Tenants who won the right to return to their Sarnia apartment believe their fight isn't over

Tenants displaced from 14 geared-to-income apartments in February are relieved to be back, but still rattled by the fight they endured.

"It was surreal, getting here and going through this whole process,” said Jessica Latreille on Friday. She is one of the residents of 721 Earlscourt Dr. in Sarnia. “It's been almost six months since I’ve stepped foot in my house."

The tenants on the first and third floors of the three-storey walk-up were displaced after a fire in a second floor unit on February 19. They were told they couldn't return, even though their apartments didn't suffer damage.

They fought back with the help of Community Legal Assistance Sarnia.

Latreille, a student and a wait staff member at a local restaurant, said she couldn’t imagine having to find a new apartment, "I've been here for nine years, so I'm grandfathered in. I pay $600 a month all-inclusive. You will never find that again."

After a court injunction was ordered, the tenants were finally able to get back into their units on Thursday morning. An Ontario Enforcement Officer on hand to ensure they weren't denied entry.

While tenants of 14 apartments at 721 Earlscourt Dr., Sarnia, are now returning, work continues on other units. Some tenants have are giving up the fight to stay. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)

Matt Roberts is a member of the carpenters union in Sarnia. He shares custody of his four-year-old son and admitted the upheaval during the six-month battle wasn't easy, "It was very tough on him. It was weeks it took him to adjust to staying in my aunt’s house in Corruna."

Roberts said he worried about how additional economic pressures would affect his ability to provide for his son, "Since the fire, the cost of living has gone up, all around, at the grocery store, rent, everywhere. It's not like it was six months ago. Economically speaking.”

Doors on the second floor remain boarded up and the prospects for those renters returning is grim. Michael Whitstone lives in one of those units, but he has given up fighting for his right to return, "The other tenants were told they're not allowed back in, basically, we're not allowed back in. We're still waiting and, you know, kick rocks."

Whitstone is loading up his vehicle and heading to Alberta with his wife and months-old child. What he can't carry in his vehicle is going in the trash. He fought back tears talking about what he’s going through, "Because I come from a very bad background. To get what I had here took me years. So by throwing all my stuff out, it hurts."

Latreille and Roberts fear their battles with property owner EQB Limited may not be over.