HOUSING CRISIS: Evicted Kamloops seniors suspect foul play by landlord
A Kamloops man in his 70s is looking for a place to move to with his wife and stepdaughter after they were evicted from a rental unit they’ve been in since 2017.
“When we moved into this place, we paid the first month’s rent and damage deposit,” he said. “Ever since we’ve paid our monthly rent and utilities without a problem.”
iNFOnews.ca has agreed not to identify him because he fears repercussions from his landlord.
His wife is suffering from fibromyalgia and using a walker to get around while she and their daughter are both coping with mental health challenges.
Living on fixed pension incomes, the couple is scrambling to find another place and make the move before the eviction deadline at the end of May. He still has one more month of rent to pay but has enough left over to put a damage deposit on a new place.
“We’re not overly worried about finding housing, we have lots of friends looking,” he said. “We’re not rich, we’re not poor, but it’s going to be tight financially.”
The reason given for the eviction is the landlord is planning on moving a family member into the rental. While it isn’t clear yet what the landlord’s intention is, he suspects the landlord will not be moving a family member in and will re-rent the unit to someone else at a higher rate.
This is called a bad faith eviction, according to the provincial Residential Tenancy Act.
“(The landlord) has been claiming he is struggling financially. Why would a man put his family member into a place he can’t afford? It’s rubbish,” he said. “I’ve concluded he’s been trying to get rid of us. Sell the place and re-rent it at a higher cost.”
He's speaking up after seeing other bad faith evictions happening in Kamloops over the years.
“This is happening to other people, not just old people,” he said. “Kick out the present tenant and jack up the rent. These guys are greedy, they’re conning people during a housing shortage.”
According the provincial residential tenancy act, if a landlord claims a family member will be moving into the rental but instead re-rents it to a new tenant at a higher rate, the renter had the right to seek compensation.
If the rental unit isn’t used for the purpose stated on the notice for at least six months, they may have to pay the renter for 12 months’ worth of rent.
“He’s claiming he’s putting a family member in to get rid of us. I know he used Kijiji before so I’ll be watching and if he is caught doing this, he owes me 12 months of rent.”
There is a bit more to this story.
He was prepared to increase the rent payment to meet rising inflation.
“We were prepared for rent hikes,” he said. “The landlord made claims he's having financial problems so I asked why he didn’t increase the rent. He said it won’t make a difference. When I rented this place, I factored in a three per cent rental rate increase over the following eight years, but he chose not to take it.”
READ MORE: Kamloops and Okanagan lagging far behind BC in real estate activity
He claims there were a number of times over the years he requested help with repairs from the landlord, who repeatedly told them the place was going up for sale.
“There was a plumbing problem, water all over the kitchen and bathroom,” he said. “I paid out of pocket for the repair, it had to be done right away and we still haven’t been paid back.”
READ MORE: HOUSING CRISIS: What are mobile homes worth when a developer buys the land?
In February when the landlord showed up, he was prepared to be told again the house was going up for sale. He expected to be given more time but was allotted 90 days.
“A realtor said with damage to the house it would take two or three months to sell, and adding some more time to move, we thought we had more breathing room.”
READ MORE: HOUSING CRISIS: Kamloops senior loses battle against city housing regulations
He's been asking his church for help cleaning and packing, and has gone to ASK Wellness looking for resources.
The seniors have to be out by the end of May.
“It’s edgy around here, I’m trying to stay calm. I’m old, I don’t drive anymore so things are getting tough but I’m doing the best I can.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
