A group of Cambridge residents are fighting for their right to stay in apartments some have rented for decades after they were offered cash for keys in May.
"We were served with N9s and N13s and basically told we had to leave," said Kristie Syvret. The resident of 94 Beck St. is organizing a legal challenge of evictions with other tenants and going toe-to-toe with a mysterious landlord who refuses to meet with residents.
"Every time someone from management comes and talks to us, we are getting different information and when we do it's very vague."
N9s are notices tenants give to landlords to signify an end to their tenancy with at least 60 days notice. An N12 is a notice to end tenancy given to tenants if the unit is needed by the landlord, a family member or caregiver.
An N13 is a notice informing tenants they need to leave while renovations are happening; this process is commonly referred to as a renoviction and they're becoming more common in older buildings with rent controlled units.
Landlords can charge market rates to new tenants once the units are upgraded.
On May 31, nearly every resident of the 24-unit building received notices that major renovations would be taking place and they either needed to leave or move into a renovated unit by Sept. 31.
Syvret who has lived in the building for the past eight years with her daughter pays less than $1,000 a month for rent and was offered $6,000 for the keys to her apartment.
She, along with at least 10 other residents, have declined the offer and are now refusing to leave.
Tenants have asked multiple times to meet with the landlord, only to be told they are unavailable or refuse to answer the question.
To even submit their legal refusal to vacate notice, they've had to do their own digging for an address since management has refused to provide contact details.
"We know our rights and after speaking with lawyers are choosing to stay here," she added. "I think it's so disheartening that someone could buy a property and just immediately start kicking people out. We haven't done anything wrong."
According to the Residential Tenancies Act, landlords are required to pay a maximum of three month’s rent as compensation for ending a lease early.
In Syvret's case, this would equal to about $3,000, but $6,000 was put on the table to "sweeten the offer."
According to documents shown to CambridgeToday, the building on Beck Street was taken over by 94 Beck Inc. on Jan. 10, 2024. Four months later the tenants were served with eviction notices.
In the notices, property management claims to be making "major renovations" including the removal of walls, plumbing upgrades and significant electrical changes.
The work was noted to take six to nine months; something residents like Syvret say is not true.
"They have already completed renovations on a few units and it only took them maybe six weeks," she said. "We have had a few residents already move in to these upgraded units and forfeit their old ones so the nine months is just wrong."
One resident who gave up the keys to his old apartment for an upgraded one now faces much higher rent. It's a decision that has been weighing on him heavily.
"I have a young daughter and she goes to school around here so I thought it would be best to move into one of the new units, but it's been a nightmare ever since," said Matt, who asked that we only use his first name.
He moved into his new unit for an extra $800 a month. All the work was supposed to be completed, but he said there was still a long way to go.
Contractors were in Matt's unit completing what they started, but getting them there wasn't easy, he said.
"If I hadn't been pushing so hard to get these guys in here I guarantee you the owner would not have called them," he said. "I know this guy has done this in other cities and it's insane. He should be ashamed."
According to provincial records, as of Jan. 4, 2024, the owner of 94 Beck Inc. is listed as Ludmila Karakulov.
The original name on the company profile report is Micheal Klein, a name known to tenant advocacy groups because he is linked to similar situations in Kitchener, London and Hamilton.
A similar story is playing out in Guelph where a company linked to Klein is trying to evict tenants of one of its properties to begin renovations.
Brant Apts Inc. has Klein listed as the director. Residents there have been offered cash for keys but are also refusing to leave.
No information can be found on Klein or Karakulov except through a property management company called Family Properties. Outreach to that company has so far been unsuccessful.
Syvret and the group of tenants in Cambridge have taken the situation to the next step and have contacted a lawyer who is preparing to defend them at the Landlord Tenants Board.
Mitchell Kent a paralegal with Riverview Legal Services has taken on the case and said he has advised the tenants to continue to live in their units beyond the Sept. 31 date and wait for the landlord to take them to the LTB.
"We are ready to have our day in court and hold this property owner accountable," Kent said. "We have informed the residents of their rights and not to be intimidated by any scare tactics."
While the tenants have the right to first refusal on any unit that has been renovated, the way management has been operating is making residents feel like they are untrustworthy.
"We also can't just find somewhere else to live for nine months while we wait for something that might not even happen," Syvret said. "I like my unit how it is and it doesn't need anything else."
The group has also been in contact with ACORN, a community and tenant union that fights for the rights of tenants across the country.
Klein and Karakulov have been linked to multiple renovictions across Ontario going back to 2021, according to information found on ACORN's website.
According to stats released by ACORN in February, Cambridge is in the top 10 cities for renovictions and the serving of N12s that would allow property owners to remove tenants to allow "family members or caregivers" to move in.
From 2017-2021 Cambridge saw 173 N12s issued to residents, but ACORN notes the number is a "gross underestimate as most renovictions never reach the tribunal as landlords harass and intimidate tenants to get a “voluntary” termination of tenancy."
ACORN is also advocating for the right for tenants to know their landlords and put a face to the corporations who are responsible for their buildings.
Syvret and Matt both said they felt pressured and kept in the dark by the property management during the entire situation.
"Everyone in this building is a hard-working Canadian who contributes to society. Why is this allowed to happen? Why are we able to be pushed to the curb," Syvret asked. "These buildings don't even need any renovations, it's in great shape."
Now residents are waiting to hear back from Karakulov and her team on the next steps, but the fear of losing their homes is still there.
"It's scary when you're dealing with potentially losing the place where you live. I have a daughter and I don't know what we would do if we had to move. This has been our home for the past eight years."
