The Bay Observer has learned that at least two complaints have been filed with the Integrity Commissioner for Hamilton regarding the dispute over a property owned by Mayor Andrea Horwath on West Avenue North. The story broke Thursday in the Public record reporting that a Hamilton judge had shot down an emergency demolition and eviction order on a house owned by Mayor Andrea Horwath and currently occupied by her former partner, Ben Leonetti.
The City had issued an emergency order compelling the immediate removal of the occupant and the immediate demolition of the semi-detached house on West Avenue North.
The order was invalidated on the grounds that a report by a private engineer hired by Horwath which recommended the demolition “did not satisfy the requirements of the Building Code Act (BCA) because the City failed to conduct its own independent inspection before ordering the demolition.” The private engineering report was accompanied by photographs that showed the unit in an extreme state of disrepair. The report was sent to Chief Building Official Robert Lalli who sent two inspectors to the property on December 3, but were denied entry. A that point Lalli issued the orders to vacate and demolish.
One complaint to the Integrity Commissioner alleges Horwath had a conflict of interest that should have been declared when she voted on the renoviction by-law on April 10, 2024, since court records indicated the dispute over the West Avenue property was ongoing at the time of the council vote and had been underway for years prior to that. The complaint reads, “She did not declare the conflict of interest given that she owned a private dwelling that needed repairs as stated in the article.”
Another complaint cited the fact that the city invoked emergency powers that were not normally available to private landlords, who must use the Residential Tenancy Act to get rid of unwanted tenants. The complainant wrote:
The West Avenue North property was a residential rental unit occupied by Mr. Ben Leonetti, who had been living in the home for many years. As such, the relationship between the owner an occupant was governed by the RTA, and any termination of tenancy, eviction, or displacement of the tenant was required to follow the exclusive jurisdiction and procedural framework of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).
Under the RTA, where a landlord seeks to terminate a tenancy due to demolition, conversion, or extensive repairs, the prescribed legal mechanism is an N13 Notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord Wants to Demolish the Rental Unit, Repair it, or Convert it to Another Use, followed by an application and adjudication before the LTB. This process ensures due process, tenant protections, and independent adjudication.
Rather than pursuing the required RTA and LTB process, the matter was instead advanced through the municipal emergency enforcement powers, resulting in an attempted immediate eviction and demolition order. This approach effectively Bypassed the LTB, deprived the tenant of statutory protections, and sought to achieve through municipal authority what could not be lawfully achieved through provincial tenancy law.
Neither complaint has been adjudicated by the Integrity Commissioner.
