Suspected ghost hotel ordered closed by city
Two renters say they are being forced out of their homes
A suspected ghost hotel in Kensington Market has been shut down after city inspectors found that renovations were done without permits.
The property is at 38 Kensington Pl., in the heart of the market.
The graffiti-covered building was once home to a community of artists and students who rented one of six three-storey units. After a new owner took over in 2016, most of the tenants moved out and empty units were briefly transformed into an illegal temporary hotel. Now, the tourist traffic has ceased. The halls are quiet and most of the units are dark, the shades drawn.
“It’s a ghost town. There is no one there,” said Tara Boire, who still lives in the building, with a roommate. “Our street has always been quite quiet and we like it that way, but there was always traffic.”
The building was sold to Claude Bitton in 2016 and former tenants allege that shortly after the purchase, Bitton and his staff used illegal rent hikes and intimidation tactics to get people to move out.
Renters did clear out of five large apartments, which were then renovated or made into tiny rental units.
At least nine of those new units were posted on home-sharing site Airbnb.
Tourists were lured by “art and famous graffiti artists everywhere” in an area known for food, music, second-hand clothing and bohemian charm.
The Star visited one of the Airbnb units in June, a tidy two-room apartment with a kitchen and advertised as sleeping up to four for $127 a night, plus $65 cleaning and $24 service fees, for a total of $216.
The Airbnb account was suspended by the company after the Star reported how the space was being used and that past tenants had claimed they had been pressured to leave.
Now, after city inspectors identified health and safety issues, the makeshift hotel has closed its doors.
After the city came in, Boire and her roommate were sent an email on behalf of the building’s owner claiming city staff wanted the entire building cleared and they had to move out.
Acity staff member told the Star the apartment rented by Boire was not listed on the city order.
Paralegal Peter Balatidis, who represents Bitton, would not comment on the inspection orders, or the email sent to Boire and her roommate.
“My clients are not available at this time and I do not have authorization to comment at this time,” Balatidis wrote in an email in late September. He requested the documents the Star was referring to and then did not respond to additional requests for comment.
Bitton, in 2016, told the Star he was seeking fair market rent and it was his staff who were being intimidated by tenants.
Proposed regulations around the use of short-term rentals are being debated at city hall later this year. Included in that draft is a rule that people can only offer up Airbnb rentals in properties where they are the principal resident.
Housing advocates want rules that block landlords from transforming low-cost rental spaces into what are effectively hotels in the midst of a low vacancy crisis.
In late August, city inspectors went in and determined that as a result of the renovations, including in the unit the Star toured, parts of 38 Kensing- ton Pl. was “hazardous to the health and safety of persons in the normal use of the building,” according to a city order posted on the main door of the building.
Among the health and safety concerns: no access to proper or enough exits, or emergency lighting and exit signs.
The owner also did not have the permits required to prove the fire alarm system and sprinklers met city standards, or could confirm the materials used as fire insulation were appropriate, according to the order.
The city order stated that construction and any unauthorized use of the property must cease, the units must be returned to their previous form and permits must be obtained for future work, or inspections conducted to determine if work was done properly.
Boire has lived for five years at 38 Kensington Pl. and until the inspections said she never felt pressured to move out.
“It has all the modern amenities and obviously the location is to die for. The reasonable rent comes with living with other people, but it’s a sacrifice that works for me.”
Three days after the city issued its order, Boire and her roommate were sent an email on behalf of the building owner.
“As you probably know by now, the city has posted two urgent comply orders. We cannot ignore them,” the author wrote in the email reviewed by the Star.
“As per the notice, the building must be vacant, therefore, we need to ask you to remove your belongings and move out of this property as soon as possible. Please note, this is beyond our control.”
City spokesperson Bruce Hawkins said the orders only applied to the renovated parts of the building.
“Toronto Building has not issued an Unsafe Order to the unit currently being used as a single-family dwelling,” Hawkins wrote in an email to the Star.
The email to Boire and her roommate on behalf of Bitton said renova- tions had been done by the previous owner and that they were not made aware of the issues by the city when the building was purchased.
During the inspections, the city also discovered that renovations had been done to a garage space and recreation area without permits, which a former tenant confirmed were done before Bitton bought the building.
Mario Angelucci, director and deputy chief building official for Toronto and East York, explained via email that the illegal construction was only recently discovered.
Regardless, he said, the city would have given them a letter showing there were no active files related to the property at the time of purchase, but also would have recommended the prospective owners check to make sure any work in the building was up to code.
Hawkins said failing to comply with the city orders could mean a $50,000 fine and up to $100,000 for subsequent failures to comply.
Inspectors did return to the property in early September and at that point the new doors used to create separate tiny apartments had been removed and the apartments were vacant.
“Our street has always been quite quiet and we like it that way, but there was always traffic.”
TARA BOIRE RENTER