Hamilton homebuyer faces imminent homelessness as tenants refuse to vacate property

A homebuyer in east Hamilton says she’ll soon have nowhere to live because the tenants who live in the home are refusing to leave.
Lorrie McKibbon says she has been living in Burlington and can only stay for the next 15 days, but after that, she’ll be homeless.
A partially ripped sold sign stands on the east Hamilton property, but McKibbon says a more than $400,000 offer to purchase it can’t be completed because the renters occupying the home also face potential homelessness if they leave.
“Lawyers informed us that the tenant has stated that he isn’t going anywhere, and they can’t get him out,” said McKibbon.
McKibbon says she and her husband left and sold their previous home earlier this year and had their offer accepted in April. Today, they’re temporarily staying with family and face rising financing costs the longer they wait.
“When we sold, we took a loss, but we did so because we needed something we knew could be affordable,” she said.
The original closing date on the home was slated for May 8th, however, there have been two extensions, and is now scheduled for Sept. 15th.
The tenants living at the property tell CHCH News they’ve been renters at the home for seven years and pay north of $1,300 today. They confirm their intentions to stay because they cannot afford market-value prices.
“The tenants have been renting from me on a month-to-month basis and I gave them 60 days to vacate,” said Chris Mecalfe, the selling landlord.
The landlord says the tenants of the two-bedroom, one bath home have also missed rent payments as well. Mecalfe is also McKibbon’s real estate agent. He says applications to vacate have been filed with the landlord and tenant board.
“As tenants become very knowledgeable of their situation, and with COVID a huge backup of these cases, going through the landlord tenant board, a lot of these tenants can ride the system,” he said.
The tenants confirm they’ve missed rent and they say they are actively looking for an affordable alternative. McKibbon says she has also helped them search for a new home.