An anonymous tenant from the Belleville Area has come forward explaining their family's rental/living conditions over the past year. It all started on March 25th when the landlord approached several families with N11 forms and a cash offer to buy out their tenancies. A few families declined to leave their homes but according to our source, 9 families did indeed take the offer and vacate the premises. They stated "3 units remained in our building at this time".
The current occupant and their family of the apartment building have lived in the building for 10 plus years, they have always been on time with their rent, all members except their two children work and they are searching desperately for a 3 bedroom apartment which seems impossible to find in the Belleville Area.
The family's rent is currently $838 since it is only allowed to go up the legal amount each year the unit is occupied. Most 3 bedrooms today go for $2500 or more. They are currently working 2 full-time jobs . With rent being in excess of 80 percent of a family's income in today's market and the recent rental spike not even a family with two jobs can afford a 3 bedroom apartment in today's society.
After our tenant and their family refused to sign the N11 form they were presented with, the landlord started making claims the building was unsafe and that they could not stay. The family's unit has no water damage, no mould and no structural issues once so ever. She claims it is because of lack of care as well as improper and low efforts with maintenance that the other units are in such a damaged state.
The family now has to deal with constant construction around the building, hot water being turned off without notice and holes in the wall due to needing to access the water pipes without proper notice yet again.
Our family is still holding on strong and refuses to give up their home as they were offered $2000 compensation but in today's rental market, that is not enough for first and last often hitting at least $3000 or more, quite often hitting $4000.
The landlord attempted to be very intimidating after our family's interaction, he states "I will be back with an N13 form" and is constantly saying they stress him out solely because they will not leave.
An N13 form is a form to evict a tenant temporarily because of demolition. Our tenant has yet to be delivered an N13 form and the landlord has since then stated demolition will not be needed.
Landlords are also getting very deceptive in today's world and using legal loopholes to try and get tenants to vacate if they are paying under market value for rent. This tenant has seen units that once were around the same price as theirs going for much more,
This landlord in specific claims to be a co-worker/contractor of the company but on the letterhead on the paperwork, he is addressed as "President" which would imply he is indeed the head of the property's new ownership.
With rental rates being at an all-time high, it is no surprise landlords are trying to capitalize on the market as it sits today. A landlord is allowed to evict a tenant for renovations but must offer compensation for temporary accommodations and offer the unit to the existing tenant first at the same rate. They are also allowed to evict if they require the property personally for one year but we have seen incidents where landlords use these clauses as a way to get tenants out, and in turn, they rent out at a later date with a higher rent per month.
Something needs to be done and if you or anyone you know is renting and are at risk of losing your home, we are planning on making a documentary as we are acquiring interviews of tenants in this situation, contact us so we can hear your story and help spread it to the world.
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