Landlord tenant dispute leaves residents in the dark

The decision by a Vancouver based landlord to turn the power off on in a Second Avenue West apartment building is making for a growing file of complaints at MLA Gary Coons office.

A dispute over rental payments is at the root of the problem, though tenants affected by the power blackout, claim that they are in full compliance with their rental agreement, but none the less have been plunged into darkness for over a month now.

The matter of one tenant’s complaint goes to arbitration on Monday, but there are other tenants in the building suffering the same situation but with no arbitration or other legal process in motion at the moment.

The Daily News featured the story in Friday’s paper, providing the accounts of the affected tenants, including in their report a frustrating attempt to gain information and perspective from a provincial agency, and attempt that went for naught when no reply was provided.

There was no mention in the paper if they attempt to contact the landlord of the building regarding the controversy, though we suspect the landlord wouldn't have had much to say anyways.

Tenants claim power turned off to building
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 04, 2008
Pages one and three

Robert Eaton and his eight-year old son say they have been without heat, electricity or access to proper kitchen facilities for almost a month.

The Prince Rupert resident is one of several who have begun a file of complaints with North Coast MLA Gary Coons' office, alleging their landlord is ignoring their human rights.
"I called the owner of the building to tell him what he is doing is illegal and that this will end up in court," said Eaton.

"It's been really stressful but there are quite a few of us who are being victimized."
Eaton lives in apartments on Second Avenue West and says he had his power cut off March 7, after his landlord alleged Eaton had not paid the rent. Eaton disagrees that rent is owing and says he is up to date.

However, even though there is a disagreement over a rent payment, there is nothing in the Residential Tenancy Act that allows a landlord to cut off power to a resident.

When he called the RCMP about the situation, he was told it was a civil matter.

"I've been everywhere trying to get some help, trying to get the power turned back on. No one has any suggestions," he said.

Eaton will take the matter to provincial arbitration on Monday in the hope of fixing the situation, but, he said, other tenants in the building are suffering similar or even worse treatment.

A former resident of the apartments, Cleo Moore, says she found out that her four children had been left for two and half days in February with no power. Then, she claimed, everything she owned was thrown in the garbage, including irreplaceable baby photos of her children.
She was working in Kincolith on a power project when she phoned home and was told by her ex husband that the power had been shut off for two and half days and that her children where living in the cold.

She claimed the landlord would not answer phone calls and would not respond to any requests to turn the power back on. The owner of the building lives in Vancouver.

"For two and a half days, my kids had no power and nowhere else to go," said Moore.
"My kids were going to school and they weren't eating unless they were going to school and they were coming home to a dark place."

Moore has four children under the age of 10, one with special needs.

"My kids didn't understand why the lights and heat were turned out on them, especially in February."

Moore quit her job in Kincolith and returned to Prince Rupert, but she said it took her three weeks to track down the landlord. She claimed that by the time they got back into the apartment, all their belongings had been thrown out.

"The kids got a number of donations from people, but I lost my winter coat and most of my clothes ... all the baby pictures of the kids. Someone claimed our television and our furniture."
Because the apartment was in her ex-husband's name, there's nothing she can do legally, even though the incident involved her belongings.

"I can't believe what has happened," she said. "We have to start all over again."

She said she spent all her savings, three thousand dollars, living in a local hotel for three weeks before finally moving into the Transition House and has since found a new apartment. She said she only just managed to get beds for her children - a small step toward rebuilding their lives. It's not something people should ever have to suffer, she said.

Despite calls from the Daily News to the provincial Ministry of Housing, enquiring about tenants' rights and enforcement of the Residential Tenancy Act, no calls were returned by deadline.
And even Eaton is not sure whether anything will be done about what he characterized as "very poor" living conditions.

"No one has any suggestions except going through arbitration," he said. "I'm doing this the legal way and this guy is not following any of the processes.

"What good is this going to be. Is he actually going to turn the power back on? How enforceable is this?"