An 81-year-old Montreal-area man is facing eviction after the home he built for himself more than 50 years ago was deemed unsafe by local authorities.
Peder Mortensen, a retired structural engineer, immigrated to Canada from Denmark in 1959 and bought a plot of land in the Montreal suburb of Vaudreuil-Dorion.
He finished building the home in 1962 and has since been trying to live as waste-free as possible.
“I built it all myself, over the years, from the ground,” he told CTV Montreal. “I mixed the concrete myself.”
The structure has an unusual exterior that looks more like an wooden cabin than a conventional house. The yard is cluttered with building materials and old, rusty machinery Mortensen uses to maintain or repair the structure.
The interior of the house is much the same, with very little furniture or decor. Instead, pipes run along the unfinished walls from one improvised appliance to another, providing his heat, electricity and other needs.
The walls of the home are made of aluminium sheets while Mortensen has used wood panelling and plastic wrap for the windows.
Mortensen said he uses rainwater to do his laundry and only heats one room during the winter to save energy.
That means his heating costs are only about $800 a year.
While Mortensen says he is happy and comfortable in the home, the city insists the structure is a safety hazard.
“We cannot let a human being live in those conditions,” said Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon. “There’s no town in the province of Quebec that would accept a house like that on its land.”
City officials now want Mortensen to get the home up to code as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the city could seek a court injunction that would allow it to tear down the property.
“That’s a possibility, but it’s a possibility we don’t want,” Pilon said.
A council meeting has been scheduled for next week to determine what it would take to get the structure up to code and how the city can help.
Some of Mortensen’s neighbours have started an online petition to help him stand his ground.
“We’re not going to let it happen,” said neighbour Charlie Berkovits. “He can’t leave there. He’s kind of like a loved character. We just love him.”
So far, the petition has more than 1,200 signatures and dozens of messages of support from across the country.
“Shame on Vaudreuil-Dorion. Instead of trying to force Mr. Mortensen from his home and steal his property, why not rally local support his independent, sustainable life style?” wrote one commenter
Meanwhile, Mortensen said he has no intention of leaving and is already thinking about how to expand the place he calls home.
With a report from CTV Montreal
