Windsor man living without heat inside downtown apartment unit for nearly one year
A Windsor, Ont., man is pursuing legal action to try and recover hydro costs he incurred due to his apartment unit being left without heat for nearly a full year.
"We just woke up one day and it was extremely cold," said Jordan Arsenault. "I don't think anyone really thought this would be such a long standing issue but here we are."
While the company which manages the property says heat has been restored to many of the units since, Arsenaut still relies on thick layers of clothing and a portable heater as his only sources of warmth.
It was March 2022 when tenants received a notice from Marda Management alerting them that the heat was no longer working. With tenants plugging in electric heaters to stay warm, Marda Management covered hydro costs for the first two months of the outage.
The lack of heat was a non-issue between May and September since the weather outside was warm and comfortable, Arsenualt said.
That changed in October when Marda Management brought another notice to tenants' doors — providing them with supplemental heaters to stay warm. But, according to Arsenault, the heaters provided by Marda are "not very adequate."
"They don't heat my space. I had to purchase my own heater. That's a lot better,” he said.
Doing so has resulted in increased hydro costs.
Nick, another tenant who lives on the floor above Arsenault, said he is in the same boat and is calling for all hydro expenses to be covered for the full duration of the heating outage.
"They've made no attempt to be proactive about compensating for hydro costs increasing during this winter," said Nick.
"I don't really understand why that is suddenly an issue or something that hasn't been communicated to us."
The apartment complex on Pitt Street West is overlooked by Marda Management. Pictured in Windsor, Ont. on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)
Marda Management CEO Marla Coffin tells CTV News the company brought in a boiling vendor to assess the situation at 524 Pitt St. W. upon learning of the heating issues last year.
According to Coffin, who said the building is more than 100 years old, the vendor determined a full replacement of the boiler was needed.
"Unfortunately, we were at the end of heating season so it was a 20-week wait for the boiler," said Coffin.
"The boiler was replaced last fall and we've been battling with a couple remaining issues since then."
Coffin added heat has been restored to most of the 26 units inside.
For the units where that is not the case, she said, the boiling vendor needs to secure parts to fix radiators inside those units. However, there have been issues with securing the parts.
A notice from Marda Management was provided to tenants on Jan. 23, letting them know a technician would be coming to install the parts on Jan. 26.
A follow-up notice, issued to tenants on Feb. 2, shows that did not happen.
"Unfortunately, the supplier short shipped and only a total of four [steam radiator] bleeders were delivered," the notice reads, before clarifying that the parts are being shipped in from the United States.
The notice goes on to say any bleeders received Thursday would be installed Friday. Speaking with CTV News on Saturday, Coffin said that didn't happen either.
"Unfortunately, in this particular circumstance, they did not come in," she said. "We're hoping they'll be in Monday and we'll be installing them promptly thereafter."
For Arsenault, much of his last year has been spent going to other people's houses to escape the cold, layering up with multiple sweaters and keeping his guitar on the sidelines since his fingers are far too cold to play well.
But for some of his neighbours, he added, their situations are far more dire.
"A multitude of tenants walk through here from all walks of life. Some with kids, families, older people," said Arsenault.
"I've been in contact with 311 and, just recently, I've filed with the Landlord and Tenant Board just due to the lack of immediacy on situation."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.