Tenants say Barton Street 'revitalizers' are neglecting them

Elizabeth Ellis gestures to the filth strewn around the hallways in her apartment building at 160 Sherman Ave. N.

"This is where homeless people get in sometimes, to shoot up and sleep in the hallways," she says.

There are bedbugs and cockroaches, fridges and stoves that aren't working, windows that don't close, and toilets that don't work, tenants say.

The people who live in the building on the corner of Barton Street East say they are fed up — especially since the building was bought by real estate firm Malleum Partners back in July.

It's a business run by two men who say they see the area around Barton and Sherman as ripe for revitalization, having also purchased the nearby old Hendry's Shoes building in 2017, to turn it into a space for apartments and commercial space.

But the tenants at 160 Sherman say Malleum won't even listen to their concerns. They held a rally outside the building Friday with the tenant rights group Hamilton ACORN. They want their voices to be heard.

"They don't even have the decency of talking to our faces like human beings," Ellis said. "To me, they're bullying us. They're trying to bully the weakest ones in here.

"It makes me so angry that they can do this to people."

Malleum, for its part, says that most tenant concerns relate to issues prior to the company buying the building, and says the company is acting diligently to improve the property as quickly as it can.

But the tenants tell a different story.

Building sold for $1.1 million

Bruce Mills has been living in a unit at 160 Sherman for six years. In that time, he says, nothing has been done about the massive bedbug problem in his unit.

"I don't want to live out of bags for the rest of my life," he said.

His water comes and goes, sometimes. He's also been trying for years to get his kitchen window replaced, but no avail.

Ellis says she has similar problems. "I have windows that have not been fixed in two-and-a-half years," she said. "I freeze in the winter and have to wear a jacket in my apartment."

Property records show Malleum bought the building on July 6 for $1.1 million. In a statement, the company said members of its property management team met and spoke with tenants at that time.

"We asked about outstanding issues or concerns that tenants may have had at the property that had existed under prior ownership," the statement reads. "We specifically asked about pests and were repeatedly told this was not an active issue."

Ellis says that isn't true, and that she has tried to contact the company multiple times to voice her concerns, though Mills says some issues do date back to the previous ownership.

"Most of the tenant maintenance concerns relate to issues that predate our ownership. Malleum has been addressing repairs and maintenance as quickly as possible," the company said. "As a property that had been neglected for many years, we believe we are responding to tenants' concerns and proactively improving the property in a diligent manner. We continue to strive to improve the building and provide a clean, safe home for our tenants."

The company also says pest control treatments are now slated to begin next week.

Rent issues

Tenants at Friday's rally also complained that since taking ownership, Malleum has instituted an online portal system for rent payments. Many tenants are on low or fixed incomes, they say, and don't have a computer to navigate the service.

Tenants also say Malleum has begun handing out notices for non-payment of rent to people who can't use, or understand, the system. Many feel the company is trying to force out long-standing tenants so it can flip units at higher rents.

Malleum denies this.

"Malleum has repeatedly provided payment information to tenants — including options that do not require internet or mobile phone access — and made efforts to confirm with tenants that their payments hadn't been erroneously issued elsewhere," the company said.

adam.carter@cbc.ca