Possible demolition of Brampton apartment has tenants worried about homelessness

When asked where she will go or what she will do should her long-time home in Brampton be demolished to make way for a multi-tower development, Ruth Garner, a senior who has been living in her unit for 40 years, says she’s at a loss. 

“I have no idea what I would do, to be honest with you. I have no idea,” she told insauga.com. 

Garner is just one of many tenants who are concerned about the fate of 507 Balmoral Drive, a four-storey building with about 55 units located in a residential area off of Bramalea Road. In 2022, Pulis Investment Group (also known as Lankin Investments) filed an application with the city to demolish the existing property and construct a new development.

According to documents posted on the city’s website, Pulis has proposed the construction of three apartment buildings containing 552 units. If approved, one proposed building will be 30 storeys and boast 386 one- and two-bedroom units, while the two other structures will be six storeys and offer 68 one- and two-bedroom units each.  

While Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board requires landlords to provide tenants with three months’ rent or the opportunity to rent another comparable unit in the event they evict occupants to renovate or demolish a property with five or more units, residents and advocacy groups say more needs to be done at the municipal level to ensure people have a place to go. 

“We’re trying to get some rental replacement bylaws in Brampton,” Cheryl Craig, a tenant and advocate, told insauga.com. 

Craig, who also lives in the building, is a leader with ACORN, a national community and tenant union of low- and moderate-income people. Craig says ACORN has been putting pressure on the city to draft and implement renter protection bylaws similar to those on the books in Mississauga, Toronto and Hamilton. 

“I don’t want to see this place torn down but if it is, these builders need to be responsible for finding us a place to live in the meantime and let us back into the building,” Craig says. 

Both tenants told insauga.com that the silence and uncertainty have worsened an already stressful situation, especially since they only found out about the proposed demolition from ACORN and not the building operators themselves. Both tenants also claim that they haven’t received much reassurance from the city. 

“No one has actually told us anything,” says Garner. 

“If it weren’t for ACORN, we wouldn’t have known anything about the building [potentially] being demolished. It was them that found out a year ago. The city hasn’t told us anything and [property management] hasn’t said anything.”

In a statement to insauga.com, Ward 7 and 8 Coun. Rod Power said he has been in touch with tenants regarding the proposal and is cognizant of the affordability issues leaving residents–many of whom are paying rents far below those currently charged throughout the city–anxious. 

According to the most recent report released by rentals.ca, the average rental rate for a one-bedroom apartment in Brampton hit $2,165 in March. Two-bedroom units cost an average of $2,376. 

“Rental costs across the GTA are on the rise, and Brampton isn’t exempt. All levels of government are tasked with finding solutions, whether it be building more homes faster or working with the development community to build with affordability in mind,” he said in an email. 

“I’ve met with ACORN and residents previously and am currently working with all parties to find a path forward. This development is in pre-consultation at this time, and many factors will need to be addressed during the process.” 

Lankin Investment Group did not respond to an email from insauga.com regarding tenant concerns before publication time. 

While residents of 507 Balmoral Dr. are concerned about what will happen to their homes should the proposed redevelopment be approved, they’re not alone in their precarious situation.

According to ACORN’s recent Ontario Renoviction Report, N13 evictions–issued by landlords who evict tenants to renovate or demolish a unit–are on the rise. Between 2017 and August 2023, 112 N13 or ‘renoviction’ notices were issued in Brampton, and 68 were issued in Mississauga. The most notices were issued in Toronto (950), Hamilton (337), and Ottawa (184). 

The report says that many families who lose affordable units to renovictions or demovictions often end up with nowhere to go. It adds that the share of units with rents costing no more than 30 percent of a city’s lowest-income household’s budget is extremely uncommon. 

According to the report, such units are not available in Ottawa and Toronto, and in other cities, the share of truly affordable units is under 20 per cent.

Garner is particularly frustrated, saying that if the demolition request is approved, she will have nowhere to go. 

“I live alone. I’m a senior,” she says, adding that she has no nearby family and has not been able to work due to rheumatoid arthritis that she says is linked to the domestic violence she experienced during a previous relationship. 

Garner also told insauga.com that she had a stroke and now uses a walker. 

“I only get an old age pension and what I get right now just about covers my rent, my phone, food and a TV. I don’t have any extra things or special channels. There’s nowhere in Brampton that I can afford to rent because there’s nothing under $2,000.” 

Craig also says the idea of potentially having to move after living in the building for 20 years is daunting–especially since rental rates have climbed significantly since the early 2000s.

“When I moved into this building, it was a reasonable rent and we’re still paying a reasonable rent, but new tenants are paying quite a substantial amount compared to what we’ve been paying,” she says.

“We have some seniors in the building. Where are they going to go?” 

Craig says tenants need the city to step in and create and implement a bylaw that will force landlords to place displaced occupants in comparable units at comparable rates during the construction phase and allow them to move back in when the new building is complete. 

“We need to get a policy in place to help people get a unit that’s the same size and where people are charged similar rents,” Craig says.

Craig also says that ACORN wants to ensure that if a bylaw is passed after the possible approval of the tear-down, it retroactively applies to protect tenants currently impacted by confirmed or proposed demolitions.  

“We’re fighting to get [the bylaw] before it gets to that point,” she says.

Other ACORN leaders have told insauga.com that tenants can’t rely on provincial laws and policies to protect them, calling those rules “poorly enforced.” 

“There’s a gap at the provincial level in the Residential Tenancies Act. We have the right to return [to a renovated unit], but there’s no enforcement,” Tanya Burkart, a leader with ACORN’s Peel chapter, told insauga.com earlier this year. 

“Renovictions are driven by lack of vacancy control. Since there’s no regulation between tenancies, there’s an incentive to displace a tenant to make more money with a new tenant. Now we’re targeting cities because they have a better system to regulate renovictions.” 

Burkart says that since towns and cities must issue permits for renovations and demolitions, they could require landlords to prove that the unit must be vacant during the upgrade process and to provide alternate accommodations while construction is ongoing. 

“A lot of times, tenants don’t actually have to be displaced,” she says. 

“This ensures that once the renovation is complete, the landlord must comply with the Residential Tenancies Act and allow the tenant to return to the unit at the same price. We are requesting appointments with city councillors to discuss the recommendations.”  

Craig also says that during any renovation or demolition, tenants should have help finding alternate housing. 

“If we have to move, tenants should receive a top-up until we find interim housing and then the landlord pays the difference. They must also provide moving service or compensation for moving and be required to hire tenant relocation coordinators. There also needs to be more transparency. No one is telling us what’s going on. We have to find out all of this stuff on our own,” she says. 

Insauga.com has reached out to the city of Brampton for comment on a possible bylaw, as well as the status of Pulis’s application. 

Garner says she isn’t sure what will happen to so many of the tenants should the application be approved. 

“There are about half a dozen seniors and families living here with children. I just don’t understand why the city isn’t digging into these people.”