Tenants forced to sleep in tents because of unsafe living conditions

Tenants in a downtown Hamilton neighbourhood are demanding that something be done about their living conditions. Two Wentworth street houses which are made up of nine apartments are unsafe and need serious repairs and renters say their landlord refuses to do anything about it.

Sean, a tenant in the apartment, is sleeping in this tent in his backyard because he says the mold in his apartment is making him sick. There is also broken windows, water damage from floods, paint cans piled up in the basement next to the electrical panels, light fixtures that don’t work, baseboard heaters damaged and there’s bedbugs and mice infestations. These tenants are living in these deplorable conditions because they have no where else to go.

Mike Wood from the group Hamilton Acorn, that helps low-income tenants living in unacceptable conditions, has stepped in and says it’s time for landlords to step up.

“Landlords should be keeping up with their end of the bargain which is doing the repairs like they are supposed to.”

Wood says this is a growing problem in the city and something needs to be done. He’s renewing calls for a rental housing licensing system in Hamilton including annual inspections to protect tenants living in unsafe and unhealthy conditions like these.