Tenants describe ‘horrific’ conditions in two apartment buildings in London, Ont.

An undated photo of damage at Old Oak Properties apartments. (Submitted by ACORN on behalf of tenants of Old Oak Properties)

“Horrific levels of disrepair.” That’s how members of ACORN are describing the living conditions of some apartment buildings in London, Ont.

ACORN members joined dozens of tenants in rallying against Old Oak Properties, which they claim has ignored necessary repairs and a host of other issues relating to management.

The two buildings in question, one at Proudfoot Lane and the other on Adelaide Street North, are where tenants claim a “lack of action” from their landlord to resolve chronic issues stemming from alleged claims of mice in units, stolen items, and serious repairs needed in the building’s hallways and units that they claim have gone unfixed.

On Saturday, the organization spoke with tenants about their concerns and asked them to fill out a survey, in an effort to submit their concerns to the City of London.

Margaret Schwartz has lived in her building on Proudfoot Lane for eight years. She is worried about safety and mould in her unit, which she said is causing her health issues.

“My cabinets in my kitchen are so mouldy on the bottom it stinks, it’s from plumbing issues,” she said, explaining the property management responded that they would “get on it.”

Schwartz told CTV News that her hallway has not had ceiling tiles for two years.

“There’s been lights hanging, there’s been wires hanging that kids can get caught on,” she said.

“It looks like a bomb went off in our hallway,” adding that she has had to previously move out of her unit temporarily due to repairs.

ACORN members explained that tenants from both properties have also complained about mismanagement, a broken parking garage door, unattended leaks, and holes in their ceilings and walls, in addition to claims of pest infestations.

Members of the organization are asking that the company agree to a meeting with the ACORN tenant union to work on a solution.

"Our members living in Old Oak Properties buildings have made their concerns abundantly clear: tenants are living with horrific levels of disrepair that are not being appropriately addressed by their landlord,” the Old Oak ACORN Tenant Union said in a statement.

The continued, “Their buildings are not equipped with sufficient management or maintenance crew for the scale of the property, security is nonexistent, and harassment from management is common. All too often for corporate landlords like Old Oak, the first and foremost priority is profit maximization rather than the wellbeing of tenants, which is the driving factor behind these abuses.”

VP of Operations for Old Oak Robert Bierbaum issued a statement to CTV News on Saturday, citing privacy and confidentiality issues when it comes to speaking about specific concerns or maintenance issues.

Bierbaum said Old Oak is renovating the common areas at their expense to update the buildings, which they made tenants aware of.

“There are many times that a resident will not report a maintenance issue [such as a pest control problem], or refuses to allow our staff to enter their apartment when work has been scheduled,” Bierbaum said. “We inspect all units regularly to ensure any unreported maintenance is taken care of where possible. Unfortunately, we can’t resolve a problem quickly that we are not made aware of or can’t gain access to repair, and these issues often impact other residents around them.”