'It's definitely a renoviction': Esquimalt apartment residents out after RTB ruling

Ilene Kucolyn is pictured packing up her apartment after getting an official eviction notice following a ruling by the Residential Tenancy Branch.

Ilene Kucolyn is packing up her apartment after losing her fight to stay in the home the pensioner says she can afford.

“It’s definitely a renoviction,” said Kucolyn, who lives in the Sturdee apartment complex in Esquimalt.

Earlier this year, the building was purchased by a new owner who went to the Residential Tenancy Branch asking to evict all the tenants from its 24 units in order to complete extensive renovations. That request has now been granted by the RTB.

“They want us out, they want to renovate the building, they want to triple the rents,” said Kucolyn. “That’s what it’s all about, the gain, the financial gain, and that’s it.”

Currently, the pensioner pays $830 per month in rent. She earns $1,800 per month through her pension, which she says won’t cover current market rents elsewhere in the Capital Region.

“It is legal and they’re getting away with it because nobody is backing it up,” said Kucolyn.

“We focus a lot about bad-faith evictions but we should also be asking ourselves, should we still have renovictions at all,” said Doug King, executive director of the Together Against Poverty Society.

King says it’s time for the province to change this so-called loophole that allows owners to legally evict residents from a building to one day rent those same units at a much higher rate once the renovations have been completed.

“The impacts of that happening are catastrophic on the tenants and it also impacts all of us in society as there are a lot of people in this building that are now going to be reliant on government support to find housing,” said King. “Before, they were paying their own rent in the private market.”

Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said in a statement to CTV News, “I empathize with anyone who is evicted from their home, as it can be an uncertain and disruptive time.”

As to the decision made by the RTB, the minister stands behind its decision.

“The arbitrator was satisfied that the landlord had met all the requirements of the Residential Tenancy Act,” said Kahlon. “The decision noted that the repairs are required as a condition of the landlord’s insurance policy. The landlord had all the required permits in place for these renovations.”

That offers little comfort to those living in the Sturdee apartment building, like Kucolyn. She will now need to vacate her unit by the end of September.

The pensioner has contacted BC Housing and is hoping to find an affordable place to call home in the coming months.

Kucolyn fears for some of her neighbours occupying the other 23 units in the building, saying someone is bound to not have an affordable place to go and could find themselves homeless.

“I feel that there is a good possibility that it could happen to somebody in this building,” said Kucolyn. “They could be stuck and they could be living in a tent and not knowing where to go.”