Gasping for Air

What Happened

Mr. W rents in a seniors’ building owned by Toronto Community Housing (TCHC). During the summer, TCHC was refurbishing balconies on one side of the building and, as a consequence, balcony doors were boarded up. The central air conditioning was not working and Mr. W was concerned about tenants who did not have their own air conditioning. He had spoken to TCHC, but nothing was done.

What We Did

We spoke to a TCHC manager, who told us they were waiting for a part for the air conditioner, but would put a standalone unit in the recreation room that day so that tenants could get some relief from the heat.

The Result

Mr. W phoned to report that the recreation room was now a cooling station and that notices were up in the building to let the tenants know. Mr. W said that without the intervention of Ombudsman Toronto, it would not have happened.