As he points to various corners of a tiny bathroom he shares with three other people, Zoltan Turok says he doesn’t understand how this Roncesvalles building can be considered as a hotel.

“Look, it’s dirty as hell,” he says. “You think a bathroom hotel will look like this? Even the kitchen, the hallways, it is all like this.”

The 68-year-old says he and other tenants were told last month they had to vacate 320 Roncesvalles Ave., a four-storey lowrise building, by Oct. 14 as it had been sold. The Residential Tenancies Act requires 120 days notice for a purchaser to evict an entire building and only if they are planning to tear down the building or use it for another purpose. But the owner claims the lowrise is a “tourist” property, and as such is exempt from the RTA.

Turok and other tenants, some of whom have lived there for more than a year, and the city say otherwise.

Turok has lived in a small bachelor room on the third floor of the building since last May, he says, a room he saw advertised in a newspaper for a $180 weekly rent. Turok, who kept the newspaper and showed the Star the ad, says he has since taken the habit of paying $900 for five weeks in a row in an effort to reduce the costs.

“I am stressed. You know the rent situation in this city,” he said, sitting in a chair sandwiched between his small bed and a cupboard where he keeps his toiletries and medications. Across from him, a small TV is set atop a table, with a few books strewn around.

“I have maybe $1,100 altogether as my money. Where can I find a place?”

Samuel Lewkowicz, who is listed as the property owner, says he does not have to abide by the rules of the RTA because his building, known as Windsor House, has operated as a tourist home since 1985. As such, he argues, the occupants of the rooms there are not tenants, but guests.

“In defiance of reality, and legal precedent, the Toronto Municipal Licensing and Standards Department (TMLSD) is taking the position that Windsor House is captured within Chapter 354,” Lewkowicz wrote in an email to the Star, referring to the Toronto Municipal Code governing apartment buildings.

He said he has lodged a complaint against the department with the city’s ombudsman, and is “limited” in what he can publicly discuss while the matter is still under legal considerations.

“The real story here, in my opinion, is the damage being done by TMLSD malfeasance,” he wrote.

Municipal Licensing and Standards director of investigation services Elizabeth Glibbery confirmed the building at 320 Roncesvalles Ave. is zoned as residential (R) under City of Toronto zoning bylaws.

She said the recent inspection at the premises last August resulted in seven charges being laid against the landlord, including non-compliance with RentSafeTO apartment building registration. The landlord subsequently paid the rental apartment building fees for 2019, as stipulated under RentSafeTO, she said.

“Tourist home” is a permitted use of buildings zoned Residential, but only in a detached house, semi-detached house or a townhouse and can only have a maximum of two bed-sitting rooms,” wrote Glibbery in an email.

The uncertainty surrounding the status of the building’s occupants has them worried about what could be coming.

David Lupiccini, 64, who says he has been a resident at the house for over a year, said he’s trying to pack up his stuff and stay ready for whatever happens. But he doesn’t want to leave.

“This neighbourhood has been good to me, and I’ve met many friends here,” he said, noting no one has given him a written notice of eviction.

“This is the craziest thing that could happen to us.”

Tenant advocates say no one has to be forced out of this building.

Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, said the building is registered in city records as a rental property, and residents have the right to stay in their units and keep paying rent.

Cole Webber, a community worker at the Parkdale Community Legal Services who has been advising tenants at the property, said while there’s no record of the building at 320 Roncesvalles being recently sold, Cole said sometimes a landlord finds a potential buyer who asks for the property to be vacant before they can finalize the purchase.

If the landlord wants to evict these tenants he must make an application for each tenants and go through the Landlord and Tenants Board process, Webber said.

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In a letter addressed to Lewkowicz Thursday, a copy of which was sent to the Star, Parkdale—High Park MPP Bhutila Karpoche insisted the landlord has no right to hurriedly evict tenants.

“I want to ensure you are aware that tenants of 320 Roncesvalles are not required to move out of the building until and unless the Landlord and Tenant Board orders them to do so,” wrote Karpoche.

“As you have not filed eviction notices with the Landlord and Tenant Board, it is assumed that these tenants are free to remain in their homes.”