Tenants of a 36-unit downtown apartment building say they have been without hot water for the past week and their property manager has done nothing to fix the situation.
The city’s building department confirmed Thursday that gas to the building has been turned off, leaving residents with no heat or hot water. Chief building official Lee Anne Doyle said her office will issue a repair order on Friday and will contact the owner directly to get the gas reconnected.
One of two property managers for the building at 444 Park St. West told the Windsor Star she was unaware of the problem, but residents say they contacted the managers directly to alert them.
“I have to go to my daughter’s house to take a shower,” said Millie Hayward, who lives in one of the bottom-floor units. “I want hot water and I don’t know who to speak to. People shouldn’t have to live like this.”
The city’s building department issues about 300 repair orders a year for everything from problems with flooring, windows, ventilation or electrical. Though plumbing issues are common, Doyle can’t recall in her eight years with the city ever having an apartment building without hot water.
Constance Gyimah is one of the two property managers for the Park Street apartment. Located in Toronto, she said she heard last week about hot water complaints, but when she contacted one of the tenants, that person told her there were no problems.
“I didn’t hear anything about that. This is the first time I’m hearing about it,” she said when contacted by the Star.
The lack of hot water for an apartment building is also a unique issue for Ward 3 Coun. Fulvio Valentinis. He said problem landlords in general are not uncommon in his or other urban wards, but rarely has he heard of an apartment building owner allowing the gas to be turned off.
“You get absentee or problem landlords from time to time, but usually it’s dealing with much smaller units, not large buildings,” he said. “A landlord has much more to lose in a larger building because they risk losing their tenants.”
Gyimah also explained she has not received any gas bills for the past two or three months. She said about 20 of the 36 units are rented. Gyimah added that many of the tenants have not paid their rent in months.
Brandon Fizzell, one of the tenants frustrated by the lack of hot water, has been taking cold showers for the past week.
“I’m not going across the city somewhere to take a shower,” he said.
Hayward and other tenants say they have complained about a long list of other problems in the building, including backed up plumbing and leaky ceilings. The glass door for the main entrance is smashed as well.
Doyle said the number of repair orders the city issued in recent years has returned to a more normal rate. The figures spiked during the recession with higher-than-normal orders seen between 2008 and 2010.Find Windsor Star on Facebook