Hotline lets tenants beef about landlord

For the first time, Ottawa has set up a special hotline for tenants of a certain group of buildings to report any problems they have with their landlord.

City staff say all calls will be answered within 24 hours.

In April, CBC News reported that three apartment buildings in a Heron Gate complex have logged the highest number of complaints in the city, with bylaw officers visiting the buildings about 150 times in 2009 alone.

The complaints ranged from mice infestations to broken heating systems, and tenants said the company that owns the properties was doing little to help.

Erica Marx, a resident of the Heron Gate community since 2006, is touring the neighbourhood to let residents know about the hotline set up by the area's councillor, Peter Hume.

"I think the involvement of the city and the councillor's office is [probably] the only thing that's left to do in the situation," Marx said Thursday.

New manager

The homes in this area are all owned by TransGlobe Property Management, based in Mississauga, Ont.

In January, TransGlobe hired a new manager for the site, Berkley Property Management. Since then, residents have started to see modest improvements.

For example, a parking lot that used to be littered with burned-out vehicles and graffiti has been mostly cleaned up, and the in-ground pool is up and running.

But many residents are still frustrated.

"It's a big problem. There are lots of people who live in this area and they don't get things like heating, and [when] it's in January," said resident Nicolas Coor.

"There is a problem with my own apartment, water leakage in the bathroom, and that water is leaking inside my living area," Coor said.

Hume set up the system for dealing with property concerns.

"Have we ever had to set up a hotline? Have we ever had to go out in to a community and say, 'If you have complaints, this is the way that they should be handled'? We haven't had to do that. This is the first time we've had to take these actions," Hume said.

Danny Ross, spokesman for the new manager, said Berkley "remains committed to mending these buildings, re-establishing the trust of our residents and completing our program to revitalize Heron Gate."

The improvements have been encouraging, Marx said, but she is tired of fighting for basic repairs. She has decided to move and hopes the community is eventually restored.

"I hope, for the people who have to live here, that it does get better," she said.