In East York, Toronto, sandwiched between DVP and Broadview Avenue, you'll find a cul-de-sac called Don Valley Drive, but with a strong sense of community.
Clive Thommason says he has made it his home for decades.
It's a special place, surrounded by close-knit neighbors. ”
In addition to a neighbouring house, which is an illegal sublet house, located at 75 Don Valley Drive Road.
And Tommarson lives opposite, and the neighbors in the neighborhood started complaining 5 years ago, but no one cares, they think that sooner or later something will happen to this rental house.
Sure enough, earlier this month, there was a bloody incident in this group house, and a man was stabbed in his home. "My house looks straight at it," he said.
The sublet at 75 Don Valley Drive has been a source of problems for residents and City workers.
This is one of two illegal rental homes in the neighborhood that are operated by the same owner.
The front and back yards were a mess and littered with garbage. ”
But residents say it's more than just an eyesore.
Something happens all the time, the police come, the ambulance comes. ”
We have been filing a complaint with the City for years, but no action has been taken," Thomas told City News.
According to the city** staff, the house had problems back in 2019.
In response to multiple complaints, the Municipal Licensing and Standards Department issued a rare letter of apology to neighboring homeowners and confirmed that Municipal ** had visited the home.
The letter was sent on May 5, 2023, but residents say the problem persists.
Line Manager Peter Hardisty wrote: "I sincerely apologize for the poor performance of numerous surveys over the past four years, which is far below my expectations for the quality of service I have for my staff and myself. ”
Hadisti pledged to strengthen enforcement and inspections of homes in the future.
And then there was this stabbing here," Thomas said.
On Feb. 1, a man in his 50s was stabbed inside the house and taken to the hospital, Toronto** rushed to the house.
Citynews obtained ** of the interior of the house after the stabbing, showing a large amount of blood on the floor and walls. The ** were taken by one of the owner's tenants, who said that on the night of the stabbing, the landlord told him to clean up the bloodstains.
She asked me to clean it up," said Frank Ghazal, who says he's not a professional cleaner.
I was told that the person who was stabbed may have some form of hepatitis. ”
Ghazal claimed he asked for $200, but the landlord haggled and lowered him to $150.
With the help of **, al-Bahal rented a room of just over 100 square feet and shared the kitchen and bathroom with two other people. He pays $980 per month.
"We knew there was a housing crisis, so we needed to share houses," said neighbor Thomas Masson. ”
There are tenants in the house, it's not their fault, it's not illegal for them to live there. We think the landlord is to blame for this. ”
According to the city** staff, they are taking action against the landlord.
Since May 2023, the municipality has issued 2 violation notices, one for violating the Housing Standards Compliance Order and the other for issuing a compliance order for pests," a City spokesperson told CityNews.
The owner has not complied with the Zoning and Property Standards Notice Order, and in July 2023, the City filed a lawsuit and the case has now been brought to court. ”
CityNews tried multiple ways to contact the owner via ** and text message, but did not receive any response.