unimaginative2
Senior Member
Regardless of the arguments for or against single family homes for public housing, this is absolutely absurd. Not only does it tie up capital that could be used for housing, depriving people of much-needed homes, but it also drives down neighbourhood property values by leaving a house completely vacant and poorly-maintained. Each of them could be sold for hundreds of thousands. Sell some or all, and use the money to fix up the rest or build new multifamily housing.
Fifty city-owned homes sit vacant
Can't afford repairs, Toronto Community Housing chief says
JAMES BRADSHAW
December 18, 2007
TORONTO -- Toronto's cash-strapped housing authority owns 50 single-family homes that sit empty, deemed uninhabitable because they are so run down.
The vacant homes make up 10 per cent of the roughly 500 single-family dwellings owned by Toronto Community Housing, which has 65,000 households on its waiting list.
Chief executive Derek Ballantyne acknowledges the housing authority lacks the resources to invest in the major repairs that many of its homes need, a problem that reflects a broader shortage of funds to maintain the portfolio of the city-owned organization.
"We need an injection of about $300-million beyond what we already spend and what we've already invested," he said yesterday. "We've been saying pretty consistently for three years that we have a funding shortfall. That funding shortfall will ultimately result in units coming out of service."
TCH is awaiting the results of a comprehensive review of all its real-estate assets, expected in March, to decide what best to do with the properties, Mr. Ballantyne said. In some cases, it may be necessary to sell or replace properties that are "too far gone."
One of the awkward challenges TCH faces is the Social Housing Reform Act, which states that the housing authority, which has 164,000 low- and moderate-income tenants, must maintain the same number of subsidized housing units with the same number of bedrooms in each. According to Mr. Ballantyne, that means TCH cannot simply sell the dilapidated properties to raise funds.
"It's not a simple calculation to say, well, you sell something and you get X number of dollars because you have to replace it," Mr. Ballantyne said. "And how much does it cost to replace it, and can you replace it?"
Since Toronto Community Housing was created in 2002 by a merger of Metropolitan Toronto and City of Toronto housing agencies, the organization has spent about $550-million on the portfolio. But spending on the vacant homes has been limited to critical upkeep, so their condition worsens.
"Obviously the issue for us is, don't let any major structural issues occur, don't let any major systems fail," Mr. Ballantyne said. "We're less worried about the cosmetics at this point."
A Globe and Mail reporter visited one of the empty homes - a semi-detached house on Coady Avenue, in the Leslieville neighbourhood. It has been empty since November of 2005 when the last tenants moved out after the accidental death of their 12-year-old son.
Winnie the Pooh stickers still adorn the upstairs front window, serving as a reminder of the house's better days, but inside debris is strewn across dusty floors, many of the light fixtures have been ripped out, and the kitchen stove is stained with rust. The back door has no doorknob, only a hole which leaves the house exposed to the elements. A side window is boarded up, but a gap between the boards and the window frame leaves the house further exposed.
The state of the Coady Avenue house is reminiscent of another boarded-up TCH property previously reported in the Globe: 140 Waverley Road, in the Beaches neighbourhood. After the property was vacated in 2005, broken windows were left uncovered and winter temperatures chilled the house. The utilities were shut off, but one pipe that was left active burst from the cold, pouring water into the already sandy soil under the home, and almost completely washing away its foundation.
The house began to sink, and is now supported by temporary pillars and a basement filled with concrete. Neighbour Trevor Schiller said the water also caused devastating damage in an adjacent home, and that the neighbours have since moved out on the advice of city officials who deemed it unsafe.
Mr. Ballantyne said any insurance claims relating to damages caused by 140 Waverley will be the responsibility of the City of Toronto, which failed to shut off the necessary water pipe.
Two weeks ago, city councillors Case Ootes and Denzil Minnan-Wong put forward a motion calling for the immediate sale of 140 Waverley, arguing that the flooding in the house had "caused significant damage to the neighbouring properties for which the City of Toronto will be further held responsible."
