Desperate homeowner gets a little help

Advocacy group sets up fund for Vaughan family stuck with mould-ridden house

Sydney Walters, fearing the day when he will lose his home, is getting help from a not-for-profit organization called Canadians for Property Built Homes (CPBH), which has set up a trust fund for anyone who would like to donate to the family.

Walters is involved in a legal fight with the City of Vaughan and builder Villa Royale Homes Inc. over who is responsible for the missing insula- tion in the attic that led to mould and forced his family to leave.

Since the Walters’ story was published in the Star last week, many readers have responded with offers to help. The not-for-profit organization Canadians for Properly Built Homes (CPBH) launched a trust fund at the Scotiabank branch at 9333 Weston Rd., Unit 1, in Vaughan (account number 07286 04049 85).

“We wanted to let the Walters family know they are not alone, that somebody cares, and there are others out there going through similar situations,” said Karen Somerville, president of the CPBH, which aims to increase consumer awareness

“The city has put us through tremendous hardship. We will never recover, and I don’t see an end in sight.” SYDNEY WALTERS HOMEOWNER

about building standards and push for greater protections.

Walters continues to pay the mortgage on the house, plus the rent on a one-bedroom basement apartment where he now lives with his family.

He says the situation is pushing him into poverty — and could force his family to lose their home.

“The city has put us through tremendous hardship,” he said. “We will never recover, and I don’t see an end in sight.”

Walters, who is nearly $200,000 in debt, says he is thankful for the support from the community. He says any funds would go to help pay his mortgage and overhead costs — to ensure he can keep his home from being repossessed by the bank.

And he’s still waiting for a call from Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua.

“I am pleading to the mayor to personally get involved and see that this matter is settled,” he said.

COLE BURSTON/TORONTO STAR Sydney Walters in the backyard of his Vaughan home, which is contaminated with mould. He and his family are living in a rental apartment.