Vancouver West End tenants fighting more ‘phony’ evictions

A Vancouver landlord with a history of losing tenancy board hearings recently lost another attempt to evict a renter from Park Beach Manor in the West End in late August, but some neighbours at the apartment say they’re still fighting phony evictions and harassment from the landlord.

Park Beach Manor tenants and other supporters from the Vancouver Tenants’ Union crashed the doors of Plan A Real Estate – their corporate landlord – in Downtown Vancouver Thursday afternoon.

“I’m delivering this letter on behalf of the Park Beach tenant collective, demanding you to drop the recent evictions for Jody and Jen,” said a tenant to a Plan A staff member, who opened the office door. “We have information they’re based on false information, mismanagement by Plan A’s payment platform and communication.”

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Park Beach Manor resident Paul Kot says some of his neighbours braced themselves when they heard Plan A was going to buy their apartment earlier this year.

For months, supporters have been campaigning against Plan A’s alleged actions.

“A lot of us do not feel safe in our own homes,” said Kot.

Kot says the BC Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) has granted two orders of repossession in his building, which gives the landlord the right to take back the units.

He says another case has been granted an interim stay, which lets the tenant live in the unit until the judicial system can review the case.

“There’s a lot of falsified information,” said Kot.

“The two judges that sided for the interim stay have stated that there’s strong merit to the tenant’s case, since they were granted interim stay. So, I think the fact that the justice system does recognize that there’s merit to these cases, shows that Plan A doesn’t have very much to stand on.”

Speaking to CityNews over the phone, Plan A’s managing broker Anoop Majithia says these tenants represent a small, vocal minority at the building, and maintains that Plan A has a good relationship with the majority of its renters.

“We don’t actively go around harassing tenants or pick fights with tenants – we’re a professional landlord, we have hundreds of properties, and that’s not the way we conduct ourselves,” he said.

But Kot alleges that Plan A gave false information to the RTB for its recent eviction rulings.

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That included a document showing a tenant didn’t pay enough rent in August, while a payment receipt from the same date shows the complete amount was paid.

CityNews hasn’t been able to verify the accuracy of these documents, but as RTB information officer tells CityNews if a tenant feels concerned about fraudulent or incomplete evidence, they can make an appeal

“Get together. Communicate with your neighbours,” said Kot.

“Because at the end of the day, when a landlord comes in like this and harasses you and threatens you – it strips away your right to quiet enjoyment, and that should never be allowed.”