RAMARA — After more than a year of legal struggles, Rob Maranzan and his wife, Kim, have regained possession of their rental property on Creighton Street, but at a steep cost.
The couple, who allegedly endured 13 months of unpaid rent and a property overrun with unauthorized tenants, say they are now left with a home in ruins and more than $50,000 in financial losses.
Maranzan says they initially rented the three-bedroom, 800-square-foot unit to three tenants in January 2023. By December, six additional people, including four young children, had moved in without permission, pushing the total number of occupants to 10. The couple raised concerns over the strain on the property’s well and septic system, but instead of resolving the issue, the tenants stopped paying rent entirely.
The situation forced the Maranzans to cover all expenses, including utilities and costly repairs caused by the overcrowding.
“They burned out the well pump, overloaded the septic, and destroyed everything,” Maranzan said. “We’re over $35,000 in the hole just from lost rent, and now we’re looking at another $15,000 in repairs.”
Despite seeking help from Township of Ramara officials, the police, and the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), Maranzan says they were met with roadblocks at every turn.
“Everyone just washed their hands of it,” he said. “The township, the cops, the LTB — they all protected the tenants while we were stuck paying for everything.”
After a lengthy legal battle, the Maranzans say they secured an eviction order on Feb. 28, but not without additional financial strain.
“We had to hire a lawyer and spent another $4,000 to $5,000 just to get them out,” Maranzan explained.
The eviction did not immediately put an end to their troubles, as the tenants attempted to occupy the house again on March 1.
“I had them charged, and they haven’t been back since,” Maranzan said.
However, the damage had already been done.
“The house is trashed,” Maranzan said. “It was in great condition before — rental ready. Now, we’ve paid another $2,500 just to have someone clean it out.”
Photos and videos from inside the home show piles of garbage, broken furniture, and animal waste. The Maranzans say the tenants had three dogs living in poor conditions.
“They were just in cages in a dark corner with waste piled around them,” Maranzan said. “It was disgusting.”
While the Maranzans say they received no help from officials throughout most of the ordeal, they credit newly hired bylaw officer Garon Young from Ramara Township for stepping in to start cleaning up the situation.
Maranzan says the ordeal has been “sickening” and he offers a warning to other landlords.
“If you’re renting to tenants on welfare, get the rent sent directly to you through ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program),” he said. “Also, do your homework, big time, on who you’re letting in.”
Despite their recent legal victory, they are still seeking accountability.
“I don’t know who’s responsible for this — why they were allowed to stay so long without paying, and why the township ignored the bylaws they were breaking,” Maranzan said. “Somebody needs to answer for this.”
For now, they are left picking up the pieces of what was once their retirement plan.
“This was our little bit of security, and now it’s cost us $50,000,” Maranzan said. “There’s almost no chance we’ll ever get any of it back.”
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No good deed goes unpunished
Please get your information correct. Welfare and ODSP are 2 different programs entirely. Yes both can have rent sent directly to a Landlord however they should not be lumped into the same category. It's statements like this that is making it hard for me to fund a place to rent. People see OFSP and run when in fact that's a guaranteed income and the reason i am on ODSP is due to major back issues. I also work part time and all my bills are paid. I'm a singleperson on ODSP and a part time income at the hospital but still landlords run when they see it because if statements like the one made here. Becauae of this im currently at risk of homelessness.
I so feel for this landlord, and it reinforces the horrible stories of Ontario anti landlord laws. We are nearly as bad out here in BC but not quite as much as Ontario. This is a result of growing lawlessness from Marxist ideology. This mindset, or philosophy, paints the lower income as victims and persecutes those who work hard, ate responsible, and the educated. Just the same ss communists in Russia after their revolution, killing off those with glasses! The educated. Now look at them, drunken gangsters ruling. Anyhow, this Canadian society, like other countries ( particularly Nordic ones), has villainized landlords as "those bad rich people", and wonder why housing stock has shrunk. If they were fair about it the landlord could get these users out in two months max. Not paying rent alone, and taking g 13 months? That is insanely unjust
Why anyone would want to invest in multi residential properties for rental income now-a-days is beyond me.
And pay 65% on capital gains. There is no incentive to work hard and get ahead in Canada anymore. But there was a time.
Barrie Today likes to post stories like this but you rarely see them posting stories about sketchy landlords, of which there are countless. Barrie Housing, for example!
That happened to my husband and I in Sudbury. We went through a property management company thinking that they would be great at vetting good tenants, but the person who rented from us ending up not paying rent for a year and destroyed our house. It took us over a year to get a court date with the tribunal and we ended up spending 20,000 to put our house back together. We got no money in the end from the tenant.