50 Laurier - Ottawa, Ontario

Caiyi W.

I'm certain all the long reviews about this apartment are true. This place is simply not suitable for human living. Renovations happen way too frequently, and the property management company seems to spend endless hours doing "who knows what." If you make a maintenance request for your apartment, you'll likely have to wait at least a month before there's even a chance it'll be addressed.
During my time living here, l've barely had a single quiet month. Starting at 8:30 in the morning and sometimes going until 5:30 in the evening, the renovations take priority over everything. No one seems to care if the residents actually need a peaceful living environment.
I'm going to share my experience with all my friends and classmates to let them know what it's really like living here. I hope this helps anyone reading this.
Stay away from this place 😅

Baljit N.

I used to love living at 50 Laurier Ave east when it was owned by QuadReal. I have lived here since 2016 and it used to be an amazing place to live with great staff and very safe. Since, it has been bought by homestead the quality has rapidly declined. Since they got rid of security, thefts have started in the building and the upper management don’t seem to care. I think the ground staff in the building Reza and Gary are doing the best but the upper management responsible for making the major decisions don’t seem to care at all about the well being of residents in the building.

Only come to live at 50 Laurier Ave East if you are okay

1) Non stop drilling - they have made the building into a construction zone with little regard that people actually live her - the worst place for students that actually need a quiet place to study or professionals that need to work from home

2) It taking about a month for things to get fixed or replaced in your apartment

3) you are okay with things being stolen

丁浩楠

尽管这个公寓位置不错，但是自从Homestead接手这个公寓之后变得越来越糟糕了。绝大部分白天的时段都能听到装修的声音。公寓内的地毯十分老旧并看起来缺乏清理。他们取消了24/7的安保值班，并且有无家可归者被发现在大楼的公用设施内过夜并且发生了丢失快递的事情。能跑抓紧跑吧

Nichole A. I. F.

Do not recommend. Homestead bought the building in late 2023 and it’s been on steep decline since then. Previous management was amazing and attentive and I used to recommend 50 Laurier to many. Now, quite the opposite.

There’s been on and off construction for almost a year now, with little to no warning. I have a hard time studying/working from home during the day… sometimes it’s on weekends and very early in the morning. Unbearable…

They don’t give sufficient warning for other notices and sporadically post papers in the elevators and elsewhere. I never know what’s next…

They instituted a “package locker system” but packages are often haphazardly placed in the lobby. So much for a safe package system.

Overall, avoid.

All the previous reviews about Suzanne and great management were prior to Homestead’s take over. The good old days are gone forever.

David T.

THEY TURN OFF YOUR HEAT IN THE WINTER!!

Been here thick and thin since 2009. Not a single month in that time have I once been late or short with rent, I've been a model tenant. Used to be amazing living here, until Homestead took over.

The front office is never open, they cower in there behind a locked door, terrified to talk to anyone. Wish I could get away with that behaviour at my own job. They don't reply to emails, don't answer the phone, don't reply to voicemails. Good luck if you ever need to get in touch with them. I recently had to let a FedEx delivery guy into the building as I was walking in, and he was complaining that no one in the office answers the phone anymore, so it's not just me! Homestead sucks!

They turned off my heat this winter, I'm about to report them when I'm done writing this.

Deafening noise from unit renos has been ongoing since Homestead took over in Oct 2023, non-stop and no sign of finishing.

There's no security anymore, and homeless people are sleeping in the building. If I order anything online, I make sure to have it delivered somewhere else and go collect it, since Homestead eagerly allows packages to be stolen and residents to be robbed. Everytime I get back, I sweep my apartment looking for squatters. Do you want to live like this? Stay far away from this property and anything "managed" by Homestead.

TL;DR Anything Homestead Is terrible and if you have the option, please stay away from any properties they "manage".

EDIT: Just for laughs, I checked Homestead's site about 50 Laurier and it says (as of Jan 25, 2025): "A variety of Ottawa's public bus routes—#5, 16, 85, 95, 97, and 98—conveniently pass by." Most of those routes haven't existed since the LRT went into service in 2019.

Zaheed K.

TL;DR: DO NOT RENT HERE!!! SECURITY ISSUES! @Homestead, do better.

I moved in to 50 Laurier in 2021 when Quadreal owned the building and had a fantastic experience living here for 2 years. Then, in late 2023, Homestead bought the building.

To cut costs, they have removed every single aspect of the building that made it a nice place to live. There is no more security, where there used to be an attendant 24/7; they have reduced hours for the amenities (e.g. pool and saunas); the lobby furniture has gone missing from several floors (I asked about this and they said they would "look into it" - this was 4 months ago, still no return).

On top of removing the nice things, they have actively made things worse. The new parcel delivery system simply does not work, and packages are regularly left sitting out in the lobby (see photo below) which might not be a big issue if there were still security. There is REGULAR construction from 9am-7pm, sometimes on Friday evenings and weekends, with no warning.

Finally, the management and other staff is terrible. Once again to cut costs, Homestead removed all of the staff that had been around for years and knew how to do their jobs well, and replaced them with a skeleton crew of workers who don't really know what they're doing. Their communication is atrocious - my emails regularly go without response and there is VERY rarely anyone in the office to speak to. They still owe me money from an account error that they made a year ago. The cleaning staff is sub-par and mostly absent, so elevators constantly are dirty and have a strange smell.
If I could, I would give them 0 stars for service.

Other aspects to consider:
- Because it was built as a hotel, the walls are actually pretty thick, which means sound isolation in units is quite good (this is one thing Homestead actually can't mess up).
- The area is pretty nice and close to the mall, but a little noisy at times and underserved by grocery stores. However, it can be an unsafe area and Homestead is not taking the necessary steps to make the building secure.
- It is pretty close to the LRT line, which is nice.

EDIT: came back to add that building staff informed me there was a recent incident where a suspected homeless person entered the building, stole many of the packages that are left lying around, and ran out. Others have been found stealing cushions from patio furniture and sleeping in the stairwell. I have personally seen homeless people going through the bins in the garage, where it is possible to enter the rest of the building.

This is now a security issue, and homestead does not care. Do not rent here.

Mohammad H. A.

They have reduced pool hours until 8 pm which is hilarious. Many of the residents cannot use the pool simply because it closes early. And they've removed 24/7 security which is devastating.

Michael M.

I stayed in their guest 2 bedroom suite 2 years ago and was impressed by everything but the management. Cut to now, i am visiting again and there has been a noticable decline in amenities and services. Packages are left on a table by the elevators. There is no 24/7 concierge service anymore. One of the food retailers has left the building, with no replacement. We arrived when they were replacing sidewalk stones directly in front of the main doors, but I didn't see any notices for the work or notices about alternatives to using the front doors. Apparently someone was coming to see a soon to be vacated unit, so they vacuumed that hallway floor for the first time since they took over. We didn't stay in the guest suite because Homestead took it over for their use and made a small one bedroom the new guest suite. I preferred to sleep on an air mattress for this stay. Overall, the vibe is not a happy place and there is a lack of luxury, compared to my first visit. The little man who seems to be in charge now is NOT welcoming at all... he doesn't even acknowledge your presence, as if he's better than everyone. Next time I will stay in a hotel.