tenants see evictions; their landlord sees a revolutionary new business model - 2024
shot for the local
investigation by jay cockburn
In March 2023, Justin Cowen’s apartment building was bought by a numbered company—14792670 Canada Inc.
The building at 30 Charles St. East is a three-story yellowstone Edwardian walk-up. Located just off Yonge Street in the centre of Toronto, the 21-unit apartment is one of the few heritage buildings left on the street.
“It’s one of the last affordable buildings around here, and right next to the subway line,” says Cowen, a 27-year-old PhD student who has lived there since March 2022. “It’s really difficult to redevelop, so I thought I was safe here.”
Shortly after the purchase, Cowen says, things began to change at 30 Charles St. “When they took over the lights went out,” says Cowen. That’s not a metaphor; according to tenants, on March 2, 2023 the hallway lights stopped working, and they’ve been out intermittently ever since, sometimes for up to two months.
“They changed the fob system on our front door to high security fobs, which aren’t copyable, and then they refused to give fobs to people whose names weren’t listed on the lease,” Cowen adds. That meant that spouses and roommates ended up locked out at night, tenants say, unable to access the apartments they were paying to live in.
Other residents reported serious problems with repairs and safety. One tenant, Alex Chandler, says he fell down the stairs while the lights were off. He says that tenants’ calls have gone unanswered, contractors began doing noisy construction work outside of working hours, and there were multiple instances of the heat and hot water shutting off.
