A community of homeless people has set up a tent city on polluted Toronto port lands.

The City of Toronto says the land is contaminated with benzene, and it wants the people to move off the land.

But the homeless say they're fed up with the lack of affordable housing in the city, so they'll build it themselves.

"Most of the people here are fed up with the hostel system. They don't want to put up with the rules and regulations. They want to live their own lives," Hazel Jackson, a former tent city resident, said.

"Like this, I'm able to survive, but I'm not able to pay $500 to $600 dollars a month rent," tent city resident Karl Schmidt said.

The residents of the tent city say they are willing to put up with any health risks just to have a place to call home.

"The guy beside me hadn't taken a bath in three weeks. And right now, to me, that's filthier than this damn ground here," another tent city resident, Tom Gold, said.