A controversial Saskatoon landlord has been ordered to repay $1,839 in rent plus $500 in aggravated damages to a mother and son who spent five months living in a squalid apartment before they were evicted when health inspectors deemed it uninhabitable.

Jack Grover’s counterclaim that Mary-Ann and Jonathan McLeod owed him $2,854 for unpaid rent and lost revenue was also dismissed, according to an Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) decision handed down late last month.

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“I am satisfied Mr. Grover was very aware of the state of the rental unit and simply made no effort to make proper repairs,” ORT Hearing Officer Joy Dobko wrote in the 16-page decision, which Grover said he plans to appeal before the 30-day window expires.

“I am not satisfied the landlord is entitled to any rent for this rental unit … The landlord should not be rewarded with rent money, in this case from social services, for renting a rental unit that was not fit for human habitation,” Dobko wrote in the decision.

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The McLeods, who are Metis and rely on the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability program for support, spent almost five months living in the converted garage at 326 Avenue F South. They were evicted in September, after it was “placarded” by health inspectors.

Photo by Michelle Berg / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Grover charged the mother and son $918 per month to live in the apartment, where they slept on the floor wrapped in blankets to ward off cockroaches and the autumn cold. The McLeods reported a host of problems, including a malfunctioning stove and leaky plumbing.

Their initial claim was for $4,590 — five months’ rent — plus $500 in aggravated damages . Dobko in her decision said rent payments for two months were verifiable, but that she was satisfied Grover didn’t receive money for the remaining three months at stake.

Dobko also concluded that the aggravated damages were warranted given Grover’s “gross misconduct,” which included “constant harassment” and threats directed at the McLeods, as well as his decision to rent a home “that was uninhabitable enough to be placarded.”

In an interview on Tuesday, Mary-Ann McLeod said she and her son did not expect money and simply wanted to prove their assessment of the apartment was accurate and that Grover should have done more to take care of the apartment.

“The weight is off of my shoulders … We’ve been accused of so much. My feelings were really hurt,” she said, adding the months-long ordeal — which included four fall nights on the streets downtown — left her tired and caused her to cry often.

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Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Grover described the decision as “not right,” but declined to elaborate on his reasons. He declined to comment further except to confirm he plans to file an appeal.

Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City Inc. (CLASSIC) executive director Chantelle Johnson and Brenda Yuen, who supervised the McLeods’ case, said in a joint email that many of their clients face similar housing situations.

“Whether or not this sends a broader message to the public is not for CLASSIC to say. But the bottom line is that landlords and tenants are bound by (legislation). Regrettably, CLASSIC’s clients are, at times, not treated with the respect and dignity we all deserve.”

Grover has accumulated more than 100 tickets or convictions for violations such as failing to maintain smoke alarms. In 2006, he was sentenced to a year in jail after he was convicted of obstructing justice in the aftermath of a fire at one of his properties that killed a three-year-old girl and her infant sister.

After a fire gutted the Avenue F property once occupied by the McLeods late last year, the 76-year-old landlord said he was trying to sell his remaining properties in the city because he wanted to retire from the real estate business.