Ottawa Citizen

SENIOR AND CONDO BOARD AGREE TO A SETTLEMENT

- HUGH ADAMI Is something bothering you? Please contact: thepublicc­itizen@ottawaciti­zen.com

A senior left with an $11,600 hotel and food bill after vacating his penthouse unit at a condominiu­m highrise so repairs could be done to the plumbing system has reached an out-of-court settlement with the building’s condo corporatio­n.

His home insurance company has also agreed to give him some money for his troubles.

A confidenti­ality agreement Gregoire Pagé signed as part of the settlement with Las Brisas condo corporatio­n prevents him from revealing the amount of the settlement, but his lawyer, JeanJacque­s Desgranges, says Pagé believes what he received “is fair.”

Desgranges says Pagé, in his late 70s, “had to go through a lot of stress over all of this,” but is relieved and happy that the matter has been settled. Leanna Storto, vice-president of the condo corporatio­n’s board of directors, would only confirm that a settlement was reached.

Pagé moved out of the building on Bathgate Drive in September 2013 for what he thought was going to be two weeks. The work ended up taking 2 ½ months. He said he was under the impression that his hotel and meal costs were going to be covered by the condominiu­m corporatio­n after meeting with the building’s former property manager before he moved out. But not long after his return, he was told by the president of the condo’s board of directors to ask his insurance company to foot the bill. The insurer refused because it did not deem the plumbing work to be an emergency.

The plumbing work to “common” pipes above Pagé’s ceiling was necessary following some flooding in units below his in 2013.

LANDLORD ORDERED TO GIVE MORE REFUNDS

There have been more decisions against a Montreal-based landlord involving tenants here in Ottawa.

Golden Equity Properties of Montreal has been ordered by the Landlord and Tenant Board to issue rent refunds to Hossein Danesh-Heidari, who lived at 229 Argyle Ave., and Joshua Wiener, who had an apartment at 250254 Cooper St.

Wiener also took his complaint to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which charged the landlord with three counts of violating the Residentia­l Tenancies Act.

As reported by The Public Citizen last month, Caitlin Thibeault and her ex-roommate also lived at the Cooper building. They provided a security/damage deposit of $1,475 on top of their last month’s rent to secure their unit. Not only are landlords prohibited from taking such deposits under the act, the pair alleged the money wasn’t returned after they moved out.

The Landlord and Tenant Board ordered Multi Res Management — the property management wing of Golden Equity — to repay Thibeault and her former roommate the $1,475, plus interest. Golden Equity promised the money in two instalment­s. Thibeault says she was recently told the first cheque was already in the mail. The money has yet to arrive.

Last spring, Danesh-Heidari sublet his apartment to a new tenant who provided the landlord with the last month’s rent deposit. But the landlord failed to reimburse Danesh-Heidari his last month’s rent deposit. In early February, the LTB ordered Golden Equity to pay DaneshHeid­ari $747, plus interest.

Wiener is owed two months’ rent for a total of $1,720, plus interest. The money represents the last month’s deposit as well as rent for February 2014 when a new tenant took over his lease.

Wiener first complained to Municipal Affairs and Housing, which conducted an investigat­ion, and ordered the landlord to return the money. It didn’t, and in January, the ministry charged Golden Equity with the three counts of contraveni­ng the Residentia­l Tenancies Act. The landlord has been ordered to appear in provincial offences court in Ottawa on March 19. The maximum fine for a company found guilty of contraveni­ng the Residentia­l Tenancies Act is $100,000 per count.

Wiener later took the matter to the LTB, which also ordered the landlord to return the money.

In all three cases before the LTB, including a conference call for Wiener’s complaint, the landlord did not provide a representa­tive.

When contacted by the Citizen, Cathy Pichette of Golden Equity said no one at the company would have anything to say on the matter.

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Gregoire Pagé
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