Housing advocates gather for mock ceremony of ‘worst’ London landlords

London ACORN members held a mock award ceremony to push city hall to enforce a landlord licensing program. CTV’s Lauren Stallone has more.

London ACORN members gathered at Victoria Park for a “Slumlord of the Year” award ceremony.

The event is aimed at highlighting some of what advocates are calling “the worst landlords in the city.”

“What we are really after is to protect our quality of life,” said Jordan Smith with ACORN London. “And our standard of living.”

Many tenants said they are experiencing unsafe housing, pest infestations, leaks, mold and crumbling infrastructure.

“We’ve been trying to get repairs done to the pavement by our front door,” said Ashley Hackett, ACORN member. “It wasn’t done properly; it was sticking to our shoes when it was done.”

“I was in St. John’s Hospital in February for mold treatment,” said local resident Michel Theriault. “The mold in my building made me sick.”

Ken DeJong said she has been exposed to unsafe living conditions for over two years.

“We have controllable pests in our unit that they keep on spraying for but they don’t seem to spray the whole unit, so they keep coming back,” said DeJong. “When you are on a fixed income you can only do so much.”

She said she has tried to vocalize her concerns to her landlord, but it is an “unpleasant encounter” and “nothing gets done.”

“I’m just really hoping that maybe the city will start to learn that these things are going on and these people’s homes,” said DeJong.

Advocates said they are calling on the city to implement a proactive landlord licensing and inspection program that covers all rental properties.

They said programs like Toronto’s RentSafe would protect tenants from their landlord after filing a complaint.

“You need a license to run a business, you need a license to drive a car, you need a license to own a cat,” said Smith. “Those are all reasonable things, but then how is it that we don’t have any kind of system for the people that are responsible for our lives and safe space.”

Advocates said a landlord licensing program would help ensure landlords take responsibility and follow city bylaws.

“We are seeing a downward slide in the quality of our lives,” said Smith.