Alberta Health Services (AHS) has issued an enforcement order against a Banff home after an inspection found up to 42 people inside the property.
AHS released details of the home, located at 321 Esquirol Street, on its public website and said the facility’s maximum number of occupants “was exceeded.”
“Maximum occupancy of 16 people exceeded. A total of 42 beds and/or mattresses were accounted for in the facility,” the order says.
In addition, the health inspector found other problems such as holes in the walls of the home, dirty and leaky faucets that needed maintenance, and a basement home that had no windows.
The enforcement order says the occupation situation inside the house violates Alberta’s minimum housing and health standards.
As a result, AHS ordered the property owners to make changes to the interior of the home, specifically to address the extreme number of beds.
“Take the bed out of the windowless basement room,” AHS said.
“Remove extra beds/mattresses so that no more than 16 tenants are accommodated and thereafter maintain a maximum of 16 tenants.”
BANFF’S STRUGGLE WITH SIMILAR HOUSING
According to Banff town officials, the mountain community has faced housing challenges for decades, fueled in part by a near-zero vacancy rate in rental accommodation.
An affordable housing complex, located on Coyote Lane, opened in 2018 and was jointly funded by the city and the provincial government.
Karen Sorensen, who was Banff’s mayor at the time, said a large proportion of the community’s population is under 35, while its median income is below the Alberta average.
“We have a great need to accommodate people in an affordable way. We depend a lot on a younger generation to operate the city,” he said during the grand opening of this facility.
“It’s the people who work in the tourism industry. We have to make sure everyone is comfortable.”
CTV News has reached out to Banff’s current mayor for comment on the situation and will update this story when those details become available.
(With files from Kevin Fleming)