MANJIT DHILLON AND RAJINDER DHILLON. BRAMPTON ONTARIO, HOMEOWNERS AND OPERATORS, OF ILLEGAL BASEMENT APARTMENTS.
DON'T HAVE A PERMIT?. DO YOU NEED ONE FROM THE CITY? NEVER MIND THAT, WHEN THERE ARE OTHER WAYS, TO GET AROUND THE SYSTEM. BESIDES, WHO WANTS TO PAY A $7,000.00 FEE, TO GET AN APPROVAL, WHEN YOU DO NOT REALLY HAVE TO BOTHER WITH IT, RIGHT?
Here are the city's specific guidelines concerning second units, or basement apartments, also referred to as 'nanny suites, 'granny flats', or accessory apartments. And surprisingly, most also do not know that such an apartment, do not have to be situated in a basement, as such. But for the purpose of this article, I am taking about the ones which does.
The City’s Zoning By-law does not currently permit basement apartments or accessory units. The only legal basement apartments are those that have existed since November 16, 1995 and have been registered or declared legal non-conforming by the City. Any basement apartment built since November 16, 1995 is illegal in the City of Brampton.
Sometimes the information that I often report might seem innocuous, or even irrelevant to some, but believe me, it also helps those who are also going through the same ordeal, and most importantly, it help to put a curb on corruption in this country. This is not my first article on this subject and from the looks of it, it won't be my last either.
Manjit Dhillon and her husband Rajinder Dhillon are both homeowners living in the city of Brampton. They also fall into the category of homeowners, who has also rented out illegal basement apartments, that also do not follow the city's guidelines, including those for building code and fire safety regulations. Do the police know this?. Of course they do! Shockingly, I will also present proof of this by way of a letter, that was given to me, by the landlords Manjit Dhillon and Rajinder Dhillon, requesting entry into my home on July 18, 2014 in order to cover up the ventilation system. Covering up the vents is an obvious fire safety violation and this is also not a concern to either the police, who has instructed them to do so, or my landlord.
Furthermore, the structure is also not safe. There is almost a daily power outage in my apartment, one of three separate apartments, two of which are located illegally in the basement of the bungalow house, that is also owned by them. Which also indicate a faulty electrical system, brought about by the additional two basement apartments, that the landlords has added to the existing building structure, simply for greed. That is, to make more money. The combined rental income for both, is $1600.00 monthly, excluding the other rental unit on the main floor of the bungalow.
Instead of addressing the problem of the electrical power outage and the short circuit of the building, they also want to make the problem worse by now adding an additional fire hazard to the existing problem. It is amazing what the police would also advise someone to do, when they think that no one will view their actions later on. The only instructions that those two landlords need to go on, are those under the Residential Tenancies Act, or the Building Code, Fire Code and the Zoning Bylaws, of the city of Brampton. Not on the ill advice of the Brampton police. They are definitely not an authority on the matter, in terms of building codes, what can be added or not, by a landlord, in this case. Believe it or not, it was all done to get my response to the situation, since it also affects me personally. I intend to follow through on what the rights that I have as a tenant under the law, in case of any violations by those two landlords, or on any other laws that also applies in that situation.
Are Brampton's politicians, also ignoring the problem, of unsafe and illegal basement apartments, in order to please those homeowners, who also vote for them?. That seem to be the case here.
Since the passing of Bill 140 on January 1, 2012, that is called the Strong Communities Through Affordable Housing Act 2011, homeowners now believe, erroneously, that they also now have the right to keep basement apartments, which has never been approved by the city's zoning bylaws, and that all of them must also get an approval, from the city's adjustment committee, in order to change the structure of the original building. Even before the legislation was passed, the problem of illegal basement apartments in the city of Brampton, was a major one, with more than 30,000 illegal basement apartments existing, and operated by greedy landlords, who are not motivated for renting out their properties, by the housing shortage in that city, as it is claimed, but by the profits that they make, from renting out their private homes and turning them into rental dwellings.
