‘It’s really disgusting’: Tenant without heat for weeks blasts out-of-town landlord

Tyler Holmberg dreads coming home from work at night. 

He’s been without heat at 292 Pim Street for nearly a month-and-a-half, and multiple requests for help from the landlord have since come and gone. For now, tenants at the four-unit building have been provided with space heaters for their apartments as a temporary fix until a new furnace is installed. 

“I had to give my dog away to my mother for the time being, because she’ll die. It’s that cold,” said Holmberg. “She stopped eating for a bit, she stopped drinking water because she never wanted to get out from under her blankets.

“It’s really disgusting.” 

But like any other time Holmberg has had issues with the four-unit building — a broken toilet, water pouring out of the ceiling and busted windows, to name a few — maintenance requests he has issued to the property owner usually “fall on deaf ears” for months, even years, at a time.

“I’ve given multiple maintenance requests — probably in the hundreds — just trying to get their attention,” Holmberg said.

As SooToday has extensively reported over the past few weeks, 11 southern Ontario companies that own a combined 152 properties in town have filed for creditor protection, claiming more than $147-million in unpaid loans and less than $100,000 in the bank.

The company that owns 292 Pim Street is not one of those insolvent corporations — but it is another out-of-town landlord who owns a large amount of homes in Sault Ste. Marie.

According to court documents that are available to the public, the owner is currently in court for a provincial Building Code offence after allegedly failing to comply with an Order to Remedy issued by the municipality in May 2023. 

Provincial land registry records show that 13212386 Canada Inc. acquired the Pim Street property for $360,000 in August 2021. It was then sold for $2 to another numbered company, 1000593693 Ontario Inc., this past September. 

The numbered companies have one thing in common: According to documents retrieved by SooToday, both companies list real estate investor Nels Moxness as director.

His name may be familiar to readers: In 2022, SooToday reported that 25 numbered companies directed by Moxness owned 129 properties in Sault Ste. Marie, a number of which sit vacant and boarded up in and around the city’s downtown core. The rental units are managed by CPM Properties, a company from the Hamilton, Ont. area that is co-directed by Moxness. 

The other director, a relative named Mathew Moxness, is the founder of Crescendo Equity Corporation and has acted as the face of CPM Properties in the past.    

“At CPM Properties, our tenants are our priority and we are committed to the highest standards of professionalism, transparency, and accountability,” according to the CPM website. “We offer a wide selection of rental apartments in Sault Ste. Marie, Niagara, Sudbury, and Hamilton to current and prospective tenants.”

Moxness, who is a former chairman of the Danish Canadian Chamber of Commerce, is named in a pair of lawsuits filed in Sault Ste. Marie by investors who are claiming more than $650,000 in damages combined. As previously reported by SooToday, Bob Dieleman Investments Corporation is suing Moxness for $270,000 and possession of an apartment building, located at 139 Church Street, in one of those lawsuits.    

At one time, a lawyer representing Moxness issued a cease-and-desist letter to SooToday, advising against using his name in news articles. But now, Moxness is making no bones about what his business in the Sault actually is.   

This past November, Moxness issued a news release entitled Transforming Ontario's Real Estate Landscape with Visionary Leadership and Excellence - Nels Moxness, which touted him as a “leading real estate investor” who is spearheading “successful ventures” in the Sault and northern Ontario. 

“As a seasoned investor with a keen eye for style and creativity, Nels possesses extensive knowledge of the property market, emerging trends, and growth opportunities. His meticulous attention to detail allows him to discern hidden potential in neglected properties,” said the news release. “Over the years, Nels has successfully undertaken ambitious real estate development projects, revitalizing aging and distressed properties in key Canadian markets. Through his efforts, he transforms these spaces into contemporary, functional homes for both renters and aspiring homeowners, providing them with perfect places to create cherished memories. 

“Nels envisions replicating this successful model nationwide, offering clients a diverse range of flexible housing options.”

In speaking with a number of disgruntled CPM tenants in Sault Ste. Marie over the past two years, a number of properties have yet to see such a Moxness-led transformation take shape. Many of them, like Holmberg, felt as though Moxness and CPM have been intentionally allowing buildings to fall into a state of disrepair in an effort to drive tenants out — an accusation that was refuted by Mathew Moxness when speaking with SooToday back in 2022. 

“We’re not looking to do that at all. I don’t think it would be beneficial at all to have vacant properties,” Mathew Moxness said at the time. “I can only speak for us, but that’s not at all our intention. We’re looking to provide good homes for people, and a lot of times, affordable housing, whether it’s newcomers, whether it’s with these agencies. 

“We’re definitely not looking to have vacant homes,” he continued. “If anything, they cause more problems being vacant.”

But Holmberg — who continues to live in the cold without heat on Pim Street — believes his “completely unlivable” apartment building is all part and parcel of a ploy to “revamp their shitty homes” in town in order to make more money down the road.  

“I feel like they’re trying to force us out right now, so that they can redo our apartments when we leave,” he said. “It’s basically last man standing, just so they can increase the rent and rent them out to different people. That’s what I feel.”

Despite year-over-year increases to his rent, Holmberg says his apartment is budget friendly. 

“But it doesn’t give you the right to treat the tenants like trash,” he said. “I’m always worried about something happening — there’s no way for me to get a hold of them, there’s just no way of getting to them legally. Unless I have thousands of dollars, there’s nothing I can do.”

Moxness has yet to respond to an interview request made by SooToday Wednesday.