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As It Happens

Your feedback: Toronto's Parkdale residents respond to purchase of thousands of apartments by European company Akelius

Last week, we told you about a major European real estate company called Akelius which has invested heavily in one of Toronto's most diverse neighbourhoods: Parkdale. Akelius has bought hundreds of rental apartment units, and plans to buy thousands more across Canada. However, some tenants and advocates say the company's real plan is to force out low-income residents. We heard...
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As It Happens3:36Listener Response: Parkdale Rent

Last week, we told you about a major European real estate company called Akelius which has invested heavily in one of Toronto's most diverse neighbourhoods: Parkdale. Akelius has bought hundreds of rental apartment units, and plans to buy thousands more across Canada. However, some tenants and advocates say the company's real plan is to force out low-income residents. We heard from a lot of you about this issue.

First off, a recap. In Toronto, we spoke with Choying Dolkar, who rents an apartment owned by Akelius, and Simon Wallace, a law student at Parkdale Community Legal Services. Mr. Wallace described how he believes Akelius is pushing out low-income tenants.

Then, we spoke with Ben Scott, an asset manager with Akelius Real Estate Management in Toronto. Guest host Susan Bonner asked Mr. Scott if the company is trying to push out its low-income tenants, and while he admits the company has fallen behind in responding to some repair requests, he says they are working to catch up.  And he denies the company is trying to force renters out.

We heard from a lot of you about our coverage. On Twitter, Kayla McNally tweets:

"If you're looking for more on Akelius, come to 83 Isabella. Plywood floors for more than 2 months, and no word for work orders."

We also heard from you on our website. A listener named Hermione writes:

"Although the building I live in is not in Parkdale, almost identical problems to the ones described by Simon Wallace and Choying Dolkar are happening, including the difficulty in communicating with [Akelius] management, the loss of an on-site superintendent and the large backlog of repairs."

Loves2Bike also left a note on our website, writing:

"This isn't just Parkdale, this is city-wide. I live in a building purchased by Akelius at 160 Huron Street and have gone through non-stop issues with them since. Don't rent from them if avoidable."

And a listener who goes by the name "O'Brien of the Inner Party" writes:

"No national housing strategy, increasing foreign ownership of real estate along with mass immigration. Combine that with rents not geared to inflation with no new rental stock and ever more low wage part-time jobs -- what could possibly go wrong?"

Thanks for your feedback. You can call Talkback at 1-866-481-5718. You can also comment by email, tweet or on Facebook.

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