Mould still issue at Stewart St. building

As tenants of a Stewart Street building grow increasingly concerned over how long it is taking to address the mould problem in their homes, the co-owner of the 32-unit building is asking them to be patient as renovations progress.

Brian Christoph, who has been speaking out on behalf of fellow residents he called too afraid to do so, doesn’t see how the work will be completed in the three-month time frame projected by officials when The Examiner reported on the issue last month.

“At this rate, they might get it done in three years, not three months,” he said, noting that three units have been addressed so far. “It’s ridiculous.”

Phil Burrett of BRT Groups, however, said the work is progressing, but the discovery of bedbugs in some of the units has also delayed the process.

“They just have to be patient,” he said. “We’re going steadily at it until they are all done.”

While work is completed in their apartment, tenants are being temporarily moved into an extra unit in the building, Burrett said.

The speed of the work may not be what some residents want, but it remains progress. “We can only do it one apartment at a time.”

A contractor has been on site replacing the mouldy shower units in each apartment. That work is being done by one person, said Christoph, who also claims renovations must be completed in order to better ventilate the building.

“They have a lot of work to do and one person isn’t going to cut it. And meanwhile, people are suffering,” he said.

Asked about ventilation, Burrett said each unit has exhaust fans, windows and doors that can be used to expel the moist air that encourages mould growth.

He referenced an Aug. 29 letter to the editor in which Cameron St. landlord Ernest Dyck pointed out how keeping windows open strategically, avoiding long showers and occasionally cleaning walls, for example, can go a long way to control mould.

Burrett also pointed out how some of the building’s tenants could benefit from living assistance that is not offered in a private apartment building like his. Some of the removed shower units look like they have never been used, he said.

It is his responsibility to provide the facilities, but not to keep them clean, Burrett added. “We’re not a nursing home.

At the end of the day, tenants also have the choice to move, Burrett said. “All we can do is fix it as we go ... we’re doing the best we can.”

The two-storey building is located just south of Sherbrooke St. It’s mostly home to fixed-income tenants, such as those receiving Ontario Disability Support Program benefits.

That too, has been a factor, Burrett said, explaining how supervisors must have good reason to enter an apartment where someone, because of mental health reasons, may not be very welcoming. “Some of (the residents) are quite delicate to work with.”

In one case, a water leak in an apartment went unnoticed for weeks because of the amount of clutter in the unit, he added. Christoph voiced his frustration over how long it takes to get a hearing date from the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board.

He said he has helped some other residents, disability pensioners with mental health disabilities, file “legal complaints” with the Peterborough Community Legal Centre.

Christoph said he has also reached out to Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal, to whom he wants to propose an expedited process to hear matters that concern health and safety issues.

One tenant is now sleeping on the floor because officials asked him to remove his belongings due to a bedbug infestation, he said. “It’s unbelievable that this is going on.”

Reached later in the day Tuesday, Christoph said he learned that officials are now scheduled to spray that tenants’ apartment on Wednesday.