Management change pending at troubled North York apartment

TORONTO – Relations remain tense between tenants and the landlord at a North York apartment building, but changes are afoot.

Life at 2779 Yonge and the neighbouring properties owned by the same landlord has improved since last winter when the heat in the building was out for almost two months. The heat is now working and minor renovations took place over the summer.

But a new problem popped up last weekend though: tenants got notice they should pay their rent to the Canadian Mortgage Servicing Corporation not their landlord, Bianca Pollak.

“They claim they’re the new mortgage holders for the building and she’s in arrears and we’re supposed to pay our rent to them,” says Dan Simon, a tenant at one of the properties owned by Pollak.

The notice confused some tenants who claimed they weren’t given enough time to pay rent and requesting they pay in person.

There’s also a sense of unpredictability that is worrisome to some tenants.

Dr. Katie Au owns the Lawrence Park Health & Wellness Clinic above Pollak’s furniture store and worries about her own business.

“We have people that count on us being in this neighbourhood and not being sure where we’re going or what is going to happen is really frightening for us because we just want to do our thing,” Au said.

Similar notices usually mean the landlord has been foreclosed upon.

“They’ve had their mortgage foreclosed upon and now there’s a new owner of the property that becomes the landlord,” Geordie Dent, the executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants Association said. “That landlord actually takes all obligations, rights (and) money owed over completely.”

Tenants say Pollak ripped some notices off doors and told them to keep paying her directly. Global News was unable to contact her for comment.

CMSC replied to inquiries with the following statement:

“Canadian Mortgage Servicing Corporation holds a mortgage secured by the properties. The borrower is in default under the terms of the mortgage and we have brought an application to the court to appoint a receiver, which we hope will be heard as soon as possible. If and when the receiver is appointed, the receiver will see to the proper management of the property.”

The company says Pollak still owns the property and that once her debt is paid off she would have the opportunity to take back management of the buildings.