St. John's woman facing eviction hopes the city 'learns' from complicated process

A young woman facing eviction from a St. John's non-profit housing unit says she has lost the will to fight for the place she has called home for most of her life.

When her mother died from cancer in November, 21-year-old Mackenzie Stevenson was asked by the city to vacate the three-bedroom house by the end of the month. 

Stevenson and her family advocated for an extension. She said she was told she could stay until Jan. 31. That date was still shy of the standard three-month eviction notice for month-to-month rentals set out in the Residential Tenancies Act.

A day after CBC News published Stevenson's story, she said she heard from the city.

"They made it pretty evident that I had to be out Jan. 31," she said. "It wasn't until I went to the media where they then reached out to me and told me that was never the case. [They said] 'we were going to give you a notice on Feb. 1, which then gives you three months.'" 

The City of St. John's wouldn't comment on the case, but CBC News obtained a letter addressed to Stevenson, dated Jan. 17.

In the letter, St. John's housing manager Judy Tobin wrote that if Stevenson did not vacate the unit by Jan. 31, an official eviction would be given. 

Stevenson did get that eviction notice. Now she is expected to leave the house by April 30 — three full months, which follows the Residential Tenancies Act.

She said some of her neighbours stay in three-bedroom units by themselves, but the city told her "they can't just knock on their door and ask them to leave," because the amount of rooms matched the tenants' original needs. 

However, Stevenson says she feels that is exactly what the city is doing to her.

'I just give up'

The letter noted that Stevenson would be notified should suitable housing — a one-bedroom unit  — become available in the city's housing portfolio. 

However, she said she does not want to go through the housing system again and is wondering what she will do at the end of April. 

"At this point, I just give up," she said.

The 21-year-old works two part-time jobs while attending university, and has been viewing apartments during her free time since January.

In the midst of the events of the last few months, she said she needs time to process her mother's death.

"Not only am I going to be leaving the house, but I'm going to be really grieving the fact that my mom is gone and wouldn't be in my new house to make a memory with me," said Stevenson, sitting among boxes piled in her living room. 

Challenges on both sides

Stevenson told CBC News she understands other people need housing, too. She is hoping the city will take her case as an example to better inform potential tenants of their housing division. 

"If anything, I just hope they learn from it," she said.

Affordable housing researcher and former St. John's Coun. Hope Jamieson said there seems to be some confusion about the city's responsibilities.

"The three-month notice, I think, is the city doing their due diligence. That's the process set out in the Act," Jamieson said.

"Evicting people in a situation where it's really difficult to find alternative housing supplies an enormous challenge for everyone across the board right now. … There's some really tricky mechanics happening in there. I think this is the city trying to cover their butt."

Advocating for more housing is incredibly important in the current market, Jamieson said, adding there's a "human" side to providing housing. Jamieson said sometimes creative solutions are needed, such as allowing roommates in houses with too many bedrooms for one tenant. 

"I don't envy anyone involved here," said Jamieson.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.