She complained to CBC Toronto about her living conditions. Now she's facing eviction
CBC
A Toronto-area woman is facing an eviction hearing after she aired her concerns about her building's maintenance publicly to CBC Toronto.
Last October, CBC News told the story of April Johnston and the complaints she and several of her neighbours had about their apartment complex on Rathburn Road East in Mississauga, west of Toronto. They spoke about routine repairs that they said were left undone for weeks or months at a time, piles of garbage and pests like mice and roaches.
Just before Christmas, Johnston received a notice from the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) warning that she could be subject to an eviction application because, according to the complex's owners, her accusations were untrue.
The notice said airing the complaints publicly hindered "the landlord's reasonable enjoyment of the residential complex."
Then, on Feb. 23, she received a letter informing her the landlord was applying for an eviction order.
"I'm right now terrified of losing my housing," Johnston said.
"With the way the housing market is right now, to have this threat looming over my head, of being evicted, I'm at my wits' end."
Johnston and other tenants in the low-rise complex, located near Central Parkway East and Highway 403, told CBC Toronto the problems had existed since the beginning of 2020 when a new superintendent and property manager took over.
In the CBC story, several tenants complained about plumbing problems, repairs that hadn't been carried out by the owners, Toronto-based Solmor Builders Ltd., for weeks at a time, as well as ongoing battles with mice and insects.
"The Landlord has reviewed every maintenance request you have submitted and not a single issue has been unanswered or not dealt with within a timely manner; making your accusations with the CBC news report not only untrue but also very hurtful for the Landlord's reputation," paralegal Kelly Hawkes, the landlord's agent, wrote in the letter Johnston received in December.
"You are therefore requested to cease from publicly making false allegations and to, moving forward, bring any maintenance request directly to the landlord and not to the national news for publication."
Hawkes emailed a statement about the ongoing eviction battle in response to questions from CBC Toronto.
"The matter will be in front of the LTB and due to privacy matters, we have no further comment with respect to her tenancy," the email reads.
No date for a hearing has been set, according to the LTB. Last Tuesday, Johnston said the complaints she and other tenants aired in October were legitimate, and some have still not been resolved.
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