Tenants living in the Magdalena apartment building in North Cowichan are facing eviction.
The developer, WestUrban Developments, is requesting to evict all residents to complete major renovations to the building.
“It’s been a nightmare since day one,” said Gordon Griffiths, who moved in the day the building opened in 2020.
On July 26, Griffiths received his notice from West Urban stating that the company was applying to the Residential Tenancies Division to proceed with the evictions.
“They have known for months that they were going to carry out a mass eviction. But they didn’t tell anybody,” Griffiths told CHEK News.
“We could have gone out looking for places.”
Tenants say problems began immediately with the new building, including flooding in many suites, cracks in walls and appliances that don’t work.
Siatecki’s apartment was no different.
“It looks great on the outside. It’s new. But it doesn’t matter if it’s new and it looks good if nothing works,” Siatecki said.
The problems, according to the tenants, start in the basement. The developer blocked the underground car park with little notice.
Tenant Carolyn Langley took a photo of the parking area that showed lots of support spots instead of cars.
“If you go down there you see all 13 sites,” Langley said.
Pete Robison said the water problems are not only in the apartments, but also in the hallways.
“We are the only ones who have not yet been affected. All the other suites have been leaking,” Robison explained.
North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring said the work must continue, but noted that tenants can stay until then.
“Once the reindeer start up, for example, they have to shut down the sprinkler system. Because part of the problem is the plumbing. And you can’t occupy a multi-unit building like this without a sprinkler system,” Siebring said.
If the Office of Residential Leasing approves the evictions, the tenants must vacate the building by April 1.
Luc Bender said tenants, including himself, are frustrated after months of problems.
“We have nowhere to go. Help us, do something. talk to us There is no manager here. There is no one to talk to. There is no maintenance. There is no one,” Bender said.
“I’ts horrible.”
With North Cowichan’s vacancy rate below one percent, the concern for renters is finding a new place to live.
WestUrban did not respond to interview requests.
The Ministry of Housing has issued a statement on the situation with Magdalena:
- We can confirm that the Residential Tenancies Office has received a dispute resolution request in this matter.
- To protect tenants, in 2021 the province introduced new regulations to prevent illegal renovations (evictions unnecessary to complete renovations to a property) by requiring landlords to apply for prior approval from the office of ‘residential lease before ending a tenancy for renovations or repairs. If a landlord wants to terminate a tenancy for this reason, they must first apply to the Residential Tenancies Office.
- The landlord must have all required permits and approvals and must demonstrate that the work is necessary and that the only way to complete it is to terminate the tenancy.
- Both the landlord and tenants are advised to attend a dispute resolution procedure where an arbitrator decides whether termination of the tenancy is the only way to complete this work. While the Ministry does not disclose whether a landlord has applied to the RTB for this purpose, all tenants are notified to attend a dispute resolution hearing once an application has been made.
- If the arbitrator decides to end the tenancy after the dispute resolution hearing, the tenants would have four months to vacate the rental unit. Tenants would be entitled to receive an amount equivalent to one month’s rent payable under the lease.
- The landlord must pay the tenant (except in extenuating circumstances) an additional amount equal to 12 times the monthly rent payable under the lease if the landlord fails to renovate or repair the rental unit in the manner specified in the four-month notice, or fails to begin work on the renovations or repairs within a reasonable time after the effective date.
WATCH: Metchosin’s tiny housing tenants push for change as eviction deadline looms
Editorial Policies Report an error