Neighbour’s renovation leaves senior with hefty bill

An east-end senior says she’s staring at a hefty repair bill after her neighbour’s renovation damaged part of her home.

Joan, who declined to give her last name, says her neighbour on Hanson Street, in the Danforth and Coxwell avenues area, decided to tear down their backyard porch in October. Because the porch was directly connected to Joan’s home, the 78-year-old said part of her wall was taken down in the process.

“They were joined and when she cut it she cut some of my beams inside the flooring,” she explained. “I heard crashing. You could see right through to the outside.”

The damage to the home came in just under $6,000 and when Joan asked building inspectors about the incident, they told her the neighbours did not have a permit to do the work.

The city of Toronto told CityNews that to date they haven’t received a building permit application for the neighbour’s property.

But situations like this are not unique to this little house on Hanson Street.

City officials say that they have issued orders to obtain a permit to approximately 3,000 properties this year by following up on neighbour complaints as well as their own investigations.

Joan says her insurance does not cover the cost of the damage and that her neighbours have refused to pay the full bill.

The neighbour told CityNews she will not pay more than $1,000 to assist in repairs and denied that she was told by the city that she needed a permit for the renovation.

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