Tom (Thomas) Falus
Tom Falus is the father of Robert Falus. The father-son duo run Brownstones in Davenport Village (The Brownstone Group of Companies Inc.) that Tom started in 1969. He is the Director of Fuse Development Corporation and Neudorfer Corporation. Tom also owns several buildings, such as the Standard Residences and Lofts, and the Westbury Rentals located at Lansdowne and Dupont.
Robert Falus
Robert Falus is the son of Tom Falus. He graduated from York University. In addition to the development company that he runs with his father, he also owns Artis Alarms. His wife is Yulia Roberts.
[Pictured: Left - Falus standing from his mansion looking down at a group of tenants who hand-delivered a demand letter to his door after months of being met with indifference and inaction. Right - Robert Falus.]
In 2002, Tom Falus bought 17 acres of land just north of Dupont and Lansdowne. Since then, he has been building commercial and residential developments in the area.
“We see ourselves at the front end of a gentrification process,” says Ross McKerron, a spokesman for Neudorfer.
Tenants Demand No Covid Evictions from the Falus Family
Tenants from Tom and Robert Falus’ buildings showed up at Tom’s mansion to hand-deliver a letter demanding he meet with his tenants to negotiate a reasonable plan that ensured their neighbours stay in their homes.
Throughout the pandemic, Tom has been threatening families who have faced job-loss due to COVID-19 with eviction. However, his tenants are prepared to defend one another to ensure that no sheriff drags out these families onto the street, in the cold, in the middle of a pandemic.
Tom Falus initially called the police instead of accepting the letter, cowering in his mansion. In the end, he accepted the letter from his tenants.
"This developer has lots of cash.
They've had a large number of very successful projects in this area and (Tom) bought the land at far less than even today's reduced prices. So he's in a great situation. Basically, he's working with his profits,” says Tom’s business associate and realtor Sam Moses. Clearly, their company’s development success allows for the Falus family to offer rent relief to struggling tenants at risk of homelessness.
On November 16th, tenants went to Tom Falus’ business office to deliver a petition signed by over two hundred of Falus’ tenants in support of the families he has been trying to evict. Again, he refused to talk to them and hid in the washroom.
On November 23, the Falus’ tenants and supporters visited him at his business office to demand a meeting with Tom Falus, as families in Standard Lofts were to have eviction hearings in the coming days.
Instead of facing his tenants, Falus called the cops for protection. Police called back-up upon back-up as tenants refused to leave without a commitment to a meeting from Tom Falus.
Officers privately met with Falus’ inside and told tenants outside that their landlord wanted them to contact property management, which tenants have been doing for 8 months to no avail, and why they have taken it to Tom Falus’ front door and business office. Police threatened and assaulted tenants at Falus’ beck and call.
In The News
Multiple families fighting against eviction from Toronto apartment complex
“As many Toronto residents continue to struggle financially due to lost income as a result of the pandemic, mass evictions have been taking place across the city — and tenants are consistently being pushed out of their homes with nowhere else to go. "They certainly didn't waste any time in going after tenants who were being affected by the lockdown," said Simon Esler, a father of two young children and one of the tenants facing eviction from Standard Lofts.
"You suddenly have to face the notion of homelessness with two children... It's totally unnecessary." “
