are homeless. With all the discussions on affordable rent here and in other parts of the country, this has become even more of a reality for the community. These ten people are known to some of us. They are our neighbours and deserve better than what happened to them last week.

We contacted the Municipality and they confirmed that, as yet, they have been unable to reach the owners since the eviction and have no idea about what is to become of the tenants.