Mr. Ballantyne said TCH is looking to the provincial and federal governments for financial aid, and he is optimistic that Dalton McGuinty's election promises to deal with issues of housing and capital backlogs could lead to some sort of relief.
Fifty city-owned homes sit vacant
Can't afford repairs, Toronto Community Housing chief says
JAMES BRADSHAW
December 18, 2007
TORONTO -- Toronto's cash-strapped housing authority owns 50 single-family homes that sit empty, deemed uninhabitable because they are so run down.
The vacant homes make up 10 per cent of the roughly 500 single-family dwellings owned by Toronto Community Housing, which has 65,000 households on its waiting list.
Chief executive Derek Ballantyne acknowledges the housing authority lacks the resources to invest in the major repairs that many of its homes need, a problem that reflects a broader shortage of funds to maintain the portfolio of the city-owned organization.
"We need an injection of about $300-million beyond what we already spend and what we've already invested," he said yesterday. "We've been saying pretty consistently for three years that we have a funding shortfall. That funding shortfall will ultimately result in units coming out of service."
TCH is awaiting the results of a comprehensive review of all its real-estate assets, expected in March, to decide what best to do with the properties, Mr. Ballantyne said. In some cases, it may be necessary to sell or replace properties that are "too far gone."
One of the awkward challenges TCH faces is the Social Housing Reform Act, which states that the housing authority, which has 164,000 low- and moderate-income tenants, must maintain the same number of subsidized housing units with the same number of bedrooms in each. According to Mr. Ballantyne, that means TCH cannot simply sell the dilapidated properties to raise funds.
"It's not a simple calculation to say, well, you sell something and you get X number of dollars because you have to replace it," Mr. Ballantyne said. "And how much does it cost to replace it, and can you replace it?"
Since Toronto Community Housing was created in 2002 by a merger of Metropolitan Toronto and City of Toronto housing agencies, the organization has spent about $550-million on the portfolio. But spending on the vacant homes has been limited to critical upkeep, so their condition worsens.
"Obviously the issue for us is, don't let any major structural issues occur, don't let any major systems fail," Mr. Ballantyne said. "We're less worried about the cosmetics at this point."
A Globe and Mail reporter visited one of the empty homes - a semi-detached house on Coady Avenue, in the Leslieville neighbourhood. It has been empty since November of 2005 when the last tenants moved out after the accidental death of their 12-year-old son.
Winnie the Pooh stickers still adorn the upstairs front window, serving as a reminder of the house's better days, but inside debris is strewn across dusty floors, many of the light fixtures have been ripped out, and the kitchen stove is stained with rust. The back door has no doorknob, only a hole which leaves the house exposed to the elements. A side window is boarded up, but a gap between the boards and the window frame leaves the house further exposed.
The state of the Coady Avenue house is reminiscent of another boarded-up TCH property previously reported in the Globe: 140 Waverley Road, in the Beaches neighbourhood. After the property was vacated in 2005, broken windows were left uncovered and winter temperatures chilled the house. The utilities were shut off, but one pipe that was left active burst from the cold, pouring water into the already sandy soil under the home, and almost completely washing away its foundation.
The house began to sink, and is now supported by temporary pillars and a basement filled with concrete. Neighbour Trevor Schiller said the water also caused devastating damage in an adjacent home, and that the neighbours have since moved out on the advice of city officials who deemed it unsafe.
Mr. Ballantyne said any insurance claims relating to damages caused by 140 Waverley will be the responsibility of the City of Toronto, which failed to shut off the necessary water pipe.
Two weeks ago, city councillors Case Ootes and Denzil Minnan-Wong put forward a motion calling for the immediate sale of 140 Waverley, arguing that the flooding in the house had "caused significant damage to the neighbouring properties for which the City of Toronto will be further held responsible."
Mr. Ballantyne said TCH is looking to the provincial and federal governments for financial aid, and he is optimistic that Dalton McGuinty's election promises to deal with issues of housing and capital backlogs could lead to some sort of relief.
