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
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.