B.C. court overturns eviction of social housing tenant who owed $45 in unpaid rent

The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Thursday, November 23, 2023. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

A resident of a Vancouver social housing building who was ordered to move out because of a disputed $45 rent shortage has won the right to stay, at least for now.

Jeremy Wall lives in a building on Burrard Street that is managed by the Kettle Friendship Society.

Last September, the non-profit issued a one-month notice to end tenancy for cause, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision. 

The eviction notice "cited several grounds" for ending the tenancy, the court decision indicates. However, when Wall took the society to the Residential Tenancy Branch to dispute the notice, the RTB arbitrator upheld the eviction solely on the basis that Wall had been "repeatedly late paying the rent."

Wall petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial review of the RTB ruling, arguing that the arbitrator had incorrectly applied the law, misunderstood the evidence and failed to consider relevant information.

In a decision delivered verbally last month and posted online this week, Justice Lisa A. Warren found that she had "no difficulty" concluding the arbitrator's decision was "patently unreasonable."

Single late payment, multiple warnings

According to Warren's decision, Wall receives disability assistance through Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, which pays his $420-per-month rent directly to the Kettle Society.

"There is no dispute that Mr. Wall paid his rent in full each month of his tenancy except for April 1, 2023," the decision reads. "In that month only $375 of the $420 rent was paid."

The $45 shortage was the result of "a mistake made by the ministry," according to the court decision.

The landlord sent Wall a letter in May advising him of the shortage, and Wall told the court he responded by paying the landlord $45. He claimed he was given a receipt, but lost it.

In July, he received a second letter saying he was $45 in arrears. He told the court he ignored this letter because he believed the situation had already been resolved.

The following month, he received another letter, which he took to the landlord's office in the building and inquired about, according to the decision.

A final letter arrived in early September, advising him that he had until Sept. 30 to pay the unpaid rent. Despite this deadline, he received the notice to end tenancy on Sept. 19.

"The arbitrator rejected Mr. Wall's evidence that he had paid the arrears and found that it was 'unclear' why Mr. Wall only reached out to the landlord about the issue in August 2023," Warren's decision summarizes.

"The arbitrator then concluded that Mr. Wall was 'repeatedly late paying the rent' within the meaning of (The Residential Tenancy Act) because 'there were at least three instances of late payment of rent' given that the rent was not paid in April and this was not rectified in response to the landlord's letters. In other words, the failure to pay the full amount of rent owing for a single month, combined with the failure to rectify the situation in response to the landlord's four letters, was found to amount to being 'repeatedly late paying rent.'"

The judge noted that guidelines for RTB arbitrators say three late payments are "the minimum number sufficient to justify a notice" to end tenancy for unpaid rent.

"The arbitrator did not engage in any coherent analysis of the meaning of 'repeatedly late,' how it applied to Mr. Wall in the circumstances of this case, or how what Mr. Wall did could be characterized as serious misconduct," the decision reads.

"The arbitrator gave no consideration to the actual circumstances, such as the fact there had only been one incident of the incorrect amount of rent having been paid, the fact that the rent was paid on Mr. Wall’s behalf by the ministry, or the small amount of the shortfall."

Warren found the arbitrator's decision was "clearly unreasonable on its face," and opted not to remit the case to the RTB, but rather to set aside the decision and the order of possession that had been granted in the Kettle Society's favour.

"I cannot reweigh the evidence that was before the arbitrator, but on the record that was before him, the best it gets for the landlord, again assuming that it was appropriate to reject Mr. Wall's evidence, is that on a single occasion the ministry underpaid Mr. Wall's rent by $45, and then Mr. Wall failed to take steps to correct the situation after being notified about it on two occasions (the May 18 and July 12 letters), in circumstances where he then subsequently attended at the landlord’s office and claimed that it had already been paid," the decision reads.

Eviction process ongoing

Warren noted that her decision did not preclude the landlord from pursuing an eviction under the other grounds it included in its notice to end tenancy for cause.

Asked for comment on the court's decision, the Kettle Friendship Society provided CTV News with a statement confirming that it is still seeking to evict Wall.

"There are other reasons for this eviction than a late rent payment," the statement reads, in part.

"As we are still actively engaged in RTB arbitration regarding this matter, we can’t provide any further details."

The non-profit went on to say its priority is "to create a safe and supportive environment" for its tenants, and it does not routinely seek evictions for missed rent payments.

"If tenants have a late or missed rent payment, we work with them to find a solution while keeping them housed," the statement reads. "The decision to evict a tenant is not one that we take lightly. We work with tenants to address issues before they reach this point. However, as a housing provider and employer, we also have a duty of care to our other tenants and staff."