Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath suing to evict ex, demolish run-down home
· Toronto Sun
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath has taken her own city and former common-law partner to court over a rental home in danger of collapsing.
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The City of Hamilton has ordered the Mayor to repair the property by the beginning of May. However, Horwath claims her ex-partner, Ben Leonetti, has thwarted her efforts to make timely fixes.
“Mr. Leonetti has been obstructing access to the property since … October of 2018,” Horwath said in her claim, according to Ontario Superior Court documents obtained by the National Post .
The case is before the Ontario Superior Court and not the Landlord and Tenant Board, which would normally resolve rental disputes.
Horwath owns home, ex rents
Court documents say Horwath, who is listed as the sole owner of the property, allowed Leonetti, currently the only occupant, to live in a unit of the home located at 76 West Ave. N. after they separated in 2010.
At the time of their separation, Horwath granted Leonetti “exclusive possession and tenancy” of a unit in the house and agreed to pay him $2,500 a month in spousal support. Rent was set at $350 but later increased to $450.
During a hearing Tuesday, Leonetti’s lawyer said his client has made a claim for an “ownership interest” in family court in a separate legal matter, which would not make him a tenant.
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City ordered repairs
On Jan. 21, an order from the city’s property standards office required Horwath and Leonetti to make repairs to the property. That followed a December 2025 request from Hamilton’s chief building official to “immediately undertake emergency repairs or to demolish the property,” her court application states.
Horwath is seeking to demolish the property, which she noted would cost approximately $30,000, instead of undergoing repairs, which is estimated at minimum $131,000 and would only address the outside structure.
Following an assessment to have the entire home repaired and brought up to code, the cost would run up to $300,000, Horwath said in the affidavit.
“Repairing the Subject Property will be extremely prejudicial to my financial interests,” Horwath stated in her Superior Court application, reports The Public Record .
Extensive damage to home
The 125-year-old semi-detached home was found to have a damaged pipe in the basement that was emitting sewer gas as well as a faltering load-bearing wall, a forensic engineering assessment noted in December.
In addition, the report also found a deck was compromised and may suddenly collapse.
In January, property standards noted repairs were needed for a dozen issues, including the roof as ceilings had visible water damage, a broken window, and a cracked foundation wall.
Horwath said in her claim that she is unsure whether Leonetti will voluntarily leave the home so that it can be demolished as she and the couple’s son “were extremely concerned for (Leonetti’s) well-being” because his physical health “had deteriorated significantly and he frequently presented as paranoid, accusatory and suffering from cognitive decline.”
In a separate civil suit against Leonetti, Horwath is asking for $300,000 in damages for breaching the terms of their Oct. 31, 2010, separation agreement as well as $1 million for “punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages.”
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Mayor ‘suffered loss and damages’
“As a direct result of (Leonetti’s) breaches of the implied terms of the separation agreement, (Horwath) has suffered loss and damages,” the claim states. It noted Leonetti is required to look after the “cost of repairing the property to restore it to its prior condition.”
The court filing claimed Leonetti’s “conduct was high-handed, outrageous, reckless and wanton,” alleging he “subsequently engaged in a pattern of harassment, resulting in criminal charges being laid against him and the issuance of (an order not to contact Horwath) in November 2018.”
In December 2023, a court granted Horwath access to the home where she “discovered that (Leonetti) had caused extensive damage to the property.”
Horwath’s claim stated the home’s poor condition “arose from neglect, intentional conduct, and from failure to maintain the property in a reasonable manner.”
Leonetti’s lawyer said a defence in both cases has not been filed.
The judge adjourned the case to late April, which could see the Mayor drop the suit against the city involving the legal battle with her ex.
The allegations have not been proven in court.