The property is at 38 Kensington Pl., in the heart of the market.

A suspected ghost hotel in Kensington Market has been shut down after city inspectors found that renovations were done without permits.

"It's a ghost town. There is no one there," said Tara Boire, who still lives in the building, with a roommate. "Our street has always been quite quiet and we like it that way, but there was always traffic."

Now the tourist traffic has ceased. The halls are quiet and most of the units are dark, the shades drawn.

The graffiti-covered building was once home to a community of artists and students who rented one of six, three-storey units. After a new owner took over in 2016, most of the tenants moved out and empty units were briefly transformed into an illegal temporary hotel.

The Star visited one of the Airbnb units in June, a tidy two-room apartment with a kitchen and advertised as sleeping up to four for $127 a night, plus $65 cleaning and $24 service fees, for a total of $216.

Tourists were lured by "art and famous graffiti artists everywhere" in an area known for food, music, second-hand clothing and bohemian charm.

Renters did clear out of five large apartments, which were then renovated or made into tiny rental units. At least nine of those new units were posted on home-sharing site Airbnb .

The building was sold to Claude Bitton in 2016 and former tenants allege that shortly after the purchase Bitton and his staff used illegal rent hikes and intimidation tactics to get people to move out.

After the city came in, Boire and her roommate were sent an email on behalf of the building's owner claiming city staff wanted the entire building cleared and they had to move out.

Now, after city inspectors identified health and safety issues, the makeshift hotel has closed its doors.

The Airbnb account was suspended by the company after the Star reported how the space was being used and that past tenants had claimed they had been pressured to leave.

A city staff member told the Star the apartment rented by Boire was not listed on the city order.

Paralegal Peter Balatidis, who represents Bitton, would not comment on the inspection orders, or the email sent to Boire and her roommate.

"My clients are not available at this time and I do not have authorization to comment at this time," Balatidis wrote in an email in late September. He requested the documents the Star was referring to and then did not respond to additional requests for comment.

Bitton, in 2016, told the Star he was seeking fair market rent and it was his staff who were being intimidated by tenants.

Proposed regulations around the use of short-term rentals are being debated at city hall later this year. Included in that draft is a rule that people can only offer up Airbnb rentals in properties where they are the principal resident.

Housing advocates want rules that block landlords from transforming low-cost rental spaces into what are effectively hotels in the midst of a low vacancy crisis.

In late August, city inspectors went in determined that as a result of the renovations, including in the unit the Star toured, parts of 38 Kensington Pl. was "hazardous to the health and safety of persons in the normal use of the building," according to a city order posted on the main door of the building.

Among the health and safety concerns; no access to proper or enough exits, or emergency lighting and exit signs.

The owner also did not have the permits required to prove the fire alarm system and sprinklers met city standards, or could confirm the materials used as fire insulation were appropriate, according to the order.

The city order stated that construction and any unauthorized use of the property must cease, the units must be returned to their previous form and permits must be obtained for future work, or inspections conducted to determine if work was done properly.

Boire has lived for five years at 38 Kensington Pl. and until the inspections said she never felt pressured to move out.

"It has all the modern amenities and obviously the location is to die for. The reasonable rent comes with living with other people, but it's a sacrifice that works for me."

Three days after the city issued its order, Boire and her roommate were sent an email on behalf of the building owner.

"As you probably know by now, the city has posted two urgent comply orders. We cannot ignore them," the author wrote in the email reviewed by the Star.

"As per the notice, the building must be vacant, therefore, we need to ask you to remove your belongings and move out of this property as soon as possible. Please note, this is beyond our control."

Boire said after a lawyer quickly responded in writing, on her and her roommate's behalf,