Problem tenants finally leave P.E.I. rental property, but landlord's issues continue

Thamara DeVries is finally beginning the process of reclaiming her dream home, after months of watching the property turn into a nightmare. 

The landlord rented out the fully furnished house in Wheatley River, P.E.I., back in February to tenants she initially believed to be a mother with three daughters. 

But shortly after they moved in, DeVries discovered it was actually two adults and 10 children, along with multiple animals  — and said they were destroying her home. 

Her battle to evict the problem tenants stretched up until this week, when the family obeyed a July 11 order to vacate from the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, packed their belongings into a moving truck, and left. 

"I don't ever wish this on anyone. I don't understand why everything takes so long," DeVries told CBC News on Wednesday. 

"There's appeal after appeal after appeal, which is extending the time, which is extending the damages to the property."

After discovering how many people were living in the residence, DeVries immediately contacted the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), which handles disputes between landlords and tenants on P.E.I. She argued that the tenants had given false information, that the home had an unreasonable number of occupants, and that unreasonable damage was being done.

The commission initially found that there were no valid grounds for eviction. The monthly rent of $2,900 was being paid, at that point.

As a series of accusations and counter-accusations from both parties dragged on, DeVries watched the condition of the home deteriorate. 

Eventually the tenants allowed her to walk through the property, where she discovered knives jammed into door frames to keep people from entering, along with a foul odour throughout the house. 

She said the downstairs of the property had been turned into a greenhouse for growing plants and all the furniture had been tossed outside, exposed to winter conditions. She also found kittens in the bathtub, and alleged the family was breeding cats in her home.

Outside, she said the tenants had turned the yard into farmland and dumped several truckloads of manure on top of where her well sits. Despite repeated requests to have it moved, she said the pile remains there.

During a hearing at the end of May, DeVries presented documents showing no rent had been paid since April and photos of the damages.

Ruling on the non-payment issue, IRAC eventually said the tenants had seven days to vacate, although a document viewed by CBC News noted: "We make no finding with respect to the merits of the landlords' claims respecting eviction on the basis of damage to property, for example."