A growing number of Brampton, Ont., residents are expressing frustration with city officials over basement renovation projects they say are unsafe.
“This is the Wild West in Brampton. (There are) no rules and consequences, and when there are consequences, it is the cost of doing business,” said Kathleen McDermott, a Brampton resident who is speaking out on behalf of many who point to an absence of sufficient oversight.
“Work gets done shoddily, quickly and without the proper approvals,” said Gian Marcon, a resident on Alderway Avenue, where residents say their efforts have now put a halt to further construction at a rental property where a basement unit was approved.
Marcon and others say they complained to the City of Brampton’s 311 service multiple times but got no response.
One resident, in a TikTok video, confronted contractors working on a new, rear basement entryway.
The resident asks the contractor to see the building permit, which is required to be visibly posted, according to Brampton bylaws.
“Permits have to be displayed at the front of the house,” the resident tells the contractors, who are seen at a distance working below grade. They tell the resident the permit is on their mobile phone, but decline to show it.
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The resident asks whether the contractors have had utilities located before digging, in order to pinpoint where electrical and gas lines are situated, another requirement.
The contractors hadn’t ordered the locating.
After contacting the province’s Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), Ontario’s public safety regulator, work was shut down.
“The locates weren’t done. (If) you hit a gas line, imagine what happens in a nice neighbourhood like this,” Marcon said.
“The City of Brampton hands out building permits to companies without due diligence,” said McDermott, who said local bylaw enforcement officers aren’t checking to see whether projects are being built in a safe manner.
Longtime resident Ray Scanlan, who lives across the street from the home being renovated, left his home on a day when heavy equipment was working on the property near a gas line. He says he was concerned about the possibility of an explosion or fire.
“I didn’t want to get blown up, exactly right,” he said.
Scanlan and other residents say they understand the need to accommodate a growing population in the city.
“We had renters (in the neighbourhood), never been a problem, now it’s every third renovation done,” Scanlan said, emphasizing the growing number of projects designed to add basement apartments.
The consequence on Alderway Avenue, a street without sidewalks, is additional traffic congestion, he added.
Recently, residents held a public rally to showcase their concerns to the city.
In an email, Brampton’s director of enforcement and bylaw services thanked residents for raising “these very relevant issues.”
“The City of Brampton team is working tirelessly to address how this has unfolded,” Robert Higgs wrote.
“It is also recognized that leaving the engagement of these enforcement partners (TSSA, Ontario One Call, Ministry of Labour) to the complainant is not ideal.”
McDermott says the issues at the two homes under renovation are examples of a bigger problem that needs attention.
“Processes need to be cleaned up immediately.”
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