Stayed here with my boyfriend during our spring break trip to Toronto during the March of 2013 and didn't have many issues with the place. We got off our bus at around 7am and shuffled over from the bus station, which is a walkable distance away, after our requisite coffee/tea stop. We didn't have a reservation and just sort of knocked and asked for a room. The lady didn't speak English, but my Mandarin is passable and she ended up getting us a room for $20 each, which isn't that bad given that the neighborhood was pretty conveniently located.
After that we just got settled and went out to explore. I think we were one of the only guests there because let's face it, who visits Toronto in March other than poor college kids who wanted to "get away" for spring break.
We didn't feel that the building was in disrepair or that the place was unsanitary at all. Although, that's not to say that this place didn't come with some cons. We were staying in the basement part of the house so it was SO FREAKING COLD I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE HOW COLD IT WAS. Because there was no way to turn up the heat in the room we just sort of camped out under layers of blankets when were actually in the room. Also, the wifi was a bit shoddy.
Honestly, for the price and location, I didn't feel like we did that badly.