Lachine condo residents file lawsuit after 2 floods force them from their homes

Residents of a Lachine condo building say they haven't been able to return to their homes for nearly two years.

Residents of a Lachine condo building are filing a class action lawsuit after they say they haven’t been able to return to their homes for nearly two years because of two floods.

The first hit in July 2023, when a massive rainstorm caused the sewer system to overflow.

A river of water rushed from the street level into the building’s parking lot, breaking through the garage doors and flooding 12 basement apartments.

Residents Ryan Handfield and Alexandra Peters say five feet of water filled their apartment, giving them only a few moments to collect their personal items, including their dog.

“It’s the things that you have for your whole life that you’re attached to, and they’re just irreplaceable,” said Peters.

For the next 13 months, the couple lived with Handfield’s parents.

Then, on the day repairs were completed in 2024, another flood hit their building.

“I got the text at 2 p.m. that day that it [the repairs] was done, and 7 p.m. it was flooded,” said Handfield.

The couple says they’ve now been out of their home for nearly two years, and are still paying close to $2,000 a month in mortgage, condo fees, taxes and insurance.

Another homeowner, Stephane Groulx, tells CTV News he has owned his basement unit since 2012, adding that there was also a flood in 2019.

He tried to sell his condo last summer, but couldn’t find a buyer.

“The water goes all the way up to a certain level where there are some electrical equipment,” he said. “It’s very dangerous for electrocution, and the firefighter told us it was almost a miracle that nobody died on that day.”

He says his insurance company is refusing to pay for repairs until the building is protected from future floods.

The solution the building’s syndicate has come up with is a wall with a watertight gate at street level, which would prevent the parking lot from filling up.

“The total project is estimated at $800,000,” said Groulx.

Residents of the building argue the city should take ownership of the problem, as it sits at a low point in Lachine.

A 2012 report found that the sewer system does not have enough capacity to handle all the development in the area.

“There was a lot of green area here in 2012,” said Groulx. “It’s all been paved.”

Last month, the condo syndicate asked Quebec Superior Court to authorize a class action lawsuit against the city.

Lachine Mayor Maja Vodanovic, who is also responsible for Montreal’s water system, says the building would not have received permits under current regulations.

“Now, we have a map of all the little points throughout the island, and we systematically look at the map before we give out permits,” said Vodanovic.

She would not comment on the specifics of the case, but insisted the city is not responsible for damages caused by historic floods.

“No one expected that we would be getting rains that are one in 100 years, one in 1,000 years, every year now,” said Vodanovic.

She says the city will issue permits for the new waterproofing gate next month.

In the meantime, residents say they’re still in limbo, with their homes and financial futures uncertain.