B.C. court overturns eviction of social housing tenant who owed $45 in unpaid rent
CTV
A resident of a Vancouver social housing building who was ordered to move out because of a disputed $45 rent shortage has won the right to stay, at least for now.
A resident of a Vancouver social housing building who was ordered to move out because of a disputed $45 rent shortage has won the right to stay, at least for now.
Jeremy Wall lives in a building on Burrard Street that is managed by the Kettle Friendship Society.
Last September, the non-profit issued a one-month notice to end tenancy for cause, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision.
The eviction notice "cited several grounds" for ending the tenancy, the court decision indicates. However, when Wall took the society to the Residential Tenancy Branch to dispute the notice, the RTB arbitrator upheld the eviction solely on the basis that Wall had been "repeatedly late paying the rent."
Wall petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial review of the RTB ruling, arguing that the arbitrator had incorrectly applied the law, misunderstood the evidence and failed to consider relevant information.
In a decision delivered verbally last month and posted online this week, Justice Lisa A. Warren found that she had "no difficulty" concluding the arbitrator's decision was "patently unreasonable."
According to Warren's decision, Wall receives disability assistance through Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, which pays his $420-per-month rent directly to the Kettle Society.
