Tiger Lofts tenants demand answers about looming eviction

Nearly two months after receiving a mass text message informing them of their looming eviction, residents of an affordable housing building in Galt are anxious, worried and feel like they’ve been left in the dark. 

Many people living in the Tiger Lofts building at 35 Water Street South rely on Ontario Works (OW), the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and other financial resources to help pay rent and other bills.

In 2008, multiple levels of government provided more than $2.5 million to the developers to help transform it into affordable housing units. That agreement is supposed to run until 2028, according to the Region of Waterloo. 

But a text message sent to residents on June 20 revealed that the property owner has other plans. 

Every tenant received the same text message from the superintendent, informing them that the building has new owners who want everyone out by October 31, 2023 to make way for major renovations.

“There is a $10,000 compensation package for each tenant,” the superintendent stated in the text.

The superintendent declined to comment when reached by CambridgeToday.

The text message then asked what time of day is best for a meeting with the new property owners. Several tenants scheduled meetings, but they say the meetings were cancelled at the last minute and have not been rescheduled. 

Afterwards, a representative from the property owners, which is listed online as Lancer Tiger Lofts Corporation, went around the building to inform residents that they need to sign an N11 form: an Agreement to End the Tenancy. Tenants say the representative repeated the same message: everyone must leave the building by next October.

The man refused to identify himself, provide a business card or write any contact information down, said Ryan Anningson, who has been living in the building for eight years.

“We’ve talked to a lot of people here in the building who say they have a lot of anxiety, they're having trouble sleeping, they're upset,” Anningson said. “We don’t know where we're going to be living next year—an entire building full of people.”

Located in downtown Galt, the building is ideal for low-income individuals. Many stores are within walking distance and there is a bus stop right across the street.

“The building is really great,” Anningson said. “It’s a nice quiet building, everyone is really friendly.” 

Since that initial text message nearly two months ago, Anningson hasn’t been told anything else. “It seems like they are trying to keep things from us,” he said.

Rents in the building are very affordable. The average apartment starts at $800 per month, which is less than half the current rental market rate in the area. The average rental price for a one-bedroom apartment in Waterloo Region, including Cambridge, is $1,839, according to a June report from the popular aggregator Rentals.ca.

The funding for Tiger Lofts came from the federal and provincial governments, but the region is the service provider that monitors situations like these.

“Were still trying to understand the owner’s vision and what we can offer that they will find acceptable to continue to offer the affordable housing," Jennifer Murdoch said in an interview with CambridgeToday.

The manager of housing programs and development for the region said they are hoping to be able to offer more direction for tenants in the next few weeks and that the region's first priority is to maintain the building as affordable housing until the end of the agreement in 2028.

The agreement is registered by the owner's title and has penalties if breached, she confirmed.  

It would require the owner of Tiger Lofts to repay all the capital funding, $2.5 million plus 15 years worth of interest.

"We’ve been having some discussions with the owners and we're going to consider all our options if it comes to that,” Murdoch said. “We have 54 families paying extremely affordable rent but we also appreciate the landlord needs to operate and to find a balance.”

To date, under affordable housing agreements between the region and property owners, none have attempted to breach their contracts by offering to pay back any funding grants and incentives they've received.

In its initial outreach to tenants, the region advised them to seek legal advice before making any decisions.

The Small Steps to Success program, operated by YWCA Cambridge, supports a handful of people who live in the building. None can afford legal assistance, said Sara Hohenadel, the program coordinator.

The program supports women and gender-diverse people, including victims of domestic violence and people who struggle with mental health and addictions. A few clients were in distress after reading the message and remain extremely anxious about what will happen next, Hohenadel said.

“Housing needs are really at an all-time high,” she said. “Affordable housing wait lists are seven to 10 years long. It’s hard to tell women or a person surviving domestic abuse they have to be put on a list.”

Clients like the ones on Water Street have found safety in their new home, added Hohenadel, allowing them to integrate into the world at their own pace while benefiting from nearby necessities such as the Cambridge Food Bank.

A domestic violence survivor living in the building agreed to speak with CambridgeToday under the condition of anonymity. They don't know what they will do if they receive an eviction notice.

"I just want to stay here,” the tenant said. “I finally fit somewhere. I can do the things I need to do to grow here, with much less anxiety, because I can walk places and don't need to grapple with buses and taxis and timelines to do it.

"I felt so relieved, and even a bit enthusiastic moving in, that all my hard work was paying off and my life was finally starting to turn around,” they continued. “Now I just feel sick, and can't sleep worrying about what's coming next.”

The June text message felt heartless and cold, the person said, as if the tenants aren't worth the time and effort it takes to write the information in a hard-copy document.

"The intent to deceive us by withholding information and hoping we're too naive to question what we're told is pretty blatant and, frankly, utterly repulsive," they added.

Amid the scarcity of housing availability for low-income individuals, some clients are telling the outreach workers that, if evicted, they may have no choice but to go back to living with an ex-partner who abused them.

“There really is nowhere for folks to go in this region,” Hohenadel says. “It’s really hard.”

So far, the tenants at Tiger Lofts have no idea who the new property owner is or who would be paying out the money that's been offered.

"I wonder, are we just supposed to disappear in a puff of smoke if you throw $10,000 at us?” the survivor added. “We'll still have all the same problems, and the same needs, but most of them will have been made worse, plus we'll be homeless too.”

Anningson wants something more concrete in writing, with contact information and names. 

“All of us are in the anxious, stressed-out state,” he says, adding he wants more information from the region. “Just keep in this stressful state til next October when you might not have an apartment anymore.”

The building owner listed in public records as Lancer Tiger Lofts Corporation has yet to respond to repeated requests for comment.

“They’re just contributing to a major problem already in this region, which is homelessness and housing affordability,” Anningson says. 

After hearing about the Tiger Lofts situation, Regional Chair Karen Redman offered an emailed statement to CambridgeToday agreeing with Anningson's assessment.

"Like any member of the public, I would expect agreements to be followed," she wrote. "I know that regional staff are assessing options but I would expect that the province is also looking at this issue of housing affordability and related agreements."

Sara Maxim, who has lived at Tiger Lofts for more than a decade, has been spearheading “the resistance” against the eviction. She says property management won't contact her anymore after she spoke out in the media.

Maxim and Anningson started a group for the tenants so they can share information back and forth.

“If they are able to evict us, frankly, I'd probably leave my job I have worked at for the last 20 years and find an area that is cheaper,” Maxim says.

Maxim confirmed that a number of tenants are refusing to accept the $10,000 offer after seeking legal advice. “Sign and get money today can maybe be quite persuasive to people, but they don’t know the full ramifications of it,” Maxim says. 

The lack of information being provided by the region, which has told the tenants to contact them regarding the issue, has frustrated Maxim on a daily basis. 

Many tenants have mentioned to her they don’t understand how different levels of government could give away $2.5 million to help create these affordable housing units and not have anything set in stone to avoid these types of issues.

“What happens if I can’t afford to live here?” Maxim asks. “If the people making your coffee or working in the local businesses can’t afford to live here, then who does all that?”