Residents vow to fight eviction
Owner has offered to help relocate seniors after sale of retirement home
A group of Mississauga seniors facing eviction from their retirement home is drawing a line in the sand with the property’s owner, Chartwell, which wants tenants gone by the end of July.
The approximately 200 residents of Chartwell Heritage Glen Retirement Residence were told by the company last month that the twobuilding property was being sold and would cease to operate as a retirement home.
About 130 tenants have taken Chartwell up on its offer to cover the costs of moving to another residence, which also comes with compensation in the amount of three months’ rent. But a growing contingent of Heritage Glen residents, some who have lived at the home for more than 20 years and have family and friends in the neighbourhood, are vowing to stay put.
“The impact on the seniors in the building is devastating,” said Karen Santaguida, a member of the group of tenants and their families fighting to stop the evictions and sale of the property.
She says the group, calling itself the Heritage Glen Defence Committee, plans to force Chartwell to a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board, which could drag out the timeline for vacancy put forward by the company. With the help of ACORN, a national community and tenant union, the group has been reaching out to residents to ensure they are aware of their rights. A rally to drum up support for the residents is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Glen.
“There is profound sadness and despair from all of the residents and many of them do not have anybody to help or support them,” Santaguida added.
Her 92-year-old mother, Joyce Dodge, has lived at the residence for nearly 20 years and says she was in a state of disbelief when two Heritage Glen workers showed up at her front door on March 19 and handed her a piece of paper telling her she was being evicted. The notice said Chartwell required her unit to be empty in order for extensive repairs or renovations to be completed.
“You look at this thing and you say, ‘Oh my God, now what’s going to happen?’” said Dodge, recalling that she immediately called her daughter, who also couldn’t believe it and thought her mother must have dreamt up the whole scenario.
Santaguida then called the home’s front desk to find out what was going on.
“The girl there who runs the front desk was just in shock and said ‘Yes, it’s true,’ ” Santaguida recalled.
In an emailed statement to the Star, Mary Perrone Lisi, senior director of communications and public relations for Chartwell, said the infrastructure of the Heritage Glen made it “unsustainable to continue as a retirement residence, which had been operating at less than 60 per cent capacity and has been declining for several years.” She said the company understands the challenges that its decision to cease operations has caused for the residents and their families and that it is “committed to support them during the transition.”
“Timely and regular communication with all affected stakeholders, engagement of third-party transition specialists, financial assistance in excess of regulatory requirements, and offers of discounted accommodation at other Chartwell residences are just some of the examples of this commitment,” she said, adding that, so far, the company has found alternative accommodations for more than 130 residents and is confident it will find alternative accommodations for the remaining tenants. She added that Chartwell is working with the city of Mississauga and Region of Peel staff to prioritize residents who require subsidized rental accommodation.
The purchaser of the property is believed to be the developer Minto.
A senior Minto executive would not confirm or deny that the company was the purchaser when contacted by the Star.
Retirement homes, while they do provide care services to residents such as meals, bathing and personal hygiene assistance, fall under the Residential Tenancies Act and are not subject to the rules and regulations under the Long-Term Care Act.
Lawyer Benjamin Ries, executive director of South Etobicoke Community Legal Services, said under provincial legislation, tenants who receive an eviction notice for the purpose of extensive repairs or renovations do not have to move out right away. If a tenant does not move out by the date on the notice, the landlord can request a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board where they must prove that they have paid the tenant compensation (three months’ rent), intend to do the work described on the eviction notice and that such work actually requires vacant possession.
“Even if the Landlord and Tenant Board finds that the landlord really does intend to gut these units or change them in a significant way and really is going to need vacant possession for the scope of work proposed, the Board must consider whether it is fair that the landlord be allowed to do so at all,” Ries explained. Whether a tenant leaves voluntarily or is ordered evicted, they can also give the landlord notice of their right to move back into their apartment when the work is finished — at their old rent.
A spokesperson for the Retirement Home Regulatory Authority (RHRA) told the Star that as private entities, retirement homes are allowed to cease operations but must take “reasonable steps” to find appropriate alternative accommodation for the residents or assist residents in accessing any needed external care providers. The RHRA also said it has been in contact with Heritage Glen throughout the transition process so that it complies with its legal obligations.
Such sentiments are of little comfort to Stacey Saracini, whose 82year-old mother-in-law, Marilyn Saracini, is one of the Heritage Glen tenants being evicted.
Saracini says Marilyn moved in less than three years ago and has been left “distraught” at the thought of having to pick up roots again, just as she was beginning to feel at home. While she and her husband have managed to find a new apartment for Marilyn in Oakville, the rent is $1,000 more per month than the $2,600 her mother-in-law is paying now. Saracini said she worries for many Heritage Glen residents, some of whom are under rent control.
“There’s a serious issue with affordable homes within all of our communities,” she said.
A recent Peel report shows that more than 28,000 households are on the region’s centralized waiting list for subsidized housing.
“There are a lot of people who literally don’t have enough money coming in on a monthly basis to pay the rent that is out there, so they are not leaving sheerly because they can’t afford it,” Saracini added.
In a letter Dodge received from Chartwell outlining alternative accommodations, the company included a list of other Chartwell properties in the GTA and beyond with monthly rents ranging from $2,295 to $4,302 including meals (Chartwell is offering monthly “loyalty discounts” of between $150 and $250 or one month free), compared to the $1,666 she pays now.
Dodge says she can’t afford rents at those higher levels.
“I mean, my God,” she added. “I’m trying not to think of that right now.”
Earlier this month, Mississauga Coun. Martin Reid, whose ward includes Heritage Glen, put forward a motion at city council to write to the Ontario government asking that the written notice of eviction in the Retirement Homes Act be increased from 120 days to 180 days and that the government review the situation at Heritage Glen to ensure it does not happen again elsewhere in Ontario.
“These seniors built Mississauga. They raised their families in my ward and they wanted to live their last days here. This choice has been taken away from them in a greedy and disrespectful way,” said Reid. “My goals are to ensure not one senior ends up homeless and that they receive more supports through this transition.”
The MPP for the Mississauga-Streetsville, Progressive Conservative Nina Tangri, said along with the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility, “our sole priority is working towards a solution that allows the remaining residents to transition to suitable accommodations in a timely and dignified manner.”