Harbor Realties

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

Jeffrey Weinstein says he first saw a few mice scurrying through his dining room. Then “families” of them cruising through bedrooms. He caught eight but figures up to two dozen may live rent-free in his Wilderton apartment.

He says his landlord, TMR-based property management and brokerage company Harbor Realties, is unresponsive, and some other residents in the connected buildings at 6525 Wilderton and 6280 Northcrest told The Suburban they agree.

He felt further stymied by 311, saying it took several weeks for the borough to act due to repeated communication snafus. In April an inspector visited his apartment. “He said he’d return to do a whole building inspection and inform the landlord to get an exterminator or the city will impose fines… When I followed up with the borough, I got nothing… I think they’re not being transparent and they’re stonewalling.”

Darlington city councillor Stephanie Valenzuela told him CDN-NDG is short-staffed with only 12 inspectors for 500 inspections and the property was flagged to her in late 2022 for rodents, cockroaches “and really poor conditions in general.” She says inspectors are sent but owners don’t act because infractions are an insufficient deterrent. “Lately we’ve seen a little bit of movement in terms of complaints, but the issue’s been around for a while.” Valenzuela says when inspectors visit, “they ask the landlord to bring in an exterminator who only exterminates that unit, displacing the problem to neighbours.”

The Suburban asked Loyola councilor Despina Sourias, Montreal’s point-person for housing and cleanliness, about the delay. Borough advisor Ezra De Muns responded, saying if rodents are present after the latest inspection, “a second statement of offence will be issued to the landlord, this time with a more substantial fine.” Visits will be repeated about every two weeks until the city’s Housing Department intervenes. (Sanctions include upscaling fines up to $20,000 per repeat infraction, and having work performed and billing landlords.) De Muns says the delay is because there are files at both borough and city levels due to the number of issues.

Valenzuela says since changing ownership three to four years ago, “the property has gone downhill, and they show little interest fixing issues, and seem to be waiting for people to leave so they can hike rents.” She says “residents who can afford to, move out, and those who can’t, well they’re waiting them out. It seems like they’re engaging in renovictions.”

The Suburban asked Harbor Realties what they did in response to the complaints, and if they are engaging in renoviction. Ian Mirescu responded that the allegation is “totally unfounded” and “there is no such thing as renovictions going on in our building.”

He says the city sent a non-conformity notice for extermination, adding tenants did not contact the landlord about the issue but went directly to the city. He provided a city request for four units out of a total 183. Mirescu then named another tenant with a bedbugs issue that has been treated twice. “We have no other such cases. The exterminator was clear that the problem is coming from him.” He alluded to said tenant’s attempt to extort owners with media coverage and cautioned The Suburban against publishing “sensational” and inaccurate material.

Weinstein and his neighbours met with Mont-Royal–Outremont MNA Michelle Setlakwe about the issue, are opening a file at the Tribunal administratif du logement, and a tenant meeting with Valenzuela is planned.

Last month, the city announced $3 million for preventative inspections and $1.5 million for tenant organizations. A recent pilot project inspected 91 large buildings and 1,000 health violations were detected in 13 of them. The city pledges to perform preventative inspections of 8,000 buildings in vulnerable neighbourhoods, some 130,000 homes, within five years. n