Landlords struggle to evict tenants who turned Toronto homes into rooming houses, owe rent

Marissa Andersson and Oksana Kravchuk both own properties on the same Toronto street but didn't know one another until they say they discovered a troubling connection. 

Their tenants, who told the landlords they were in a relationship, built extra bedrooms in their homes without their knowledge, leased them out to other occupants and haven't paid rent in several months, according to allegations filed with Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

The two landlords say Saeed Aldairi and Melissa Tulshi combined owe them nearly $120,000 in unpaid rent and utilities, property damage and legal costs. 

They also say they're concerned for the wellbeing of the occupants staying in the rooms – mainly international students – because they're living in cramped quarters that are a threat to their health and safety. They also say when the rooming houses were discovered, the tenants tried to freeze the students out by turning off the heat, blasting air conditioning and opening the windows. 

"These new immigrants to Canada are being victimized and in our home – what used to be our home. The idea that's happening just made us feel sick," Andersson said.

Andersson and Kravchuk have been trying to evict the original tenants, but their hands are tied as their applications slowly make their way through the LTB process. They both filed eviction applications at the end of last year outlining the situation, but the cases are still before the board, even after they were expedited.

In the meantime, the landlords say Aldairi and Tulshi haven't paid rent for about eight months, but continue operating a rooming house business out of their properties. 

"There are no consequences," Andersson said. "I can't even step foot on my driveway or I'm breaking the rules. The system that allows that is broken." 

CBC News reached out to Aldairi and Tulshi multiple times by phone and email, but didn't receive a response.

In documents filed with the LTB against their landlords, Aldairi characterized the other occupants living in Andersson's home as his roommates. Tulshi claims Kravchuk agreed to let her rent out rooms to make extra money during the pandemic.

Andersson rented her bungalow on Thirteenth Street in Etobicoke on Toronto's west side to Aldairi last September. At the time, Tulshi was living at Kravchuk's property after signing a lease in August 2020. Andersson said Aldairi told her he was moving into her home, which is a few houses down from Kravchuk's, because he and Tulshi recently broke up and he wanted to live near her to co-parent their child. 

"We really felt like we were doing the right thing – helping parents co-parent," Andersson told CBC News.     

Within 16 days of Aldairi signing the lease, Andersson's basement was transformed into a rooming house and the first occupants moved in, according to text messages between occupants and Tulshi and photos and videos of the home. 

The saga started to take shape for Andersson and Kravchuk at the end of October when a neighbour contacted Kravchuk to tell her police had been called to her property after a dog belonging to her tenant attacked and injured an occupant staying there, according to documents filed with the LTB.