A Kitchener woman says she’s being asked to pay nearly $20,000 for lost rent and clean up fees in the apartment where her fiancé died during a dog attack last month.
But Sabrina Munroe’s paralegal alleges the money will actually be used to pay for unrelated damages and upgrades to the Hoffman Street building.
“I noticed some pretty serious neglect in the apartment that had nothing to do with the dog incident,” says Shaun Harvey. “We’re taking the position that the landlord is using this incident as an opportunity to get my client to pay for damages that really have nothing to do with the dog bite and everything to do with his failure to maintain the unit according to provincial standards.”
Other tenants in the building agree the building has not been properly maintained.
“The only time you see the owner of the building is on rent day,” says Peter Patton. “The building’s never cleaned up. The owner is there for the money and doesn’t care about the tenants.”
Both the landlord and the property manager did not respond to CTV’s request for an interview.
Ontario law states landlords are responsible for cleaning up damage done to their property, unless they’re able to prove that a tenant caused the damage either intentionally or through negligence, or failed to act in a reasonable way to prevent damage.
Harvey says bylaw officers will be inspecting the property and believes that in the end, Munroe won’t be required to pay for any the damages.
