A Superior Court Justice has invalidated an emergency demolition order issued by Chief Building Official Robert Lalli, after ruling the City of Hamilton failed to conduct its own legally required inspection of a semi-detached dwelling, which is owned by Mayor Andrea Horwath.
The Emergency Order issued by the City required the immediate removal of the occupant, and the immediate demolition of the property on West Avenue North.
The property is owned by Horwath and occupied by her former common-law partner, Ben Leonetti.
The City of Hamilton sought a Superior Court injunction directing the Sheriff and the Hamilton Police Service to assist the City in removing Leonetti.
Justice John Krawchenko ruled that Lalli’s reliance on a private engineering report commissioned by Horwath did not satisfy the requirements of the Building Code Act (BCA) because the City failed to conduct its own independent inspection before ordering the demolition.
“The Act does not contemplate a private party such as Kalos or its engineer assuming the role of a municipal inspector,” Justice Krawchenko ruled.
The Emergency Order
The dispute centres on an order issued by Chief Building Official Lalli on December 3, 2025. Lalli invoked Section 15.10 of the Building Code Act [BCA] to demand Leonetti vacate the premises immediately and to authorize the demolition of the semi-detached home.
The order was sought after the registered owner of the property, Horwath [as a private citizen and in her personal capacity], hired a professional engineer to assess the West Avenue North residence.
In his November 28, 2025 report, Professional Engineer JP Campana of Kalos Engineering Inc. deemed the home “structurally unsound,” “not suitable for human occupancy,” and recommended “the house be vacated immediately,” adding the situation was serious enough that the retrieval of personal items from the house should only occur “with a strategic plan complete with the supervision of the structure during this process by an engineer.”
In the cover letter, addressed to Horwath at her personal residence, Campana wrote, “this report should be forwarded to the City of Hamilton Chief Building Official, immediately.”
City of Hamilton Chief Building Official’s Response
In an affidavit, Chief Building Official Lalli said he received the report on the same day, “pursuant to section 72(2)(c) of O. Reg 941 under the Professional Engineers Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.28, which requires professional engineers to report a situation which they believe may endanger the safety or the welfare of the public.”
Lalli described the contents of the report as “extremely concerning” and wrote he spoke with Campana on November 29, December 1, and December 3 “to obtain further details as to his observations.”
At 5:58 p.m. on December 3, Campana emailed Lalli and wrote that as a professional engineer, he was “very concerned about the condition of the roof structure should we receive a significant snow fall” and that “there is a great risk of a roof collapse/failure with additional snow loading and the compromised roof structure.”
“We recommend the house be vacated immediately and demolished to ensure the safety of the current tenant as well as the public adjacent to the subject structure.”
Lalli dispatched two City building inspectors to the property. He said “the Inspectors were denied entry” by Leonetti.
Later that evening, Lalli invoked his powers under the BCA to issue an Emergency Order requiring Leonetti leave the property and the structure be demolished.
At approximately 10:00 p.m. on December 3, City of Hamilton Building Inspector Kim Zanello hand delivered the order to Leonetti at the property.
The next morning, Inspector Alex Voronkov attended the property “in part to request compliance with the Emergency Order,” Lalli said.
Section 15.10 of the BCA requires the Chief Building Official to apply to the Superior Court to confirm the Emergency Order.
During the days leading up to the Emergency Order, Lalli’s affidavit states “staff from the Building Division and the City’s Housing Outreach program met with the Occupant and offered housing supports, which were refused.”
On Friday, December 5, the City of Hamilton filed its application to the Superior Court.
Superior Court Hearing
Over the course of three days of oral arguments, Superior Court Justice Krawchenko was told there is a long-standing dispute between Leonetti and Horwath and that Leonetti has ‘been living in the house for many years.’
Horwath and Leonetti were a common-law couple for 25 years, they separated in 2010.
At Monday’s first appearance hearing, Horwath’s counsel, James Brown stated his client supported the City’s motion and wished the Court to uphold the Emergency Motion. Brown told the Court that Horwath has full ownership of the building and denied any co-ownership of the property.
Leonetti, who was representing himself, told the Court he has lived in the property for many years, and that he has been provided with different opinions regarding the stability of the structure.
Justice Krawchenko acknowledged the personal conflict but focused his ruling on the procedural validity of the City’s actions.
“Nothing turns on this disagreement between the two respondents other than to show that they seem to have different strategic interests in relation to this problem,” he said.
Following the first day’s hearing, on Monday, Justice Krawchenko issued an endorsement that noted the City’s affidavit include “some apparent inconsistencies” regarding the “decision making process” and that the Court was concerned that no City inspector had inspected the structure.
The City was provided an opportunity to file additional exhibits.
Tuesday’s hearing was abbreviated because the counsel retained by Leonetti could not attend.
Justice Krawchenko rescheduled the matter to first thing Wednesday morning, ahead of the other matters on the docket.
Lawyer Ray Di Gregorio represented Leonetti during Wednesday’s hearing. He emphasized that his client is willing to cooperate with the City of Hamilton regarding the condition of the home in which he resides.
Wednesday’s hearing was short, less than 30 minutes, with Justice Krawchenko providing City of Hamilton lawyer Brandon Blackmore an opportunity to address the concerns articulated in Monday’s endorsement sheet.
Superior Court Rules City’s Emergency Order Invalid
Justice Krawchenko retired to his chambers, drafted his decision from the bench, and returned to the courtroom to read it.
He ruled the Building Code Act’s definition of “inspectors does not include private inspectors.”
The Act does not contemplate “a private party such as Kalos or its engineer” assuming the role of a municipal inspector.
“So, on the basis of the case and on the specific facts of this application, I find that the report from the respondent Horwath’s privately retained engineer, did not qualify as an inspection of the building by a building inspector [as per the BCA],” Justice Krawchenko said.
Concluding that the underlying basis for the order was flawed, he ruled it “would be inappropriate… to order enforcement of an invalid order which could result in the demolition of the subject property.”
Justice Encourages City to Work With Leonetti to Find Resolution
Having quashed the City’s emergency order, Justice Krawchenko encouraged the City of Hamilton to reach a mutually agreeable resolution to the dispute.
“[Leonetti] is willing to work with the [City] outside of this proceeding, and I hope that they do so,” Justice Krawchenko said.
Di Gregorio sought a costs award against the City of Hamilton. Justice Krawchenko denied the request, stating the matter needed to be dealt with and costs would not be appropriate in this instance.
His final words to the parties emphasized they need to reach resolution.
“My final comment about my hope that the parties can work through this issue is genuine. I mean, this is serious. This requires attention.”
Next Steps
Leonetti declined to comment through his counsel. Attempts to ask Horwath about the matter were unsuccessful. Mayor Horwath quickly left the Council Chamber at the conclusion of Wednesday’s Council meeting and did not hold her regular media availability.
Questions have been sent to the City Manager and the Chief Building Official on Wednesday. The questions include inquiries regarding what steps the City is taking to ensure the separation of this matter from Horwath’s role as Mayor and Chief Executive Officer of the City of Hamilton, if there are outstanding property standards orders, what next steps the CBO will take [the CBO can issue new orders or seek a warrant to enter house under Section 21 of the BCA], and other questions.
The City of Hamilton’s Director of Communications Heather Anderson stated the City is working to provide a response.
Production Details
v. 1.0.1
Published: December 11, 2025
Last updated: December 11, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.0.1 typographical
Joey, I think you meant 76 West Ave nit 78?
Yes. My apology regarding the image captions. Thank you for letting me know.