We are putting a complain against Peter T., by any chance do you have his address so we can include it in the complaint??

Let me know

Thank you

the whole landlord saga went on for like 8 months after this post, but it’s all long ago now.

i’m open to party suggestions though ;)

But when Lori O’Donohue, the mother of one of the tenants in the 11-unit building, asked questions about the renovation permits they were told allowed the evictions, the residents learned things weren’t as they seemed.

The June 28 eviction notice served by Stephano Muzzatti, an agent for Point Properties Ltd., which took possession of the building on the same date, stated, “The landlord will be performing extensive renovations to the envelope, common areas and all suites in the building.” But after spending hours at city hall, O’Donohue and the tenants learned city officials only had one permit–for electrical work–on their books. Carlene Robbins, manager of the city’s property use inspection branch, told the tenants the work required under the electrical permit would not require the building to be vacated. The tenants had her put that statement in writing.

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Font: ****Under the province’s Residential Tenancy Act, a landlord who has all of the necessary permits and approvals required by law can evict a tenant if their eviction is necessary to renovate or repair the unit.

Since the landlord didn’t have the permits, the tenants filed a joint arbitration with the Residential Tenancy Office in Burnaby. Vaid said they had a “hell of time” getting their papers filed.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, they were told by the office’s staff there was a mistake in their documents. He said when they returned Thursday with basically the same documents, a manager told them they were correct. The letter from Robbins wasn’t considered an acceptable document for the arbitration until they protested.

Trying to serve the papers to the new landlord was also frustrating because the tenants didn’t know his name. All communication went through Muzzatti, who, Vaid said, doesn’t return calls. Eventually, they served the papers to Muzzatti. A subsequent title search at city hall and cross checking showed Peter Tsiandoulas as the owner of Point Properties.

Muzzatti contended the previous landlord for 1015 West 13th Ave. let the building fall into disrepair. “He was a guy willing to have East Vancouver rents on the West Side because then the tenants don’t bug him to fix things,” Muzzatti said, adding the new landlord simply wants to fix the building.

Vaid agreed the building needs work, but said the previous landlord had paid for improvements to the roof drainage that had gotten rid of a bad smell. But the smell returned when, tenants say, the new landlord had the vent sealed with cement. Vaid, a graduate student, has lived in the building for nearly two years. He and his brother Kuljeet pay $750 a month for a 1,000-square-foot, two bedroom apartment.

Kuljeet phoned their NDP MLA Gregor Robertson on Saturday. On Monday, Robertson’s assistant told them that evicting tenants on the premise of completing extensive renovations, making only surface changes and jacking up the rent is becoming more common among landlords in Vancouver. On Wednesday, the Vaid brothers held a press conference in their living room.

Vaid believes if they get a fair hearing, they will be able to stay. “If the landlord and his agent are reasonable people, I’m sure we could come to some type of accommodation. If it means renovations on a smaller scale or an increase in rent, we’re open to discussing all those things,” Vaid said.

The arbitration date is Aug. 20. The eviction date is Aug. 31.