Toronto tenants face growing water issues since REIT rakeover
Barbara Finn had spent 10 hours in the hospital advocating for her sick husband. When she got home, she just wanted to “wash off the misery of the day.”
She had many days like that between the end of 2023 and early 2024, and many times she would get home to find the water in her apartment shut off. It would be shut off or disrupted several more times in the months that followed.
That meant when Finn’s husband returned home to receive palliative and hospice care, there were times he couldn’t have a shower when he wanted one. Some days, there wouldn’t be running water; other days there wouldn’t be hot water, or cold water.
“It was extremely difficult to manage,” Finn said. “It just added to the frustration and the challenging aspect of trying to make somebody comfortable as they are winding down their life.”
Finn had lived several years at the Summerhill, a 267-unit luxury rental building near Yonge and St. Clair, without experiencing water issues.
But when the property was sold in 2022 to Starlight Investments — a global real estate investment firm and asset manager of more than 70,000 multi-residential suites — she and other tenants say everything changed.
“It felt like we went right off a cliff into the abyss,” said Milton Parissis, chair of the Summerhill Tenants Association (STA) board and resident of the Summerhill since 1978.
Tenants of the Summerhill who spoke with the Star say they have faced frequent, often unpredictable, water shutdowns and disruptions since Starlight’s takeover. While there used to be two scheduled water shutdowns per year, and emergency shutdowns were rare, there have been dozens of shutdowns or disruptions to hot water and water pressure this year, so far.
According to records kept by the STA, there were 43 water shutdowns or disruptions affecting the entire building or a large number of units in 2024. Between Jan. 1 and June 1 of this year, there were 24 widespread shutdowns or disruptions. They’ve also received notice that more work requiring temporary water shutdowns is scheduled to begin on June 30 and is expected to take about two weeks.
Residents say the disruptions create uncertainty in several aspects of their lives, from not knowing if they’ll be able to cook breakfast to being unsure if they should invite guests over. Tenants stockpile water — as recommended by property management — in their bathtub, basins or pots to do something as simple as flush the toilet or wash their hands.
Starlight Investments’ senior vice-president of residential operations and communications, Penny Colomvakos, told the Star in a statement that water shutdowns are “required for maintenance and refurbishment” of the aging building, and the firm plans to make changes that would ease water problems.
According to the tenant group, the water issues are among many recent changes they say have made them feel they’re being squeezed for profits and pushed out of their rent-controlled apartments.
Most of the residents are seniors, retirees or working professionals, they say. Since Starlight’s acquisition, the tenant association has grown from 60 members to 219 members, Parissis said, and the building that has had a wait-list throughout most of its history had more than 20 vacant units available to rent at the start of June, the Star confirmed.
While it’s still branded as “luxury,” tenants say the Summerhill has become a less safe, less stable and more impersonal place. Some residents say they have faced heating and cooling issues, which they believe are connected to the water system; longtime concierges have been replaced with part-time security guards; parking spaces that used to be free for guests have turned into paid public parking; and vacant units are constantly under renovation.
“Everything has been monetized,” said Finn. “They just turn everything into ‘How can I get more money?’”
Starlight says it is prioritizing addressing challenges associated with an aging property and has invested more than $6.3 million in “critical building capital expenditure,” noting it aims to minimize water shutdowns and inconveniences to tenants where possible.
“We care about our residents and are committed to making the necessary critical investments needed to ensure The Summerhill remains a safe place to call home,” Colomvakos said.
‘Other apartments are falling apart’
For 14-year-tenant Betty Ann McGill, Starlight’s upgrades to vacant units are ironic given the conditions residents live with.
“While they’re busy renovating a whole bunch of apartments, other apartments are falling apart,” she said. “It would be nice to have them pay attention to our needs.”
What’s more is tenants suspect the renovations — which include the installation of dishwashers, washing machines and water meters to vacant units — have caused the water problems. They say the 54-year-old building was never meant to support the appliances and water meters being installed; one resident noted his 2012 lease forbade him from adding a washing machine because the old property manager said the plumbing could not handle it.
Tenants say they have continuously raised their concerns with property management and with Starlight directly, but they say the responses have been slow, dismissive and haphazard.
Property manager Sterling Karamar, hired by Starlight, says they track and prioritize all maintenance needs to ensure they are addressed as quickly as possible.
“We recognize that significant building upgrades can be challenging for residents, and we are committed to providing professional, responsive service throughout this process,” it told the Star in a statement. “We have worked diligently to address the realities of managing an older building, particularly when it comes to necessary repairs and infrastructure upgrades.”
Additionally, it said it is working with contract partners to “reinforce standards of care and professionalism” while working in tenants’ units.
For Starlight’s part, Colomvakos said the firm’s efforts to upgrade the aging property builds on previous work “such as consolidating maintenance to reduce water shutdowns” and reflect its “ongoing commitment to maintaining and upgrading the building’s essential systems.”
The firm also said it plans to replace riser valves and install a new booster pump to improve water pressure.
Tenants, however, are not convinced the changes will ease their water troubles and, instead, fear it will make the problems worse.
Some tenants say the city has failed to protect them
While landlords have a legal obligation to keep apartments in good working order and to provide hot and cold water, the City of Toronto is also tasked with enforcing the Ontario Building Code and city bylaws that ensure tenants have access to vital services.
Some tenants have called 311 for help, and since February 2024, city staff have issued 10 violations related to the supply or temperature of water at the building. Yet, in that same time period, Toronto Building approved several permits for renovations that tenants believe are behind the water disruptions.
According to an April 8 email to a tenant, a plumbing specialist with the city who had been overseeing the Summerhill renovations said he “shared similar concerns regarding the capacity of the existing mechanical systems.”
The city says it’s the legal responsibility of the landlord’s engineer to consider whether the renovation could have a negative impact on the building’s internal systems, while city staffers approving permits ensure the design complies with the Ontario Building Code and Toronto bylaws. If a permit was issued on “mistaken, false or incorrect information,” however, it could be revoked, the city said, and staff are working with the landlord’s engineer “to confirm whether there were any errors or omission.”
Coun. Josh Matlow, who does not represent the Summerhill’s ward but who the tenant group reached out to for help, said the city already has the tools to help tenants, such as its RentSafeTO program, but there is a lack of enforcement.
“The city could, if it chose to, literally hire a contractor of their own to go in there and fix things and then charge the landlord, sticking them with the bill,” Matlow said.
The city, meanwhile, said “ensuring that tenants live in safe and well-maintained buildings is a key priority for RentSafeTO” and added that as part of the program, bylaw enforcement officers conduct building evaluations, audits and investigate complaints submitted to 311.
Fed up but ‘moving is not easy’
Tenant Ian Darragh feels Starlight wants to make life “so miserable” for existing tenants that they drive them out.
And while many tenants are “fed up,” he stressed that leaving isn’t a decision older adults can take lightly.
“This area is very much home to me,” Darragh said. “I’m also almost 72, so moving is not easy.”
Ann Frances Allen hoped the Summerhill would be the last place she’d live until she went “to the great beyond.”
She loves the spacious layout of her apartment, the view from her balcony, and the swimming pool.
It was only three years ago — just before Starlight took over — that she sold her house and moved into the building, thinking it would be less stressful to have someone else looking after things.
Now, she just feels she has no control.
“I don’t want to move,” Allen said. “But at times I do get very frustrated.”
