Hundreds of east end tenants receive eviction letters

Hundreds of tenants of two buildings on Cedarwood Dr. receive eviction notices.

Hundreds of tenants living in two east end apartments are worried about losing their homes after receiving letters threatening they could be evicted.

Resident Miriam Brandon says she received a letter saying she had 14 days to pay her rent, or she would be evicted.

But the single mother says she didn’t understand the letter, since she had already paid.

“I don’t know what to do,” Brendon said. “They’re going to evict me, where am I going to go with my son? Especially when it’s not my fault, I paid rent.

“I don’t need to worry about this,” she added. “I’ve got enough on my hands.”

Many of the residents in the buildings on Cedarwood Dr. have low incomes.

The buildings have long been a source of complaints over safety concerns, cockroaches and bed bugs.

Timbercreek Asset Management bought the buildings in June from Transglobe.

A spokesperson for the new building owner says they want to clean up the problems, and many of the eviction notices were a mistake.

“We’re not going to wrongfully evict any resident,” Timbercreek Asset Management spokesperson Derek Ryder said. “We’ll dig down into each account and make sure we’re dealing with each situation correctly.”

But some tenants say the whole situation has them worried.

“It stressed me out because I have a child,” Tenant Stephanie Castonguay said. “(You’re) put on the spot for something you don’t understand, it scares you.”

Some residents are standing their ground and say they won’t go anywhere.

“I’m not moving out,” said John Redins, a tenant for 8 years who received an eviction letter. “They can come and get me, I’m not moving out.”

Other residents say they are frustrated with how the buildings are being managed.

“This place has changed hands so many time and nothing’s changed,” said tenant Jen Wishloff. “I’m not going to put up with it anymore.”

The buildings’ new owners say they are committed to resolving some of the problems.

They’ve started spraying each apartment to try and kill the infestation of bugs.

With files from CTV’s Joanne Schnurr