Hamilton landlord owes $27M, loses control over building where tenants faced water shut-off for 3 months

A Hamilton apartment building where tenants had no access to running water for three months in 2023 is now in the hands of a court-appointed firm as the landlord faces possible bankruptcy. 

Dylan Suitor has failed to pay back about $27 million in bank and private loans he used to buy and renovate the 63-unit building at 1083 Main St. E. in 2021, according to applications and affidavits filed by lenders in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last fall. 

The renovations have yet to be completed and Suitor has run out of money to finish "winterization efforts to preserve and protect the property," Equitable Bank, which gave Suitor a $17-million mortgage in 2021, says in a court document.

On Dec. 10, a judge ordered MNP Ltd. to take over managing the property — which is now called The Deltonia Building — and completing the work so it can be sold to recoup as much money as possible.

It's the latest controversy involving Suitor, who, along with three other Ontario landlords, faced civil action for alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars in a case that doesn't involve 1083 Main St. E. 

David Galvin, a tenant who moved into his unit at 1083 Main St. E. years before Suitor bought it, successfully fought Suitor's attempt to evict him in a case that went before the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board in 2023.

He told CBC Hamilton in an interview that he doesn't hold any bitterness towards his former landlord, but is glad MNP is taking over managing and wrapping up renovations, which have been years in the works. 

"I feel a bit of a relief that Dylan Suitor is not in charge of the building because he's quite capricious and unpredictable in his behaviour," said Galvin. 

"We never really knew his ultimate plans for the building." 

He isn't sure how many tenants live in the building, but said he has noticed in recent months that more have moved into newly renovated units. 

Building bought on $10M in borrowed money

Suitor bought the building across from Gage Park in Hamilton's lower east end using $10 million borrowed from the family trust of the late Leonard Stuart — Emmy-winning co-owner of comedy club Second City — and the Equitable Bank mortgage, according to financial documents filed with the court.

In June 2024, the loan was transferred to a Cayman Islands-based company, Paradise Media Ltd., run by Stuart's son, D'Arcy Stuart, said a loan agreement form. 

As tenants of 1083 Main St. E. moved out, Suitor kept the units empty for renovations while unsuccessfully attempting to evict the others, as previously reported by CBC Hamilton. 

The building made local headlines when tenants were left without running water for months. 

During construction in December 2022, a pipe was exposed to cold air and burst, leading to Suitor shutting off water to the entire building, as described in city reports and emails later obtained by CBC Hamilton through a freedom-of-information request.

Suitor then appealed city orders to do the repairs, delaying the enforcement process, city staff previously confirmed to CBC Hamilton. He also didn't provide tenants with adequate amounts of bottled water, which the city bought and had delivered at a cost of $22,000.

The building's water wasn't turned on again until the end of March 2023. 

Neither Suitor nor his lawyers responded to emailed requests for comment this week. They didn't file statements of defence in response to Paradise Media's and Equitable Bank's receivership application. 

Paradise Media lawyers declined to answer questions about why the Stuart family invested in the property, whether they knew about the water shut-off in 2023 and why the loan was transferred to Paradise Media earlier this year.

Instead, they directed CBC Hamilton to MNP. 

MNP vice-president Jerry Henechowicz said while he can't speak to what happened before these court proceedings, "certainly a lot of work needs to be done" before the building is ready to sell.

Suitor among landlords in misappropriation case

Corporations tied to Suitor and three other landlords are embroiled in ongoing civil court proceedings after they failed to pay back hundreds of investors $144 million, according to lenders' applications and affidavits filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last year.

Investors said they'd been promised their money would be used to buy and fix hundreds of rental properties across Ontario to turn a profit.

But a court-appointed monitor, a third-party firm that's now in control of the corporations, investigated and determined they'd "misappropriated" millions of dollars for "extravagant" expenses. Meanwhile, in Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, many of the rental properties sat vacant, and utility bills, property taxes and contractors went unpaid.

The monitor has since sold off nearly all their properties to pay back investors and other outstanding bills. 

"Nothing is ordinary about the circumstances of the … proceedings," Justice Peter Osborne, who accepted the monitor's findings, wrote in an October order. "Significant questions about the whereabouts of millions of dollars belonging to investors remain unanswered." 

The landlords have disputed the monitor's findings, arguing in court they'd worked hard to renovate their properties to try to sell and recoup investors' funds. Their lawyer told CBC Hamilton last June the monitor's conclusion was "deeply inaccurate." 

Now, stemming from those proceedings, Suitor, a real estate agent, faces other lawsuits involving 16 other corporations he controls, including 1083 Main St. E.

Court-appointed receiver believes Suitor 'insolvent'

Another court-appointed receiver, The Fuller Landau Group Inc., has applied to the court to force Suitor into bankruptcy.

Fuller is attempting to get back money for people who invested in corporations run by Suitor and the three other landlords through a local firm called Lion's Share, which itself declared bankruptcy last spring.    

"[Fuller] believes Mr. Suitor is an insolvent person," it said in its application. 

"The record establishes a concerning recent history of dealings by Mr. Suitor with a complex web of related companies and their assets and creditors, a fundamental failure to implement standard internal controls, and risk to the interests of creditors of various estates." 

Suitor's position, according to Osborne's order, which sides with Fuller, is he's not personally responsible for the loans used to fund his corporations and shouldn't be made to pay them back from his other assets.

Suitor also said through court filings that he has been working to sell off other properties and come to agreements with banks to pay back investors. 

But Osborne determined Fuller is "likely to succeed" in the bankruptcy order against Suitor, given he owes tens of millions of dollars and in many instances signed as personal guarantor for the loans. 

Fuller's claims for why Suitor should be forced into bankruptcy haven't yet been tested in court. 

The judge ordered yet another firm to act as receiver to oversee and protect Suitor's other properties, bank accounts and corporations — including 1083 Main St. E. 

"I am satisfied that there is an immediate need for protection of [Suitor's] estate due to the grave danger that assets will disappear, or the estate is otherwise in jeopardy," Osborne wrote.

Landlord gave real estate advice on social media

As these proceedings played out, Suitor was giving investment real estate advice on YouTube, with videos posted as recently as November. 

When describing how to make a profit off of a three-storey apartment building, Suitor said he and his partners buy, renovate and refinance it to pay back their investor, and then "pull another million dollars of equity … that we're going to be able to put in our pockets and invest in something else." 

"My passion is sharing that information ... and turning more of those buildings over," Suitor said. 

That same month, Suitor's investors for 1083 Main St. E. had turned to the courts as he failed to repay them, Paradise Media said in its application. 

Paradise Media successfully argued MNP should take over the building, as Suitor hadn't responded to its formal demands to pay back the $10-million loan. 

Facing bankruptcy proceedings, Suitor is no longer in a position to "direct the day-to-day activities" of the building, including construction, "which is in a critical stage," said Paradise Media's court filings.  

Galvin said his biggest concern is MNP may end up selling the building to a new owner who will try to evict him all over again.

But that process, he said, will likely take years and he's ready to let it all play out.