In Conversation: Local Renter says he was Unfairly Evicted

Barrie’s housing crisis is more than a three word catchphrase. 

As we talked early with Jennifer Van Gennip, many see how systemic factors influence the wild unaffordability of living in our city.

A city with an average one-bedroom apartment doing floor over $1,500. 

That’s having a direct impact on the lives of so many in our community, especially in the context of COVID-19. 

Denis Wilkinson was recently handed an eviction notice from his apartment, where he lives with three roommates. 

He said his landlord claimed he wanted to move into the apartment -- so he has to move out. But living on a fixed income -- he doesn’t have many options. 

Just a note, he was not comfortable giving us his landlord’s name or information, because he is still living in the premises. 

LJI journalist Sam Gillett checked in with Michael Hefferon, Executive Director of the Simcoe Legal Clinic. He couldn’t speak via video call, but he confirmed that landlords can evict tenants under the current guidelines — if the plan to occupy the premises. 

However landlords can’t enter an apartment without 24 hours notice unless the tenant gives them permission or it’s an emergency. 

If a tenant believes that they were evicted in bad faith, they can file an application with the LTB to seek compensation from the landlord. The application is known as a T5 Tenant Application – Landlord Gave a Notice of Termination in Bad Faith. The LTB is a tenant’s only place of recourse, as it has exclusive jurisdiction to hear these cases.

A root of the issue isn’t Denis’ landlord or the apartment itself -- it’s the crisis of affordable housing which makes living in our community difficult for so many. 

As with all of BCM’s stuff so far, this isn’t meant to represent the totality of the situation. 

It’s a jumping-off point for future conversations. 

And Barrie seems to be having those conversations in a variety of ways. 

Mayor Lehman’s affordable housing taskforce will be assembled this spring -- and he said he’ll be the chair. 

There are a few affordable housing developments in the works -- such as the Coral Sophia Lane project which could add 8 stories of lower-cost apartments

And That’s another step towards the city’s goal of 840 affordable units by 2024. 

However as house prices boom in Barrie and most of Simcoe County, incentives for developers to craft affordable housing developments aren’t all too enticing. 

Many advocates, such as Jennifer Van Gennip from Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness, say social supports for government-funded projects are the key.