Issue 4 - Queen's Journal - Volume 146

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Queen’s University u QJSERIES

Landlord sues twelve student properties, eleven go unrepresented

Vol. 146, Issue 4

F r i day , S e p t e m b e r 7 , 2 0 1 8

since

1873

WELCOME TO QUEEN’S, CLASS OF ’22

Landlord faces allegations of harassment, illegal entry and forgery of notices of entry Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor This year, landlord Phil Lam filed lawsuits against 12 different groups of students living in his properties in the University District. Of the 12 cases, only one group had legal representation. Lam filed 11 of his applications on March 13 and one on March 15, resulting in hearings which were scheduled during exam season. Since January, Lam has filed claims for nearly $30,000 in damages from tenants, according to documents obtained by The Journal in August. “We only file applications as a last resort,” Lam wrote of the actions via email. In the case of a Barrie Street house, Freedom of Information Coordinator Susan Benger wrote the tribunal “found that the tenants did not cause the majority of the damage claimed by the landlord.” Among the lawsuits, Queen’s student Christopher Jones and his six housemates faced damages claims. Jones—the only one who challenged Lam in mediation—had difficulty with his legal defence. In 2017, Jones filed applications against Lam for harassment, interference of reasonable enjoyment, failure to provide services and allowing his staff to consistently enter the unit without proper written notice. Jones was a tenant of 15 Aberdeen Street from 2016-2017. He told The Journal the property was “poorly maintained.” “Our food was being eaten by mice all the time. I’m pretty sure there was mold in the basement. It smelled so bad,” Jones said. On Nov. 24, Jones came home from class to find his and four of his housemates’ bedroom doors had been completely replaced.

See Lam on page 4

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

Art’Sci first-year students play Tug of War during Frosh Week.

Students in limbo after City denies occupancy limit Tenants struggle to find accommodations until access is granted Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor On Aug. 31, The City of Kingston denied an occupancy permit to a newly constructed Princess Street apartment building—a day before the tenants’ fall semester move-in. The building didn’t meet minimum safety requirements laid out in the Ontario Building Code, according to the City. Tenants of the building were originally told they could move in on Sept. 1. But around 9 p.m. the night before, they learned they couldn’t, forcing all occupants of the 93-bedroom complex to find alternative accommodations during Labour Day weekend. The property manager, Stelmach Project Management, declined a request for comment. While City officials issued the occupancy permit on Tuesday after a re-inspection, dozens of tenants were left financially stressed and uncertain about their living arrangements. Nhyira Gyasi-Denteh—a Master’s student in Public Administration—arrived in Kingston on Thursday night. The next day, she decided to walk past the building. “I noticed that there was still construction

happening,” she told The Journal in an accommodations” for tenants displaced by a interview. “There was a manager there who failed inspection. Sayyed—who emailed the company I spoke with. I said, I’m supposed to move in tomorrow morning, is this place going to asking whether they would honour the clause—only received a response around be ready?” The manager told her the building would midnight the day the permit was denied. The be ready and that she could pick up her keys company told her there wouldn’t be updates until Tuesday and did not address her question on Sept. 1 as planned. “It’s been really stressful,” she said. “Here I about accommodations. “They just ignored it,” she said. “I think I am, moving to a new town that I know nothing about, and I had a plan. I like to be organized called them at least fifty times, and I have not for my studies, and it was supposed to be See Sayyed on page 4 a simple transition. I tried looking for other accommodations, but who wants to live half an hour away from campus?” “Give me a f—king roof over my head,” she said. Zahra Sayyed, a Master’s student in Public Health, told The Journal only one of her three roommates received the email from Stelmach Project Management informing tenants of the failed inspection. Sayyed only signed a lease because of a clause stating that “in the unlikely event” of a delayed occupancy permit, rent would decrease until it was granted. The lease also stated it was the landlord’s responsibility to PHOTO BY AMELIA RANKINE arrange and pay for “alternative Zahra Sayyed.

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