Citing concerns about bedbugs and rats, a group of seven tenants in a Dundas Street rooming house began a rent strike in December against their landlord, Jenny Jiang, the vice-chair of the cleanliness and standard committee of the Chinatown BIA.
“I wake up every night and I have to catch [bed] bugs,” said Baoqing Han, one of the tenants of the six-unit property on Dundas Street West, through a translator. “There is not a single night that I don’t catch bugs.”
In a letter sent to their landlord in November, tenants of the 564 Dundas St. W. rooming house demanded Jiang deal with the pest issues, fix a broken washing machine and compensate tenants who had to pay out-of-pocket to have keys cut, among other issues.
In an interview with TorontoToday, Jiang said tenants are at fault for the rats and bedbugs.
Separately, she alleged tenants broke a glass door between her flower shop, Win’s Flowers, and the rooming house entrance.
Since 2023, Toronto has seen a wave of rent strikes, largely targeting corporate landlords over rent increases.
This strike is the first in Chinatown’s history, according to Lily Xia, a volunteer with Friends of Chinatown, a local group supporting the tenants.
Two tenants spoke with TorontoToday and said they began the strike after months of asking Jiang to fix a myriad of issues without success.
“She only cares about the money,” Han alleged.
Bed bug issues unresolved
On Monday, Han pulled back the covers on her bed to reveal evidence of the bed bugs she said come out each night.
The wall beside her and husband’s bed also showed marks of dead bugs.
Han alleged the bed bugs were in the mattress provided by Jiang when she and her husband moved in about two years ago. She said Jiang removed the initial bug-ridden mattress and has since replaced it with another, which also has bed bugs.
Jiang disputed the account and said the issue was resolved and that Han is responsible for having brought the bed bugs into the unit.
Under Ontario law, landlords are responsible for eradicating bed bugs, regardless of their origin. Landlords are expected to cover the cost of pest removal and deal with the issue in a timely manner.
Han said this has not happened.
She showed TorontoToday photos of bed bug bites across her hands and said there have also been bites on her legs, torso and arms.
“I told Jenny about these problems many times,” said Han. “She doesn’t do anything.”
No lease agreement or key provided, tenant says
Clifford Wade, another tenant at the Dundas Street West property, alleged Jiang failed to provide him with a lease agreement.
Wade, who receives income through the Ontario Disability Support Program, said he needs a lease contract to demonstrate where he lives to ensure his rent is paid.
He alleged Jiang said she did not want to provide one because she wanted to avoid paying taxes on the income she receives as a landlord.
Jiang answered several questions from TorontoToday in a telephone interview, but hung up before questions could be asked about Wade’s concerns. Follow-up calls on Monday went unanswered.
Wade said after he moved in on Oct. 8, Jiang also never provided him with keys to the front door nor his bedroom. He said he has had to rely on other tenants to let him in.
One night he was unable to reach anyone and had to sleep on the street, he said.
Wade said he’s participating in the rent strike because he wants the issues to be dealt with.
“It takes a toll when you don’t have peace in your home.” he said.
A last resort rent strike
Wade said he has no knowledge of Jiang’s allegation that tenants broke a glass door near the entrance to her flower shop.
He said it’s accurate, as Jiang told TorontoToday, that the landlord has a cleaner come to the rooming house every week. However, he disputed Jiang’s assertion that the rats that frequent the rooming house have been attracted by garbage left out by tenants.
Wade said he chose to participate in the rent strike after more conciliatory attempts to resolve the issues with Jiang went nowhere.
In addition to the letter demanding the landlord uphold her legal obligations, tenants also tried to make a group phone call to Jiang and to talk to her one-on-one, he alleged.
Tenants allege they have been pressured
Since the strike began, Han alleged Jiang has continued a pattern of aggressive behaviour toward her and other tenants.
On Sunday, Jiang came to Han’s room unannounced and said if she did not pay rent, Jiang would take something of Han’s as a deposit, the tenant alleged.
Despite the pressure, Wade said he is not fearful.
“I put my trust in my God. That’s what I believe in,” he said. “If you are a good person, truly, you don’t have to fear anything. It’ll all resolve itself in a peaceful manner.”
Xia said Friends of Chinatown will be supporting the tenants to stage a protest outside of Win’s Flowers on Wednesday.
