Vehicles damaged after substance leaks from Ottawa garage ceiling

Residents of an apartment building are frustrated after several vehicles were covered by a leaky residue in the parking garage. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

Residents say several vehicles at a west Ottawa apartment building have been damaged in its underground garage by a substance that is dripping from the leaking ceiling.

The liquid has caused white blotches that cover the car paint, which residents of the building on McWatters Road say are nearly impossible to remove.

“It’s leaking all down through the first floor of the underground parking,” said resident Russ Lecompte. “It looks like it might be lime buildup… you can’t take that out of paint.”

Lecompte said he started noticing blotches of a white residue on his vehicle on June 20.

“It’s still leaking. They’re getting people to go and give them other parking spots, but even those spots are leaking so I don’t know, it’s just a big headache,” Lecompte said of Homestead Land Holdings Limited, the company the garage is managed by.

“Homestead just doesn’t seem to care.”

Susan Given-Hill’s vehicle was also damaged. She says the management company told her she has to go through her insurance to get the paint fixed.

“It’s embedded in the paint and that’s why the estimate is $10,350,” Given-Hill said about the cost of the repairs. “I do not want it written off. I want Homestead to take responsibility and pay for the damage on my car.”

Homestead Land Holdings Limited declined answering specific questions from CTV News Ottawa.

“We are aware of this matter and are working directly with impacted residents in order to resolve the matter promptly,” the company said in a statement.

Several residents who spoke to CTV News Ottawa spoke say they never received a notice about moving their vehicles.

Peggy Steele now covers up her vehicle with a tarp. Based on what a worker told her, she suspects it has to do with ongoing construction.

“He said they made a mistake by taking the asphalt off,” Steele said. “As a result, the water is going through the limestone and it’s being deposited on our vehicles and it’s corrosive.”

As of Monday, water was still leaking in various parts of the garage.

“I lose no-claim bonus, so my insurance is for sure going up,” said Sangini Gupta. “Who is going to deal with all those consequences that I was not even responsible for?”

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