Cambridge tenants call living situation 'unbearable' as they wait for repairs from March flood

Residents at a Cambridge apartment building have been waiting four months for management to make repairs after a flood ruined four units.

Mike Jones still lives in the building on Clyde Road and said his unit still looks as bad as it did the day it happened.

“The carpet was gone from the living room and two-and-a-half feet of drywall, right from the front of the apartment right through to the very back, was gone,” Jones told CTV News on Wednesday.

Mill Creek Apartments, the building’s management team, explained that the flooding was caused by tree roots in the city sewer line.

260 Clyde Road in Cambridge, Ont. on June 26, 2024. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

Jones said he was put up in a motel for a few days but after that he was on his own, so he moved back in.

Not only is that not ideal – it also isn’t safe.

“All of our sockets, [our] electrical outlets are just hanging there by wires,” Jones said.

He keeps hearing that the damage will be fixed, but so far nothing has changed.

Exposed walls and wires in Mike Jones' apartment at 260 Clyde Road in Cambridge, Ont. on June 26, 2024. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

According to Mill Creek Apartments, they’re working on the issue with their insurer.

“The insurance company has been overseeing all remediation efforts and repairs,” a statement from property manger Anita Burnett reads. “Extensive testing has been conducted to ensure there are no contaminates or potential for future mildew/mould issues. Recently they have approved the repairs, which are now 75 per cent complete and expected to finish soon.”

She added that tenants have already received compensation and the company will reassess the situation once the repairs are complete.

Jones reached out to building management about compensation or a rent reduction. He said he was given back partial rent for the month of March but, besides that, he hasn’t gotten anything else.

Damaged door in Mike Jones' apartment at 260 Clyde Road in Cambridge, Ont. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

“Hell on Earth”

Paul Booth lives down the hall from Jones. The 75-years-old and has been having a hard time since the flood.

“It’s hell on earth,” he told CTV News.

Booth said he was asleep when the water started seeping in, at around 6 a.m.

“I kind of rolled over and put my hand down, and I felt water. And I thought: ‘Uh-oh’. At that time, there was about four inches of water in my entire apartment,” he recalled.

Booth said about $1,500 worth of his stuff was destroyed.

He only has one chair now which he also uses as a bed, unless he’s at one of his four weekly dialysis appointments.

Paul Booth sitting in his chair, which he also uses as a bed, in his Cambridge, Ont. apartment. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

“It's unbearable,” Booth admits. “Especially if you consider my age and my health problems. I've also had a quadruple heart bypass. I'm not in good health.”

Booth said he was given a hydro rebate of $300 after management brought fans into his unit, which ran for weeks. Besides that, he hasn’t received any other compensation.

He worries about what’s next, as he has nowhere else to go.

“I might go to a tent city. But the nurses said I might not last there. But it would be better than this,” Booth explained.

Tenant advocate weighs in

Megan Walker, a tenant advocate with Social Development Centre Waterloo Region, believes Booth and Jones are vulnerable people in a vulnerable situation.

“They should not be [paying] for rent, or any rent, for the time they've been forced to live in these conditions,” she said.

Exposed walls and wires in Mike Jones' apartment at 260 Clyde Road in Cambridge, Ont. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

She’s also worried about the possibility of “renovictions” when the repairs are done.

Walker said it’s common, especially in Waterloo Region, for building owners to take advantage of a situation and hike up the rent after renovations.

“They should indicate that they can stay in the unit for all the repairs because there's no guarantee that they will be allowed back. And there's no guarantee that there won't be an attempt at a rent increase here,” she warned.

Mill Creek Apartments told CTV News that they’ve advised the remaining tenants to temporarily find somewhere else to stay during the renovations.

“Managing around tenants belongings has posed challenges throughout this process,” they said.

The management team confirmed work in one unit is almost done, while another is fully repaired.

According to Jones, a new tenant has already moved into the repaired unit and they’re paying more rent.

“Approximately $800 more a month than what I'm paying right now,” he explained.

The company said the work on the remaining two units should start within a few weeks.

Jones and Booth said they’ll believe it when they see it.