One of 20 houses slated for demolition on Nicola Street and Battle Street in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kelson Group
September 09, 2021 - 7:00 PM
A Kamloops company planning a major redevelopment on Battle and Nicola Streets says it has gone over and above any formal requirements to give notice to tenants about to be displaced.
Earlier this week, iNFOnews.ca reported on difficulties some tenants are having finding new rental accommodation in a rental market with very low vacancies. That included an 80-year-old man and his dog and concerns from neighbours he could face homelessness.
READ MORE: Kamloops residents left stranded as rented houses are slated for demolition
But Kelson Group said in a news release today, it has worked hard to give tenants time to relocate from the 20 homes it intends to remove or relocate.
"The B.C. Residential Tenancy Act notes landlords must provide a minimum of 4 months’ notice,” the company said in the release. "We wanted to give everyone as much notice as possible and provided almost four years’ notice to residents. A few months ago, some residents still living in the downtown houses were given their final 4 month notice to move by September 30, 2021. "
The company said it also gave tenants a minimum of one month free rent — and others more — to help, and offered resources to find other rental accommodation among its stable of apartment buildings and other vacancies in the city.
The company plans to spend $140 million on a 22-storey and an 18-storey tower, three four- to five-storey apartment buildings, and six townhomes called City Gardens. The current design concept has 445,000 square feet of residential space for over 435 units.
It’s scheduled to begin construction next spring.
While the development itself will undoubtedly help the city’s struggling rental market, some individual long-term tenants are struggling to find rentals that will take dogs or children and higher rents.
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