North Bay, Ont., tenant says he’s worse off after accepting landlord’s $40K offer to move out
CBC
After a months-long fight with his landlord, Shannon Lucas accepted a $40,000 payout to move out of a North Bay, Ont., townhouse, but says he would give it all back if he could stay.
The landlord says the building needed extensive renovations and that Lucas could have moved back in after the work was done.
But Lucas says housing is so expensive in North Bay that the “cash for keys” offer wasn’t enough to allow him to find an affordable place to live on his own.
Lucas and another tenant who lived in a row of townhouses at 431 2nd Ave. W. allege their new landlord pressured them to leave their units so he could increase the rents following renovations.
Lucas lived there from 2017 to 2025, and said that by the time he moved out, his rent was $1,008 a month plus hydro. He said his monthly rent was around $850 when he first moved in.
Lucas said he has multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that affects his ability to work full time. He said the rent was manageable, considering his condition and how it affected his income.
“You can’t find a comparable location.”
During this time, Lucas said, he formed close bonds with many neighbours.
“Everything's good. We do barbecues. It's a little community."
In April 2024, Madigan Properties Inc. purchased the property. Shortly thereafter, Lucas said, a man who didn't identify himself visited him and his neighbours.
Lucas alleges the man said they'd get cash payouts to move out. He said the man offered different amounts to move within a certain period of time: $5,000 to leave within the next month, $4,000 for two months and $3,000 for three months.
“But if you wait until four months, then unfortunately you won't get anything,” Lucas said the man told him.
Lucas’s neighbour, Abigail Carper, said the same man, who noted he represented Madigan Properties without providing his name, gave her a similar offer.
Lucas said the man gave him until that evening to sign a moving agreement or the cash offers would be off the table. Lucas refused to sign.
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After a months-long fight with his landlord, Shannon Lucas accepted a $40,000 payout to move out of a North Bay, Ont., townhouse, but says he would give it all back if he could stay.