Toronto tenant fears homelessness amid alleged ‘bad faith’ eviction

A disabled man in Toronto faces eviction after nearly 50 years in his High Park apartment after Ontario's top court denied his appeal despite claims of bad faith.

A Toronto man who has lived in the same High Park apartment for decades says he now fears for his livelihood after being denied permission to appeal his eviction to Ontario’s top court.

Andras Henye, who is disabled, partially blind and dealing with declining health, has lived in the same apartment for nearly 50 years. He had asked the Ontario Court of Appeal to hear his case, arguing that he was evicted in bad faith by his landlord, Minto Apartment REIT.

According to court documents, Henye’s eviction is due to non-compliance with smoking rules in the building, despite having a grandfathered right to smoke. He says he fully complied with previous court orders requiring him to stop, but is still being evicted.

Now in his late 50s and with ongoing health issues, Hanye told Global News he fears he won’t be able to find another place after his court proceedings were posted online by an unknown third party without his consent.  “I’ll be evicted, and I’ll be homeless. And that’s what worries me the most,” he said.

Henye has lived in the apartment since childhood; his parents died in the same unit. “My home is my life. Losing it would mean losing everything, possibly my life.”

Henye says he’s up to date on rent and had stopped smoking in the unit before his landlord, Minto Apartment REIT, moved to evict him.

In a decision released this week, the Court of Appeal dismissed Henye’s motion for leave to appeal and denied his request to stop the eviction.

“While I am cognizant of Mr.Henye’s attachment to the unit and his health challenges, I see no meritorious ground of appeal such that an order should be granted,” wrote Justice Julie Thorburn.