This London, Ont., complex was built in 2017 — one-third of its townhomes have had leaks

Six months after Simon Huo bought his newly built townhouse in July 2017, news of water problems began to trickle in. Before long, it turned out to be more of a gusher affecting him and dozens of his neighbours. 

The townhouse complex is off Sarnia Road, just east of Hyde Park Road. Huo's is one of 161 attached units in the complex built by Rand Developments.

Branded "Tribeca," the attached townhouses are packed together on narrow streets with New York-inspired names such Battery Park and Manhattan Way. The design is modern, featuring a multi-toned mix of metal and brick exterior finishes. 

"It was brand new, so you don't expect problems," said Huo of his townhouse, which is on a street called West Village Square.

Like many of the buyers in the complex, Huo rented out his townhouse after he bought it, although he's living in it now. 

In January 2018, his tenant sent him photos of water seeping behind the baseboard under the front window of the second-floor bedroom. 

Huo said Rand responded and made repairs to the roof. The baseboard was replaced and reports from the tenant about water problems stopped.  

In the fall of 2021, his tenant left and Huo moved in. He soon noticed water damage on the new baseboard in the same spot. He paid to have a roofer fix the issue, but said the water infiltration problems continued to mount over the months and years. They included a leak in the en suite bathroom ceiling.

Huo cut away the wall board beneath the front window in his second-floor bedroom to expose the source of the leak. There was extensive water damage and the 2-by-6 framing members were blackened and crumbling. A video Huo shared with CBC News shows water pooling inside the wall.

Huo also hired Neil Travis of Keystone Properties to investigate the roof and fix the problem. 

CBC News interviewed Travis, who said the problems included: 

When asked by CBC News to assess the roof installation overall, Travis was blunt, saying: "It's pretty shitty." 

CBC News made multiple requests for comment from Rand and the company's founder and owner, Randy Mackay, but did not receive a reply.

While he continued to deal with problems in his townhouse this spring, Huo began to reach out to neighbours in the complex. He said he took this step because he started to notice others were hiring roofers to fix leaks.