Living under the fear and uncertainty of losing their home is a feeling many Cambridge residents have experienced over the last few years.
For one Cambridge mom, whose family has already survived an attempted eviction by her landlord, the fear of being evicted once again is always front of mind.
"I just can't afford to give up, I don't know where else we'd go," said Trudy Banker.
For the last 17 years, Banker has lived with her husband and son in a townhouse complex in the Preston Heights neighbourhood. Over the past few years, ownership over the complex and individual units has changed hands multiple times.
Banker was given the opportunity to purchase the home in 2021, but was unable to at the time. Her unit ended up selling for $512,000.
"The new homeowner served us a N12 and told us they wanted us out," she said. "So I went to the tenant's board to fight it and won."
An N12 notice can be issued to a tenant in the event the homeowner or a member of their family wishes to move into the property. According to the Landlord and Tenant Board, the homeowner or family member only has to live in the property for a minimum of one year, before renting the unit again.
"This is basically like a one year free-pass to renovate and then rent at a higher rate," added Banker. "Some of the old tenants here were served N12s and now their units are being rented for over $1,000 more."
Banker said the fight to stay in her home cost her family over $1,000 in legal fees and was only successful because in the paperwork her landlord filed to the board had inaccurate information on it.
The situation has caused an immense amount of stress for the Banker family, especially as their home is about to go on the market once again.
"With this new sale, I don't know if I'm going to have to go through this legal battle again," said Banker. "I can't afford the legal fees to my paralegal to represent me, there's $1500 plus tax for the retainer fee and $500 plus tax for each hearing. I feel like I'm tapped out."
Banker noted she does not meet the financial requirements for legal aid, because she makes over the required amount, but not enough to keep paying for legal services.
This situation prompted Banker to reach out to local MPP Brian Riddell and Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett. She met with the two local politicians, but said the meeting seemed like they were just ticking a box.
Riddell did not respond to requests for a comment.
Housing is a provincial issue that has advocates from the region pushing the government to make legislative changes that make it harder for investors and property owners to push out existing tenants, especially below market renters.
Regional councillor for Cambridge Pam Wolf previously told CambridgeToday, she wants to see the province make it easier for tenants to keep their units affordable and make changes in regard to renovictions.
“It's like we've got a leak in the boat,” said Wolf. “There's a lot of emphasis put on building new affordable housing, but we need to keep the existing housing from flipping.”
Jennifer Murdoch, the region's housing manager said tenants need to know their rights when it comes to being served an N12 or N13.
"Many people don't know that they don't have to leave. They can fight these notices and, unless there is some underlying issue, they will most likely win," said Murdoch.
The region has been working to keep affordable housing obtainable in the region by meeting with landlords and investors to remind them of agreements they have entered in with the province or the region.
Murdoch acknowledges the landlords aren't technically breaking the law, but are taking advantage of the system.
Banker is now currently waiting for her landlord to put their unit back on the market, but worries that another investor will buy it and not take her family into account.
"They come in like locusts and just destroy everything. I've seen it happen to almost every unit here, they prey on people like that," said Banker. "This is causing so much stress to me and my family and we feel completely helpless."
The Cambridge mom is now trying to reach Ontario housing minister Steve Clark to tell him her story and hopefully inspire him to create change for Ontario residents.
"I know I won't be able to change the world, but if I can even start something, that would be more than enough," she said. "The mayor told me she hears 100 of these issues a day, but maybe the 101 she'll look at and try to change something."
