There is something seriously wrong with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), the second largest public landlord in North America with 58,000 units. Although it is estimated that 70,000 low income individuals and families are on the waiting list for affordable housing in Toronto, the TCHC is sitting with 1,422 vacant units, an increase of 14% from last year. This in itself is shocking. But, what is even worse is that the units are vacant because they are uninhabitable and are suffering from a variety of infestations including rats, mice, mould, and pigeons.

Of course this begs the question, “Why isn’t anyone cleaning up these properties and making them inhabitable again?” According to the chairman of the city’s affordable housing committee and a board member of the TCHC, they simply can’t afford to bring them up to standard without a $300 million contribution from the city of Toronto, the province, and the feds. In the meantime no one is doing anything and the situation is just getting worse.

Quite frankly I find this all amazing. Toronto is a city with very high property values and we are letting these valuable assets go to seed. In fact Councillor Case Ootes has recommended that the TCHC board sell off some of their lucrative properties and use that money to finance the repairs on the others. The estimates are that there are 300 apartments and houses that are empty and uninhabitable. It is totally absurd for the TCHC to be sitting on properties worth a fortune and just let them sit vacant, uninhabitable, and decaying. This sounds like gross mismanagement by the TCHC board. Why isn’t anyone investigating?