Tenants in an Esquimalt building worry they may be renovicted

Tenants of a low-income apartment complex in Esquimalt say they’ve been served—en masse—eviction notices so the new owner can renovate, and they fear they may be out on the street in September unless they get a favourable ruling in a Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) dispute resolution hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

Speaking with CHEK News, Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins called the situation “heartbreaking.”

Douglas King, the executive director of the Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS) says the local government failed to enforce maintenance minimums, and subsequently, the building at 519 Sturdee has fallen into disrepair. Several tenants complained of serious issues, including old electrical wiring, plumbing, and mould.

“So, we know there are renovations that need to be done,” King said. “The problem here is that the person who's willing to do those renovations is also someone who sees an economic opportunity.”

That economic opportunity, King continued, is to pay the tenants to leave to either repair the 1973-built building and jack up the rent, or tear it down and replace it. Either way, King said, the writing is on the wall for the 40 or so tenants in the 30-unit low-rise: It’s time to look for another place to live.

King said this is not a unique situation and renovictions are still happening, despite the province’s continuing attempts to quash the practice. TAPS said landlords should be required to restore tenants to their previous state following renovations and the province needs to do more to help non-profits buy housing for those who desperately need it.

“You know, the provincial government set up a fund for non-profits, and societies to purchase buildings like this, to do those renovations in a way that doesn't lead to displacement,” King said. “And again, we're not seeing buildings like this bought by non-profit societies. We're not seeing that happen.”

In a news release, TAPS, which is guiding tenants through the dispute process, says Andrew Rebeyka, who bought the building last August “has a history of evicting tenants for the purposes of renovating and re-renting apartment buildings at market rates.”

Capital Daily was unable to reach Rebeyka or his company Sturdee Investments.

Ilene Koculyn has lived in the three-storey building for 13 years and says she—like many of her neighbours—was offered a package of $5K to sign a commitment to leave without challenging the evictions through the tenancy branch but declined.

“It was not a very good deal,” Koculyn said. “There were a lot of issues that were attached to the offer.” Signing the agreement, she said, would have come with stipulations, including a non-disclosure agreement. She said moving expenses, relocation fees, and four months’ rent, as Esquimalt bylaws stipulate, were not part of the proposed agreement. Tenants also said the landlord told them their damage deposits (no more than half of the first month’s rent) would be subtracted from the $5K.

Although some tenants reportedly signed, many who spoke with Capital Daily said they have been put in an untenable situation whereby if they didn’t sign and they lose in tomorrow’s hearing, they may get only one month’s rent in compensation, which is the RTB formula.

On top of that, the tenants think the end game is to have the building demolished to build another, something the municipality would compensate them for but not if they signed the agreement, Koculyn said.

“So, if we sign the contract, we cannot be part of that,” said Koculyn, adding there were too many strings attached for her to accept.

“So it was made, not for us. It was made for the owner,” Koculyn said. “And it was made for greed. It was made for money. And that's all there is to it.”

Like many of the building’s tenants, Koculyn lives on a fixed budget and can’t afford to see her rent increase dramatically. She is paying $830 per month, on an $1,800-per-month pension.

“Places like this have got to be cleaned up for us to continue to live in—and not to be kicked out and be told …you don't make enough money.”

Under the regulations, landlords must apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch if their planned renovations lead to the displacement of tenants. Landlords caught forcing tenants out on pretenses can be forced in turn, to fork over the equivalent of 12 months’ rent to their former tenants, although they are not required to let them move back.

Renovations enable some landlords to charge much more for rent, especially after forcing out longtime renters who have been subject to only incremental increases, which are capped, currently at 3.5%.

Koculyn, a retiree who spent four decades in the civil service, said mentally, she started packing when she got the notice. “I've been told this, that 90% of the time, [the RTB] rule in favour of the owners, and so we’re out.”

The building on Sturdee, just off Esquimalt Road was once a hotel and doubled as subsidized housing in the Netflix miniseries Maid. It was assessed at more than $6M last July.