01/15/2020
Without heat, a vacant building can over time accumulate problems related to frost heave, mould or animal damage, said Jochen Bezner, a Hamilton home inspector.
He pointed to leftover water freezing in pipes, animal or human break-ins that let in the rain and humidity in a building without heating or cooling that gradually contributes to mould.
"If the structural integrity is good, there should be no reason why you would have to demolish," he said. "But in an uninhabited, unmonitored building, little problems gradually become bigger problems."
Sixty empty buildings along transit corridor are being eyed for affordable housing, but landlord Metrolinx has worried about “public safety issues” at the long-vacant properties.
