‘Proactive enforcement’: City of London housing blitz aims at helping tenants address issues with landlords
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The City of London’s municipal enforcement team spent Saturday at 700 units on Kipps Lane, helping tenants address property standards issues.
The City of London’s municipal enforcement team spent Saturday at 700 units on Kipps Lane, helping tenants address property standards issues.
“We're looking at quality of life,” said Orest Katolyk, director of municipal compliance for the City of London.
“We got this idea several years ago when we shadowed the Toronto property standard inspectors because they run this program called ‘Rent Safe’. We took the best parts of that program and applied it here in London.”
The program is focused on a proactive inspection and the property owners and tenants are both notified in advance of inspection day.
Many of the complaints were minor in nature, but some could have a more serious impact.
“In my building, only one elevator is working,” said Harsh Patel, who lives at 758 Kipps Lane.
“It's been one year since they have fixed anything. One day it’s not even working. I once saw an old lady and her dog had to walk upstairs by themselves. In an emergency case, what do we do?”
