B.C. family facing eviction says tenancy laws need to change

A family in Maple Ridge, B.C., who challenged their eviction and lost say they are at risk of homelessness after being ordered to move within eight days — a situation one tenant advocate says is far too common under B.C.'s eviction rules. 

Frank Wachal's landlord said he wanted to move into the apartment himself and served Wachal's family with a legal, three-month eviction notice in October, according to documents shared with CBC News.

Not believing his landlord's reasons, Wachal decided to challenge the eviction with the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) shortly after.

But the RTB quashed his challenge after finding the landlord's testimony credible, according to a Feb. 2 decision, and granted the landlord an order to take possession of the apartment on Feb. 10 — just eight days later.

Under B.C.'s Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), a tenant disputing their eviction cannot be evicted until the RTB hears and decides their case, even if the initial notice period has expired.

But if the RTB rules in favour of the landlord after the original move-out date has passed, it can grant the landlord a possession order and force the tenant to leave in as little as 48 hours.

Wachal says he felt "just sick to my stomach" when he got the news that he, his wife, their daughter and grandson would have to move.

"We've got absolutely no place. We've got no friends, no friends, no family," Wachal said, noting similar listings are now renting for more than double the $1,750 rent they currently pay. "There's just no place. We'll be on the street."

Robert Patterson, a staff lawyer at Vancouver's Tenant Resource Advisory Centre, says the 48-hour minimum on possession orders after a tenant loses an eviction challenge is "draconian."

He says he has read hundreds of RTB decisions in the last five years he has been advocating for tenants, and estimates about three-quarters of possession orders default to the minimum 48-hour timeline.

Considering how difficult it will be to find alternate housing or the impacts of children in school is optional for arbitrators under B.C.'s policy guideline on possession orders.

"We just have no humanity built into our tenancy laws about eviction," Patterson told CBC on Sunday, noting the province has one of the shortest timelines in Canada.

In Manitoba, for example, seven days is the shortest timeline for a possession order, and families with school-aged children can't be forced to leave until the school year is over.

The RTB in B.C. does not publicly report data on the length of the possession orders granted to landlords by RTB arbitrators.

Patterson says that with the backlogged RTB taking months to schedule hearings, "many people give up their housing because of the fear of being given only 48 hours to move.

"How many people have lost their housing unnecessarily, simply because of this rule?" he said, adding that the risk deters people from challenging their evictions.

'At his mercy'

Wachal and Patterson say the situation is an example of how vulnerable tenants find themselves when challenging no-fault evictions, which are helping drive B.C. to the highest eviction rate in Canada.

Some landlords use no-fault evictions — when landlords evict tenants because they say they want to renovate, house close family or move in themselves — in bad faith in order to increase rents, according to Patterson.

While the province limits how much landlords can raise the rent each year for tenants staying in the same unit, there is no limit on how much more rent they can ask for when a new tenant moves in. The B.C. Greens recently called for limits on how much landlords could increase rents between tenants, known as vacancy control.

"It's honestly galling that tenants are forced into homelessness or at grave risk of homelessness with 48 hours to move when, oftentimes… [the home is] relisted a month later on Craigslist anyways," Patterson said.

If tenants can prove their landlord lied about the reason for the eviction, they are eligible for compensation up to 12 months of rent, according to the RTA. But Patterson says with how quickly rents have risen, the penalties are low compared to the profits landlords stand to make with a bad faith eviction.

He says B.C. should require landlords to prove they or their family are moving in before they can order an eviction; require landlords to register their units and report how much rent they charge; and increase fines for wrongful evictions.

Wachal says he wants to see B.C. increase the minimum time for a possession order and require landlords to have to register their intent to rent it with the province and commit to not moving in for several years.

Later Sunday, he told CBC his landlord has agreed to give them until March 31 to move out, but he says it's hard to feel relief when his landlord could change his mind at any time.

"We're at his mercy," Wachal said.

CBC News reached out to Wachal's landlord but did not hear back before publication.