Overcrowding 
“Anytime you have overcrowding, it leads to deterioration of facilities. Tensions can also rise and it can lead to violence.
—Mary Durand

Overcrowded apartment units is a serious problem. Some condo landlords—they prefer to call themselves investors—make a four-bedroom rooming house (with kitchen privileges) out of a two-bedroom apartment. Illegal wall separations turn the living room and the dining room into bedrooms. These units can generate $1600 a month in rent by having four families live in an apartment designed for a single family.

This condition puts extra strains on the elevators, increases water, sewage and garbage removal costs and adds wear and tear in the common elements and makes parking a nightmare.

Overcrowding also leads to more vandalism, graffiti and false fire alarms. The units become victim to hoarding—it can't be otherwise—which increases the risk of fire.

Overcrowding also drops property values.

Controlling the extra electricity costs was partially alleviated by the administrator installing individual smart meters. Now, single families are not subsidizing the rooming houses electricity costs.

To eliminate overcrowding, YCC #42 has seven rules to strengthen the single-family provisions in the Declaration.

39.
Any person, including the owner of condo unit, who contravenes any rule of corporation shall be deemed to be a trespasser under the Ontario Trespass to property Act and shall, accordingly, be subject to being charged with an offence there under.
40.
For greater certainty, the word Family found in article X11(a) and x11(e) of the declaration of the corporation means single family residency to a maximum of one person for each one hundred seventy five square feet of floor space in each unit.
41.
No unit shall be used or occupied for transient, hotel or rooming or boarding house purpose.
42.
An owner desiring to rent his condo unit shall prior to entering in to a tenancy agreement, provide the corporation with the full name of  the tenant and all other persons intending to reside in the unit together with their ages and such other information as the board of director  may from time to time reasonably requires.
43.
Prior to the commencement date of any tenancy or any change in occupancy of a condo unit, the owner of that unit shall provide access to the unit to the corporation or its agent for express purpose of inspecting the unit, including heating units, plumbing fixtures, electrical system and fixtures, walls, windows, doors, flooring, kitchen, cabinets, counter tops, cable system, balcony, intercom, smoke detectors, and such other items that may be deemed necessary by the board of directors to ensure that the unit is being maintained in a good state of repair in accordance  with the section 41 of the Ontario Condo Act, and the owner shall forthwith comply with any notice from the corporation requiring  the owner to effect repairs to the unit prior to the commencement date of the new tenancy or change in occupancy.
44.
Should an owner intending to rent his condominium unit, neglect or refuse to furnish to the corporation an under taking signed by his tenants that they will comply with the Ontario Condominium Act and the declaration, bylaws and rules of the corporation, then any such tenants intending to reside in that owners condo unit shall be deemed to be trespassers under the Ontario trespass to property Act and entry to or upon the common elements by said tenants by said tenants may be expressly denied by the corporation until the said undertaking is furnished to the corporation.
45.
With in twenty days of a rented condominium unit being vacated, or being re-rented, the owner shall notify the corporation in writing to this effect and in the even that the unit is re-rented shall supply to the corporation all documentation as required by the declaration and rules of the corporation and shall arrange with the property manager of the corporation for an inspection of the condominium unit in accordance with Rule #43.

The new board talked about enforcing these rules. However since the majority of the directors are landlords in the corporation, and one has converted at least one two-bedroom unit into a four-bedroom rooming house, nothing was done to eliminate overcrowding in YCC #42.


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