And this without having to either to comply with any of the laws which also protects tenants, until they are forced to do so by the tenants, who knows enough about their rights to force them to do so.
Brampton city councilors has considered it a fair exchange in regards to getting the votes of those homeowners. And for the longest while they were also silent on the issue. The one who also had a pecuniary interest in the matter, and I will also include those city councilors, from the Sikh community in Brampton, which is also one of the largest and most influential groups, in the city of Brampton, to have a role in the latest legislation being passed, to allow the existence of basement apartments, as an additional source of rental income, for homeowners.
It is not an attack against the Sikh community and I have been told to do some basic research on the subject before writing this article, which I also did. I casually went over the advertisement on some websites, such as Kijiji and Craiglist, to see just who were renting out those illegal basement apartments, the most to the public.
And to do the calculations as far as the percentage, of homeowners, from both Brampton and Mississauga's Sikh community, who are also responsible for those advertisements, in regards to those illegal basement apartments. I have also done just that and found this to be true. That 80-90% of those advertising such illegal basement apartments, are from that community. Decorated nicely, some of them, they still posed a safety risk, the most obvious to the naked eyes are the ones with no windows. The real danger from those apartments, however, are the pressures that they put on the existing electrical system, which is also part of the building fire code regulations. In the house that I live in that is the biggest problem with the greedy owners, Manjit Dhillon and her husband Rajinder Dhillon, having two such basement apartments, one a two bedroom and the other a bachelor apartment, with both of them also located in the basement of the bungalow house and each fully contained, with their own kitchen and bathroom facilities and not surprisingly also, they both also takes up the entire length of the lower structure of the house, which is also illegal, since any such unit must also be smaller than the space above it, as far as the main floor of the bungalow.
Unfortunately, there is also a power shortage and outage, in my apartment almost on a daily basis. The Brampton Fire Department and also the Municipal Standards and Zoning Bylaw Departments, are also investigating. The fines for any building code violations, including the ones for fire violations, is $25,000.to the landlords. One such landlord was recently fined $7000.00 by the city of Brampton, for such a violation.
I have enclosed a copy of the letter instructing me to let them enter my apartment in order to cover up the vents. This is also part of the ongoing harassment from the police working with my landlord. The police do not care if covering up the vents also posed a safety issue to me the tenant or not. The idea is to cover my vent so that the other white tenants could have the AC on 24/7. But that issue will also dealt with by the appropriate avenues that are also available to me, as a recourse, in regards to that matter. Including the Human Rights Commission, against both the landlords and the police. Interestingly, they also saw nothing wrong in giving keys to the mailbox, to the two white tenants and none to me, though I have also asked them repeatedly for one. That is also discriminating against me, as a tenant. It is also a very bad idea on the part of the landlord, Manjit Dhillon, since I am known to take people to court, for less actions than that. No one ever told them about intercepting, or tampering with other people's mails, which is also illegal.
PROOF, OF THE CANADIAN POLICE, ONGOING HARASSMENT, TOWARDS ME.
A COPY OF THE LETTER/NOTICE, GIVEN TO ME BY MANJIT AND RAJINDER DHILLON, ON THE BRAMPTON POLICE'S INSTRUCTIONS.
FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS, THE BRAMPTON POLICE, HAS BEEN BANGING ON MY DOOR AND USING AND INTIMIDATION, TO GET ME TO GIVE UP MY RIGHTS AS A TENANT. INSTEAD OF LEAVING THE MATTER UP TO THE LANDLORD AND TENANT TRIBUNAL TO DECIDE.
PLEASE NOTE HERE, THAT, THE POLICE WAS NOT CARRYING OUT ANY ORDERS, OF THE COURT, OR TRIBUNAL. IT WAS ALSO NOT A FIRE SAFETY ISSUE, THIS WAS THEIR OWN ADVISE TO THE LANDLORDS.
The police goal was that if I also refused, to let them act on their instructions, then it would also be grounds to charge me. The ventilation output, also already had covers.
