Province: Landlord ignores hefty fine for lack of repairs — issues eviction notice instead: tenant

A Surrey woman who fought to bring her delinquent landlord to account has been served with an eviction notice.

Sue Collard, a tenant and former building manager at Kwantlen Park Manor, received the notice May 31 — two weeks after her landlord’s deadline to pay $115,000 in penalties for long-standing failure to fix the roof has come and gone.

“Despite the number of large headlines that the province is taking action against scofflaw landlords, well, they’re still scoffing,” said Collard Tuesday.

In March, the Residential Tenancy Branch levied a $115,000 administrative penalty — the first of its kind — against owner Gurdyal Singh Sahota and his company Waterford Developments.

The May 15 deadline has passed, and Sahota has not yet paid and the roof has not been fixed, said Collard.

A Surrey woman who fought to bring her delinquent landlord to account has been served with an eviction notice.

Sue Collard, a tenant and former building manager at Kwantlen Park Manor, received the notice May 31 — two weeks after her landlord’s deadline to pay $115,000 in penalties for long-standing failure to fix the roof has come and gone.

“Despite the number of large headlines that the province is taking action against scofflaw landlords, well, they’re still scoffing,” said Collard Tuesday.

In March, the Residential Tenancy Branch levied a $115,000 administrative penalty — the first of its kind — against owner Gurdyal Singh Sahota and his company Waterford Developments.

The May 15 deadline has passed, and Sahota has not yet paid and the roof has not been fixed, said Collard.

On May 31, Collard and three other tenants occupying front-facing second-floor suites received letters ordering them to move out by July 31 because of necessary repairs.

“I am now left wondering about the complete and utter grotesque absurdity of the entire process,” said Collard, who is chair of the Whalley/City Centre chapter of low-income advocacy group ACORN Canada.

“They have not paid the fine, not done the work, now they are issuing notices and so far, the only thing the province is doing is ‘negotiating,’” she said.

A spokeswoman for the housing ministry said no one at the Residential Tenancy Branch was available for an interview.

“The Residential Tenancy Branch is still in discussions with the landlord,” said an emailed statement from the ministry. “We can’t comment on the specifics while negotiations are underway.”

Payment of the penalty is “on hold” while an agreement is negotiated, it said.

Surrey councillor Judy Villeneuve said tenant complaints prompted the city to pass a new standard of maintenance bylaw, which can subject irresponsible landlords to a fine or a six-month jail term.

“We are dissatisfied with how [the Residential Tenancy Branch] is enforcing their decisions — in short, they weren’t,” said Villeneuve, adding the Residential Tenancy Act should be reviewed.

But the new bylaw only addresses issues within the purview of city government, such as water, heat, and fire code compliance — not leaky roofs.

Collard is disputing the eviction notice and has a hearing scheduled Thursday.

http://www.theprovince.com/business/Landlord+ignores+hefty+fine+lack+repairs+issues+eviction+notice+instead+tenant/6808680/story.html