Tenants living in the Kozy Inn Motel in Kingston say they’re being evicted and will be forced to live on the streets.
A notice of termination letter, dated Feb. 26, was given to occupant’s of the motel, stating:
“Pursuant to the provisions of the Inn Keeper’s Act, your occupancy of unit ____ of the Kozy Inn Motel is terminated as of 11:00 A.M. on the 1st day of March 2020.”
Carol Carless and her partner James Mills have lived at the motel, located on Princess Street in Kingston’s west end, on a month-to-month basis since November 2018 and say they’re stressed and afraid with no place to go.
“It’s a stressful time for you to get into a home and then you get thrown out,” Carless told Global News
“I can’t do it anymore. I’m almost 50 years old, I have health problems and I can’t afford to be on the streets because before we came here we were on the streets.”
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It’s unclear why the tenants who occupy roughly 25 units are being asked to leave.
Mills says in a city where there is limited affordable housing, he’s not sure how they will find a place to live on such short notice.
“It’s not fair to us, we have four dogs, they’re small and people don’t want to rent to us and rent’s are sky-high,” Mills said.
With limited options, they’ve reached out to the Kingston Community Legal Clinic for help.
John Done, the executive director and staff lawyer at the clinic, says he is representing tenants in eight units and has filed applications for a hearing with the landlord-tenant board.
Done told Global News that what management is doing violates the rights of all who call the Inn home.
Sharon Fritshaw is a tenant of the motel and says she is battling multiple health problems and not able to leave.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m in a wheelchair and I have to use a hospital bed so I don’t know if I’ll be on the street or where I’m going to be,” Fritshaw said.
All attempts to reach the owner and the managers of the Kozy Inn went unanswered.
There is fear from the residents that they will be physically removed from their homes. Paperwork handed out to tenants, however, does outline that a grace period may be provided so long as the occupant enters into a written agreement establishing an agreed-upon departure date.
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