City to pursue legal action against rental property with sewer water in basement

The City of Windsor is pursuing legal action against a landlord accused of failing to clean up a basement flooded with sewer water.

Windsor's deputy chief building official RobVani tellsCBC News that charges were filed against Zixi Wang, the landlord responsible for 555 Dougall Avenue, on June 28.

The building's basement has been flooded with sewer water for several months, ever since a sewer line clogged and backed up last November.

The city previously issued orders in March compelling Wang to clean up the flooded basement.

Wang ignored the city's orders, arguing that she's faced with a $60,000 repair bill that the city won't let her write off on her taxes.

Tenants currently living in 555 Dougall Avenue are also suing Wang.

According to Vani, it should take approximately five weeks before a court date is set for the city's legal action.

"We're hopeful that will be coming forward to the courts to be spoken to in the near future and we still continue to be monitoring the situation as well, to make decisions on other steps we may be able to take under the Building Code Act," he said.

He added that defendants normally reach out to the city to attempt to resolve concerns before cases make their way to court.

"We expect that the property owners will reach out to us to have that discussion in the very near future," said Vani.

'There are other contractors in the city'

Wang previously explained that the contractor hired for the cleanup would be unable to carry out the necessary work until August hence the delays.

"I can't speak to the work volume of her own contractor she's chosen, but there are other contractors in the city that could probably affect that repair much quicker," said Vani, in response to Wang's previous comments.

He added that there are likely "other contractors on the city's pre authorized list" that could be hired to more quickly complete the necessary repairs.

In addition to the flooded basement, Wang's tenants previously complained about a lack of hot water on premises.

Vani said it's the city's understanding that the building's tenants are still able to access running water, "but not hot water."