Brampton tenants stuck in deteriorating apartments with no alternative as rents skyrocket & housing shortages persist

The residents of 99 Kennedy Road and 51 McMurchy avenue in Brampton are concerned about their unsafe living conditions while their calls to landlords go ignored. 

They want answers about the poorly maintained buildings and sometimes unbearable living conditions.

The interiors of both buildings are in alarming condition, with damage to ceilings, carpets that are soiled, peeling paint, doors torn from hinges and even water lines that remain out of order for long periods. 

Conditions inside 99 Kennedy Road where the building’s residents are demanding action by landlords.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

Despite sharp rent increases, Golden Equity Properties, owner of the apartment building at 99 Kennedy, has refused to shoulder any responsibility for the maintenance and renovation of the building's damaged structure or the unclean and unhygienic living conditions that tenants experience there, according to residents The Pointer spoke with.

James Thurston, a tenant in the apartment building, told The Pointer that Golden Equity is applying a 5.5 percent AGI (above the guideline rental increase) on tenants this year, despite the Landlord and Tenant Board’s (LTB) established increase of 2.5 percent for the current year.

“I have asked repeatedly for Golden Equity’s supporting documents for this unjust increase but have not had any response no matter what form of communication I use.” 

The Pointer tried numerous times and at different offices to reach Golden Equity, but was unable to get a response. 

Thurston said in addition to the rent increase, the safety of the apartments is also at risk due to the building's doors being broken and left unlocked for more than a year-and-a-half. This has raised serious concerns as individuals have been able to enter the building and sleep in the stairwells and there have reportedly been attempted break-ins. Thurston emphasized that it is the responsibility of the building management to secure the property and ensure tenants are safe.

Landlords are required under Section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, to keep their rental properties in good repair, ensure that they are livable and comply with health and safety regulations. This includes fixing any structural problems or flaws and maintaining the common spaces and building's systems in good operating condition. Tenants have a right to live in a secure, well-kept environment; landlords who neglect these obligations risk legal repercussions.

Section 20, Subsection (1) specifies that: "The landlord's duty includes ensuring that the residential complex, along with its rental units, is kept in good condition and suitable for living, and adhering to health, safety, housing, and maintenance regulations.” 

Thurston said during winter snow and ice buildup, especially on the access ramp, this poses a danger to elderly residents in particular. Inadequate handrail installation and long-postponed repairs inside, including a ceiling collapse and bathroom mold, add to the unsafe conditions.

(ACORN)

These are violations of the Residential Tenancies Act and the City of Brampton’s Property Standard’s Bylaw-165-2023. The City has outlined the standards on its website, which highlights that every interior stair, landing, or similar interior structure and its components, including coverings, treads, risers, guards, and handrails, must be kept in good repair to ensure they are free from broken, defective, warped, loose, deteriorated, rotted, and worn components and should not pose any safety hazards. Every interior guard and handrail should be installed and maintained in accordance with the Ontario Building Code to provide reasonable protection against injury to any person on a property.

Renters at 99 Kennedy Road are also dealing with serious bug infestations that building management has ignored according to residents who spoke to The Pointer. Thurston said some tenants have been compelled by the property owners' inaction to employ their own exterminators. Tenants currently complain of widespread infestations of cockroaches and other pests.

“And that's only one unit. I'm sure there are many more. There's also pest infestations, such as cockroaches and rodents and it's hard to believe that the building owners will not come in and actually do something about that. At least when the previous building owner was here they took action when there was a problem," Thurston said.

Under property standards Bylaw 165-2023, it is required that all buildings must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, free from rodents, vermin, and insects. Owners are obligated to use a licensed pest control agency to eradicate infestations and to implement preventative pest control measures as per the relevant legislation.

The guidelines also require that any openings allowing rodents, vermin, or insects to enter must be properly screened or sealed. Additionally, any remnants of an infestation, such as feces and carcasses, must be removed and disposed of, and the area should be cleaned afterward. Tenants say Golden Equity Properties has chosen to ignore these standards, despite their obligation under the relevant law.

The ACORN Tenants Union organized a protest on Friday, September 13, to address the unsafe and unsanitary conditions at 99 Kennedy, 51 McMurchy, and 503 Balmoral Drive. They held placards and chanted slogans against what they described as slumlords. They chanted “Zero maintenance, illegal rent increase, unsanitary environment, unsafe property, and no security system” and “People over profit, Golden Equity; Do the repairs.” 

Thurston highlighted problems with the parking lot and overall management at 99 Kennedy Road. He said vehicles are damaged due to the long-ignored issues and asked why proper repaving and maintenance of lighting to address safety concerns is ignored. Tenants are unsure if the building's security cameras are fully functional, as management has not responded transparently to concerns. 

Thurston said City of Brampton bylaw inspectors have followed up several times after tenants called 311, but there has been minimal response to deal with the persistent problems. Even after inspections, important repairs, like the broken back door, have been left unattended for more than 18 months, and tenants voiced concerns about the lack of enforcement by the City.

Broken doors and ceilings are legally the landlord's obligation to rectify, yet Golden Equity Properties continues to ignore these problems.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

After attempting to contact multiple numbers for Golden Equity Properties displayed on the billboard outside the 99 Kennedy Road building and on their official website, as well as sending an email to their official address, The Pointer was eventually told that all the area managers are currently on vacation and unable to respond.

When the email address of the regional area manager was requested over the phone, the representative on the other end evaded giving any direct contact details. Even after informing the representative that tenants have been using the number for more than a year to report safety and hygiene issues, the representative declined to connect The Pointer to any of the landlords.

Tanya Burkart, with ACORN in Brampton, informed The Pointer that the branch of the national tenants’ advocacy group has spoken to tenants at 99 Kennedy who have reached out to 311 for the City to conduct property inspections, with little enforcement provided. She said that if Brampton implemented a safeguard like Toronto's Rent Safe Program, which mandates landlords of larger buildings to register with the City and adhere to strict rules under bylaws, tenants would not have to suffer to the extent they are. Mississauga has a more advanced program called MARC (the Mississauga Apartment Rental Compliance Program), while Brampton relies solely on calls to bylaw services for inspections, as the recently launched Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) pilot only applies to buildings with four units or fewer and is only being run in half the city.

She told The Pointer that the poor and worsening conditions observed at 99 Kennedy Road are not unique to that building. Similar problems are present at 51 McMurchy and 503 Balmoral, where tenants face their own specific challenges due to neglect by the property owners. Combined, the buildings house about 400 to 500 residents. She highlighted that Golden Equity Properties, the management company for all three buildings, has a reputation as a slumlord.

The severe lack of affordable housing options in Brampton leaves tenants with nowhere to go. 

According to Statistics Canada, concerns about housing affordability increased significantly between the spring of 2022 and 2024. Three out of ten Canadians in the spring of 2022, compared to nearly four out of ten in 2024 said they were extremely anxious about their capacity to pay housing or rent due to the rising costs.

Based on Statistics Canada's five-year data, the cost of shelter rose by 20.6 percent between 2018 and 2022, on average. In Brampton, according to information made public by the Region of Peel, approximately 80 percent of residents can not afford the current cost to rent or own a home. 

These are the realities that ACORN and tenants across the city describe, as landlords exploit renters stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no choice but to endure increasingly unsafe conditions. Meanwhile, funding cuts at City Hall have made an already poor enforcement situation, even worse. 

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