Arnprior, Ont. residents threatened with fines, eviction if unprepared for fumigation

Residents of an Arnprior apartment building say they have been threatened with fines and even eviction if they do not prepare their units adequately for fumigation.

Residents of 6 John St. S. say their living space is infested with cockroaches and has been for years.

Sleepwell Property Management has been brought in to deal with the issue and it sent notices of fumigation to tenants last week.

Within the notices were potential sanctions if tenants did not prepare their apartments properly to be sprayed.

"They're threatening people with N5's, which is eviction, if they don't have their apartments ready for fumigation," said resident Shaun Brennan.

"And they're threatening people that they're going to charge them $500."

To prepare their units for cleaning, residents are required to clear out their cupboards and closets, and move all furniture away from the walls and into the centre of the unit.

Resident Quinn Foley has only lived in the building for six months and says he had to take time off work to prepare.

"To take the two days to pack everything up, box everything up, put it in the middle of the apartment, and then we also had to plan on where we're going to spend the night for the next two days," said Foley.

"And then we have to do it all again two weeks from now."

Brennan, who is also blind, says Sleepwell did not give enough notice to tenants.

"There's handicapped people in here, that's really a lot of work for a handicapped person or an elderly person."

Sleepwell did not directly answer questions regarding the concerns of tenants, saying the potential sanctions are to ensure residents comply with the request.

Fumigation is set to start Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents cannot be in their homes until four to six hours after spraying takes place. It is recommended those who are pregnant or have health issues do not return for 24 hours.

"I have two kids, two cats, and two dogs," said resident Stewart Bailey.

"We've got to go somewhere for 24 hours because I have asthma. It's honestly not feasible if you've got one person who works full time, I'm partially handicapped."

Sleepwell tells CTV News that legally it does not have to assist tenants with finding temporary accommodations.

"We're gonna go into a motel for the night," says Brennan, "not that we could afford it."

A second round of fumigation is set to take place Aug. 15.

Bailey says among the bugs, cleaning of the building has been non-existent for some time.

"It's definitely necessary. There's been a problem in here well before we moved in."