Residents heated over lack of hot water
Problem at Scarborough co-op apartment complex has dragged on for two months
Tammy Dixon and her granddaughter have had to resort to bathing at a nearby relative’s home because there has been no hot water in her Scarborough co-operative apartment building at 4 Pell St. for months.
This is the case for dozens of residents living in at least 30 units spread across the three affected apartment buildings at 2, 4, and 6 Pell St., which are managed by Scarborough Bluffs Co-operative Inc.
The company was hit with a notice of violation from the city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards division, which demanded repairs by Dec. 31.
The deadline passed and the repairs have not been made.
There are nine co-operative buildings at the complex.
Three have been affected by the faulty water-heating system.
Dixon, who serves on the resident- elected co-operative board for the complex, located on Pell St., near Kingston Rd. and Midland Ave., says the issue has dragged on since early November.
Engineers retained by Scarborough Bluffs are expected to apply for permits Friday. Permits must be acquired before the antiquated heating system can be replaced.
“I don’t have hot water myself,” said Dixon who lives in building 4, where, as is the case with her neighbours in apartments 2 and 6.
The water rarely goes above lukewarm.
“I’ve had to go to my children’s home in building 18 to have a bath. It’s not fun for me either.”
“We’ve (the board) done everything that we could do as quickly as we could do it,” she said. “There are issues because the boilers are so old. Apparently, it’s a complicated issue that could not be solved faster. If there is a solution that we missed, shame on us.”
Paul Tanner, who lives at 4 Pell St., runs the water from the faucet of his kitchen sink for several minutes; the water feels just about body temperature.
“Nobody here wants to shower,” he said. “Why isn’t this fix getting done?”
Officials from Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards division conducted an investigation and “found that the temperature of the water did not meet standards.”
Scarborough Bluffs Inc. acknowledged there was an issue in a Nov. 15 letter to residents conceding “small scale efforts” to remedy the problem had failed and engineers were being called in to conjure a tangible solution.
That was followed up by a Dec. 12 statement from the property management company, which said the upgrade would include installing new boilers and storage tanks for the hot water in units and separating the antiquated domestic hot water system from the heating hot water system.
“There is no firm timeline yet as to when the work will be done,” states the Dec. 12 memo. “The actual work will likely be done within two weeks of the permits being issued.”
Weeks passed without a peep, until a Jan. 2 note from Scarborough Bluffs indicating “permits for the necessary work will be applied for this Friday.
Once issued, the work will be done as soon as possible. A licensed contractor has already been hired to do the necessary work.”
City officials said no permit application has been made to date.
Councillor Gary Crawford, who has received a flood of complaints from residents, is monitoring the issue closely.
“I will be making sure that we can expedite this once we get the application for the permit,” Crawford said.
During a visit to the complex Thursday, the Star walked in on an impromptu meeting be- tween three residents and Namulinda Lester, a senior co-ordinator for Scarborough Bluffs.
Lester said there would be a statement provided to the Star, but nothing was received by press time.
Debbie Giroux was part of the group seeking answers from Lester on Thursday.
She said Scarborough Bluffs did a commendable job up until this point, but said, between the property manager and the board, she felt the ball had been dropped this time around.
“We haven’t been updated,” she said. “It’s been brutal.”
As for progress being made after Friday’s promised permit application, she said: “I’m still a little doubtful that’s going to happen.”
Donna Norman, who also paid a visit to the property management office Thursday, has called the co-operative apartments home for four decades.
“This is the worst it’s ever been in 40 years,” she said.