Tenants union fighting 'largest renovictor in Ontario'

Tenants from two Kitchener, Ont. apartment buildings worry they could soon be renovicted.

Residents say N13 notices were slipped under the doors of at least eight units at 141 Borden Avenue and 149 Borden Avenue, stating that they had to be out before renovations begin on Jan. 31, 2025.

Bree Hill has lived in her unit for the last 11 years.

She worries she won’t be allowed to move back in – or even pay the same rent.

Leaving her, and her three-month old son, with nowhere to go.

“We got our first notice two weeks ago, when I brought him home,” Hill told CTV News. “Which is not really a great housewarming thing to do.”

“I was furious because I was just out of the hospital after a stroke,” said Jayne Forbes, who has lived in her Borden Avenue apartment for seven years. “Two days later, there’s a notice on our door saying we’re being renovicted.”

She’s familiar with process.

Forbes said her family has been through three renovictions at three different buildings.

This time, though, she’s fighting back.

Seeking answers

“This is not right that he’s taking initiative to try and just put people out. Just saying he’s going to do work on the apartment. No, no, no. That’s not what you do. This is a home for people,” Forbes said. “We have nowhere else to go.”

The “he” she’s referring to is the man listed as the business director of the company that recently purchased the Borden Avenue building.

“Michael Klein tends to buy older buildings where the rents are lower because they’re rent-controlled, where there’s been tenants that have been living there for years, if not decades,” said Jacquie Wells, co-chair of the Acorn Waterloo Region chapter. “Many are low income, retired on fixed income, workers and families.”

Acorn, a tenants’ union, alleges companies associated with Klein have purchased buildings in communities from London to Toronto.

They’ve dubbed him the “largest renovictor in Ontario.”

“[He] starts off by renaming the company owning the building,” Wells explained. “It’s often either a numbered company, or a company that is just named after the address. And he separates himself. So it’s very hard for tenants to actually know who the owner is of their building.”

Acorn also calls him a “ghost,” as they haven’t been able to track him down.

CTV News also attempted to find contact information for Klein through various channels, but were unsuccessful. Most of his corporate profiles list different addresses.

Tenants said they took part in Wednesday’s protest because they have nothing left but their voices.

“I don’t want to lose my home,” Hill said. “I can’t afford anything else and I’m on maternity leave, too. Even before mat leave, I couldn’t afford it.”

Acorn is asking all levels of government to step up and create a landlord registry, along with other regulations.

Hamilton’s renoviction bylaw

Hamilton was the first city in Ontario to develop an anti-renoviction bylaw. Set to begin Jan. 1, 2025, landlords would be required to apply to the city before issuing an N13 notice for renovations, repairs or demolitions.

“Through this new process, the city gains awareness when an eviction notice has been issued to a tenant so it can help make sure tenants are offered supports where needed, including their right to move back into the unit once renovations are complete,” a press release stated.

Kitchener’s response

CTV News reached out to officials in Kitchener to find out if they would consider a similar bylaw.

“Evictions are not within the jurisdiction of the City of Kitchener – they are governed under provincial authority in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act,” they explained in an email.

Kitchener does, however, have a rental replacement bylaw.

“The bylaw applies to properties where six or more rental units are proposed to be demolished,” the city explained in their email. “This bylaw provides tenants with three options: a rental replacement unit, a payout or a rent waiver. This bylaw provides a measure of security and stability to tenants and predictability to our development industry partners.”