THE FIXER:
Tenants must share blame with management for TCHC problems,
Neglect and apathy go hand in hand at Toronto Community Housing Corp., a partnership that starts with management and spreads to tenants.
It’s the takeaway from a week of columns devoted to TCHC problems, but it is too simplistic and wrong to blame management for all that ails social housing.
TCHC residents told us they have stopped complaining about maintenance issues that aren’t fixed for months or even years, saying they’ve given up and accept that nothing will change.
Management is hobbled by chronic underfunding and a $750-million repair backlog. Tenants and politicians expect them to perform miracles on a scale of loaves and fishes.
Building superintendents aren’t given the resources needed to deal with maintenance problems, which residents interpret as carelessness and indifference.
And if the people in charge don’t care, it’s hard to fault the residents for adopting the same approach.
But several problems fall into the category of basic upkeep, vigilance and common sense, which seems too great a challenge for TCHC employees at some buildings.
Sinead Canavan, who deals with media for TCHC, said wires are spilling out of metal cabinets for cable TV at 4301 Kingston Rd., which we wrote about Wednesday. Tenants have tampered with them, trying to hook up for free.
But in its first response to our questions, TCHC said open wiring boxes are the responsibility of its cable contractor. OK, but shouldn’t those in charge of the building be on top of situations that adversely affect TV and Internet service for those who pay? Don’t they see the same problems as residents? Canavan said TCHC is “working with management” to watch more closely for problems such as the cable wiring issue, and respond sooner by notifying the contractor. TCHC has procedures for residents to dispose of furniture and mattresses infested with bedbugs, which we wrote about Friday, to prevent scavenging residents from dragging such items inside, she said. Residents are supposed to notify management when bedbug-ridden furniture is discarded, Canavan added, so it can be dismantled, wrapped in plastic and labeled as infected, to discourage scavengers from recycling it. But that often doesn’t happen due to an embarrassing stigma about bedbugs that deters people from following the rules, she said. “Nobody wants to be known as the person with bedbugs; we understand that, too,” she said, adding that management is trying harder to overcome resident apathy by encouraging them to report problems. Bonnie Booth, a resident of a TCHC seniors building who has been emailing us about our columns this week, said tenants are usually at fault for the state of their building. “It continues to amaze me how you appear to be blaming TCHC, versus having the tenants take responsibility for their actions,” said Booth. “TCHC is not a parent, but a company with staff to oversee the property, not dictating how tenants live and respect each other.” We’ll be paying more attention to TCHC problems in the months ahead, and want readers to keep pointing them out to us. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/thefixer and open the SeeClickFix template, or click on the “submit a problem” link. Call us at 416869-4823. To read our blog, click on “blogs” at the top of thestar.com, or go to thestar.blogs.com/thefixer. Follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.