Tenants of an east-Hamilton townhouse complex have chosen to keep their air-conditioning units and risk eviction rather than going without them.

Tenant Don White says roughly 30 households at 240-280 Montmorency Dr. have been told to remove their window units.

But without them, the townhouses would be unbearable in summer, White says. "You couldn't live there. Nobody could live there."

EQB Ltd. Property Management maintains the improperly installed units are damaging new window frames and siding.

Ash Singh, president of Equity Builders, said the landlord has spent more than $1 million to improve the property in the past two years.

He said the landlord "will not tolerate tenants destroying the property due to improper installations."

Faulty jobs can cause leaks, ruining drywall, causing mould and rendering warranties void, Singh said.

But White says his unit was installed just fine. When the hot weather returns, he wants to put it back in.

That's why he and other tenants are defending themselves before the Landlord and Tenant Board. Their cases were adjourned Thursday, potentially to be considered in unison at a date that's still to be determined.

Singh said the landlord has no legal obligation to provide the tenants with air conditioning.

But EQB Ltd. wouldn't object to installations by certified contractors, whether it's a window unit or central air, on their own dime. For the latter, the tenant would have to pay for upgraded electrical panels, he said.

"The landlord doesn't pay hydro ... so what do we care if they run air conditioning all day long? But what we do care about is our property, damage and safety."

White, a resident in the complex just east of the Red Hill Valley Parkway since 2011, contended EQB Ltd.'s goal is to vacate units so they can be renovated to fetch higher rents.

He pays $1,023 a month plus hydro for his family's three-bedroom townhouse. "When they get people out, they bumped the rents up to $1,750 plus."

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Singh said some townhouses in the 70-unit complex have been compromised by pest infestations, hoarding and aggressive dogs.

"Our end goal is to ensure that we build a better community and get rid of people who are problematic and fill it with people who want to call a place home."

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Singh, who is part owner of the building, also said a general goal of the firm is to convert apartment buildings into condos as the status demands higher occupancy standards.

He said about half the roughly 30 issued notices at Montmorency have been met with compliance. "So no further action was required."

Edwin Alexander, a paralegal some tenants have retained, said "on the basis of continued use," the units should be permitted.

Any added cost for central air that tenants don't consent to would amount to an illegal increase, Alexander argued.

The concern about warranties is "not the tenants' problem," he added. "They didn't make that deal."

Sweltering apartments were a concern this past summer in other rental complexes not far from Montmorency Drive.

Residents at Stoney Creek Towers, just east of Centennial Parkway, for instance, complained about a lack of ventilation while balconies were off limits during a renovation.

In June, a city staff report stated there are "no specific rules about cooling" for landlords apart from rental agreements.

Dayna Sparkes, a Montmorency resident since 2012, called the regulatory gap a matter of human rights.

She worries about the health of her three children, who she says can't sleep upstairs. "They're just pouring sweat. They're tossing and turning."

tmoro@thespec.com

905-526-3264 | @TeviahMoro