After nearly 3 months, the water's back on at east Hamilton apartment building

David Galvin'swater is running for the first time in nearly three months.

The long-awaitedrepairs to pipes at 1083 Main St. E.inHamilton began last week. While the water isicy cold, with the hot water not yet connected, Galvin said it's proof of what the tenants have been insisting since late December the workcould be done in a matter of days without anyone having to move out.

"We feel abandoned in this whole situation," Galvin said."It's a tremendous stress on all of us and has had a serious impact on the mental health of my fellow tenants."

The building's landlord Dylan Suitor shut off the building's water supplyon Dec. 28 when pipes burst after being exposed to cold air during renovations. The city ordered Suitor toreplace the broken pipes, but he appealed and the case didn't go to the city's property standards committee until late February all the while the tenants remained without running water.

In a joint submission with the city, Suitor's paralegal Angela Smith argued the tenants needed to vacatefor the repairs to be done. The property standards committee, made up of five members of the public, agreed to wait to enforce the order until after eviction hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Building's owner a real estate agent and investor

Hearings for two of seven tenants took place earlier this month. There, the boardmade it clear Suitor was in serious breach of responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act for not ensuring the units had running water, which is considered a vital service.

Thebreach is grounds for the board to refuse an eviction request.Suitor withdrew his applications.

For now, thosetwo tenants don't face eviction, while the remaining five tenants are still waiting for their hearing dates to be set.

Neither Suitor nor Smithhave responded to new requests for comment.

Suitor is the CEO ofa Keller Williams franchise, based in Oakville, Ont.Hehas posted to social media and spoken publiclyabout investing in Ontario real estate. However, he recently deactivated his Instagram account, where he had over 300,000 followers, and removed posts on his Facebook page.

An online article from October 2021 describes Suitor's 60-unit building in east Hamilton, where Galvin currently lives,as a "shorter-turnaround project" with the potential for lockers, laundry, underground parking and loft-style apartments that would double its value to $20 million.

The work to replace the pipes began March 20, with contractors entering some units to look for leaks and repair toilets, according to ACORN Hamilton,which advocates for tenantrights of low-income people.

On March 24 at 2 p.m. cold water was restored, ACORN said in a statement. Hot water is expected to return early this week.

"Tenants remain extremely upset and frustrated by the level of neglect the landlord has been able to get away with without consequence," the statement said. "Tenants are not aware of any fines against the landlord by the City of Hamilton for withholding a vital service."

In a communication update tocouncil earlier this month, staff said the property standards committee will meet again on April 5. Then it will set a date Suitorhas to comply withthe city's order. If he does not, the city will hire a contractor to do the repair, at Suitor's expense.