Landlord puts tenants in heatless unit after missing repair deadline following explosion

Two seniors displaced by a suspicious explosion in their London apartment building are being housed by their landlord in a unit with no heat or furniture, while a city-issued ordinance to make repairs has come and gone. 

Lynn Buckingham, 72, her roommate Doug Shearing, and other displaced tenants were put-up by the Red Cross at a downtown hotel for a week following the New Year's Day fire at 1182 Adelaide Street North. 

They were told to check out Friday, with Medallion Corporation, the Toronto-based property management company that own the building, under order by the City of London to make the units livable the same day.

That deadline had come and gone Saturday with Buckingham and Shearing cold, sleeping on the floor and wanting answers.

"Put us back in a hotel, motel, something until this is done, because this isn't right," Buckingham said.

Medallion has put the roommates in an empty unit in an adjacent building. They say the heat is not working and they have resorted to using the oven to warm up. They were also given a portable heater that Shearing said is "so small it won't do nothing." 

"And [Shearing has] got arthritis so bad. I've got a bit and I have trouble walking at times. My hip will give out, so this is a nightmare for us," Buckingham said.

CBC News has reached out to Medallion Corporation but a spokesperson said Friday that there's "no comment at this time."

Meantime, London police are investigating the explosion and said Friday that no charges had been laid.

A safety notice is posted on the Adelaide Street building that says it's unsafe for residents because of the explosion. 

"The building components damaged by the explosion include, but are not limited to, the walls, ceiling, fire separations, and life safety components," the notice read.

"Remedial steps" needed to happen by Jan. 7 to "make the building safe."

Buckingham and Shearing have been allowed to return to their units, accompanied by a Medallion employee, to get their belongings.

They were told they could move their beds to the new unit themselves, Shearing said. Their original unit is on the ground level in a different building and they're now on the sixth floor. Shearing says moving beds that distance is not possible in their condition.