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Parkdale tenants deliver letter of demands to landlord following series of evictions

People in winter jackets standing on the steps of an apartment building outdoors with blue tarps on the right side.
Tenants of the 12 Lansdowne building were evicted in early January by landlord Evan Johnsen. In response, the tenants went to his home to demand he withdraw the evictions. Photo courtesy of the Parkdale Organize Twitter account.
Daniel Centeno - CJRU - Toronto • ON | 30-01-2022
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In response to N13 evictions in Toronto’s west end community of Parkdale, tenants attempted to deliver a letter to landlord Evan Johnsen demanding that he drop the evictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tenants of the building 12 Lansdowne showed up at 8 a.m. this morning to Johnsen’s residence on King Strett. However, Johnsen was not present and did not meet with them.

The letter was given to a woman named Amy Stoddart instead, who identified herself as Johnsen’s ex-wife. Stoddart said she is no longer affliliated with Johnsen's properties.

Prior to today’s events, tenants said Johnsen could not be reached by phone or email regarding the evictions.

The evictions stem from early January, when the 23-unit building of 12 Landsdowne received notices for extensive renovations to the rental units—a tactic that Johnsen allegedly has used before with buildings he owns around Toronto.

According to the affordable housing organization Parkdale Organize, they write on their website that Johnsen used similar eviction notices on a building at 795 College St.

"The ‘renoviction’ tactic has long been part of Johnsen’s playbook and his history of buying up rental properties and pushing tenants out their homes is well documented," the post reads.

Further, the website post reads that Johnsen has tried to evict other Parkdale residents before, but was met with other tenants organizing each time.

N13 evictions are defined as landlords requesting to demolish, repair or convert apartment units.

Tenants must be told at least 10 days beforehand of a notice of their tenancy termination and are allowed to disagree with the landlord’s demands, according to Tribunals Ontario.If this is the case, Toronto’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) can get involved to resolve the case.

The tenants expect a response from Johnsen within one week. If the evictions are not withdrawn in that timeframe, Parkdale Organize said it will make the case more public, according to their Twitter post.

Parkdale Organize representatives are expected to speak with CJRU later next week.

Legal aid Ontario Board member Derry Millar, who has dealt with similar tenancy terminations in the city's west end, was asked to comment on the evictions. No response was given at this time.

Listen to the CJRU news update here:

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