ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — As they sat in their living room over a bowl of soup and tea Tuesday morning, a senior couple who are residents of Buckmaster’s Circle said the electric space heater pointed toward them from the hall, one of three they were given by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corp., was their only source of heat for the past week.
“Right now, there’s no hot water, no heat,” the man said.
It was the first time the couple has been without heat and hot water in the 25 years they’ve been living there, they said.
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The Telegram confirmed the identity of the couple and agreed to grant them anonymity because they feared speaking out might jeopardize the security of their housing.
The couple said washing their clothes in cold water was no issue for them, but they were unable to take a shower or bath.
And they worry about the impact the electric space heaters will have on their light bill and worry the NLHC won’t cover that cost.
“We turn it off, and when it gets nippy, we’ll turn it on for a little bit,” the woman said.
The past week has felt like the “olden days,” the woman said.
“That’s what keeps me going. I’m thinking, OK, I’ve been through it as a child. … I survived it back then, we can survive a week.”
"I’m thinking, OK, I’ve been through it as a child. … I survived it back then, we can survive a week.” — Resident
The couple are tenants of a row of 11 housing units owned by the NLHC. All of the tenants had been without heat and hot water since last Tuesday, when a furnace that services the row of houses broke down. The houses run on a hot water radiation system.
A statement from NLHC said after being notified around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, it was determined parts for the furnace would have to be ordered.
By 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, the furnace had been fixed and the heat and hot water restored, the statement from NLHC said.
The Telegram called the couple, and they confirmed their heat and hot water had been restored.
Jim Dinn, who has represented St. John’s Centre as MHA since 2019 and is currently seeking re-election, was told about the problem by a teacher of a student who lives in the area.
“(The teacher) called out of concern because the students weren’t able to come to school,” he said. “They’ve been given space heaters, which sounds adequate, but to me that’s adequate in the spring, in the fall of the year when the temperatures are still reasonable, or the summer for that matter, but in the dead of winter, and we’ve had some minus five, minus six-degree temperatures, I think that’s really unacceptable.”
Dinn said housing availability and maintenance is one of the issues he has heard about most while representing St. John’s Centre, but residents are often concerned about going public.
“People have called about mould, water damage that hasn’t been repaired. I was talking to a tenant a short while ago that’s been waiting three years to have a floor repaired,” he said. “I can’t fault the staff because I think they’re trying to live within the budget they’ve been provided, but all I can tell you is that I think government definitely needs to be looking at investing more money into the maintenance so that people have acceptable living conditions.”
Dinn said tenants should have been offered alternative accomodations such as an extended stay at a hotel while the furnace was being fixed.
