Note: The tenant featured in this story asked that his name not be included. A fictional name is used instead.
Justin Smith knew what he was getting into when he moved into the Manhattan building at 235 Cooper St.
“It’s old,” Smith said with a chuckle. “It was built in the 1930s with 1930s sensibilities in mind.”
The Manhattan is an attractive, four-storey apartment block, with a red brick façade, and Art Deco-inspired doors and columns.
A stone’s throw from the bustle of Elgin Street, it was just the kind of place Smith was looking for in April 2015 when he moved in.
“I like living here. It’s got a little character,” he said.
But like dozens of other buildings in Ottawa’s downtown core, the Manhattan is starting to show its age.
“They do a great job of gussing it all up and making it look pretty good,” Smith said. “But there are some structural things you notice that are always in the back of your mind.”
Like a crumbling, three-foot-wide ceiling patch in the lobby, with several layers exposed. Elsewhere in the building, obvious cracks stretch six feet across the tiled floor, while others run the entire length of the hall’s textured walls.
“I wonder if that’s the wall itself or just the veneer,” Smith asked himself. “Is this a sign of things to come? Is this a sign that perhaps this building is not structurally sound? I’m not sure.”
According to analysis of data from Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey, more than 2,000 homes or apartments across Somerset Ward were reported as needing major repairs.
In Smith’s immediate neighbourhood alone, near the eastern edge of the ward, there are 455 homes or units that reportedly need major repairs.
People responding to the survey were asked to assess the condition of their residence. The survey provided examples of problems that would need major repairs, including defective plumbing or faulty wiring, as well as structural problems affecting walls, floors or ceilings.
And it’s not just issues with the walls or floors that Smith has had to deal with.
“These were all two-pronged outlets,” he said, pointing to the newly installed electrical outlets.
Smith had to ask his landlord to update all of the outlets and wiring in his apartment, a job that he said required “tremendous work.”
And while he credited his landlord for accepting to do the work, Smith said he had to insist on the upgrade. “‘Well, why don’t you just use an adapter plug?’” his landlord asked him.
Even with the new outlets, Smith worries they aren’t properly grounded. “I’ve gotten a few shocks,” he said, adding that he’s still concerned about the risk of an electrical fire.
Pascale Ouellette is a lawyer with the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic. She said the clinic handles the vast majority of tenancy-related cases across the city, especially those involving low-income residents.
“What we generally see are minor and regular maintenance issues,” said Ouellette, adding that they deal with these kinds of cases “all the time.”
Ouellette said she and her colleagues will occasionally also treat cases involving major repairs, usually after a major flood or once a building is condemned.
While some landlords are more accommodating than others, Ouellette said the clinic will always support whatever decision the tenant decides to take. This might involve contacting the City of Ottawa’s Property Standards By-Law officers in order to issue a warning or fine, or instead filing an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Smith said he’s grateful he hasn’t had to go that far. And as much as he likes the building, he said he’s looking forward to moving out sometime in the new year.