A relatively newly-built residential complex in Toronto is apparently gunning for the title of worst building in the city, with new problems compounding years-old pains.

Though many locals are familiar with the woes of those living in the notorious ICE Condos, fewer may know about Dundas Square Gardens, a 50-storey tower at 251 Jarvis Street that appears to have similar issues.

During some of the coldest weather of the season this month, DSG residents are allegedly dealing with rolling heat outages and other HVAC issues, with some telling CityNews last week that they're relying on space heaters and even ovens for warmth while their furnaces have been in and out of service.

This is on top of problems with the hot water, fixtures, fire alarms, security and more that tenants have long been complaining about despite the building only being around for about five years.

A few have jumped onto platforms like Reddit to criticize Dundas Square, its developer and management.

A resident who authored one post from 2022, titled "my building's worse than Toronto Ice Condos," claimed they had dealt with no hot water for six months, alongside incessant fire alarms (of up to four times in a week), strangers sheltering in stairwells and other areas of the building, sky-high utility bills that made no sense for their unit size, and break-ins and malfunctioning locks, among other things.

More recently, one local realtor called the building the worst in Toronto, saying that on top of some of the above concerns, "the finishes, the layouts... everything is so bad" — though people have had these types of complaints for all sorts of newer residential buildings across the city.

My family refuses to visit my condo because of elevator going into freefall…so yeah, this place can shove it

— Blindwillie (@Blindwillie4) February 11, 2024

Out of 86 Google reviews, Dundas Square Gardens has a 2.5-star rating on Google as of January 29. The second-most recent review, hilariously but quite worryingly, advises prospective tenants only to "move here if you hate yourself and want to suffer."

It cites additional troubles to the ones above, ranging from elevators going out of service nearly every day and trouble getting packages to "poor electrical work with no resolutions" and "an annoying pool booking system."

One from this week, also giving the building just one star, simply says, "no heat in the unit."

Recent one-star Google reviews of Dundas Square Gardens, some tenants of which say has had rolling heating outages this month.

But, as quickly as some may be to point the finger at current management, a representative speaking on behalf of the building says that responsibility for many of these matters lies with unit owners.

"It's important to clarify that DSG is a multi-residential condominium property, not a single-owner apartment rental building. Neither DSG nor its management company are the landlords of any residential units within the building. While some units at DSG are owner-occupied, the majority are tenanted, with some of these units owned by out-of-country landlords," they told blogTO over email Tuesday.

"As a condominium building, the unit owners at DSG are responsible for maintaining and repairing their individual units, while DSG is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all common areas."

They also added that common areas and all elements therein are protected under Tarion warranties, which those in charge have been pursuing coverage for when relevant.

Also, that DSG team has been "diligently working to address and resolve all common-element building issues as they arise."

But, they reiterate, "it is also important for individual unit owners to maintain and repair all components of their residential units and allow DSG access to their units, upon advance written notice, to investigate and rectify any en-suite issues related to the common elements. Residents with concerns regarding their units are encouraged to contact their landlords and/or Tarion for assistance."

Regarding the heating issue in particular, they state that no units have ever been left completely without heat, thanks to "backup systems and protocols" for the issues.

One Reddit post from a tenant who has since moved out of the building describes a laundry list of tribulations they faced while living there.

Others who have experienced or heard of the DSG's mishaps, such as commenters on the Reddit post mentioned above, place the largest burden of blame on developer The Gupta Group for what they deem to be "mediocre developments that cram too many small units into a floor plate" and generally "bad building."

The firm has not yet responded to a request for comment on its 251 Jarvis project.