Province 'outraged' by evictions it says were illegal at Winnipeg apartment block

The provincial government says it's "outraged" by recent evictions at a Winnipeg apartment it says were illegal, which saw dozens of tenants given cash and forced out of the building after a notice was posted at the front entrance Friday saying it was being shut down.

"These events are unacceptable and they're roadblocks to our efforts to end homelessness," Bernadette Smith, minister for housing, addictions and homelessness, said at a Wednesday news conference.

Tenant Kyle Lemke said he awoke Saturday morning to a notice that the locks were being changed by new management, and that people living in Stratford Hall, the three-storey apartment building located at 285 College Ave., had 24 hours to leave.

That was followed by strangers employing what Lemke called "all sorts of intimidation tactics" to get tenants out. He said he was given back his rent for the month and told if he didn't sign the papers they gave him, "you're going to be out on the street in a day, you're going to be homeless, I'm not going to give you any money."

"It's basically like I've been robbed of house and home by some con artist," said Lemke, who's now staying in a hotel with the belongings he could get out in a garbage bag as he tries to find a new place to live. 

"There's no concrete solutions that have been provided in the outlook of my future. It's just me and my cat, Black Beauty, in the hotel now."

Earlier this week, a mattress, bags of clothes and furniture were piled near a garbage bin outside the apartment. People could be seen loading belongings into a moving truck or vehicle, while others sat outside holding a few suitcases, with nowhere to go. 

A city spokesperson said the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service attended the site Friday and found some fire safety systems not operational. The fire department ordered the exits to remain clear and for a "fire watch" be put in place over the weekend, but never ordered the building to be vacated, the city said in an email on Tuesday. 

In Manitoba, landlords typically have to give tenants notice, often about 30 days, before terminating their lease. Tenants are also supposed to be able to oppose that notice — and a piece of paper posted on a door isn't considered proper notice of termination, lawyer Katrine Dilay said.

"The situation is that the process was not followed," said Dilay, who works with the Public Interest Law Centre.

"Without a proper notice of termination and unless there are exceptional circumstances, like a government body shutting down the building, tenants should presumably still have access to their suite."

She said doing things like entering a suite or seizing tenants' property without permission could result in fines for landlords. Tenants who suffered financial loss can also file a claim.

Minister Smith said the investigation into the evictions by Manitoba's Residential Tenancies Branch is ongoing, and the province is working "non-stop" to identify and re-house displaced tenants.

CBC News has not been able to speak to the new owner of the apartment.