Latest news with #evictions
CTV News
21 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Lawyer says tenants ‘crushed' by court ruling they must leave B.C. mobile home park
A lawyer for tenants of a mobile home park on Songhees First Nation reserve land on Vancouver Island says his clients are 'absolutely crushed' after losing a lawsuit challenging their evictions. A ruling posted Tuesday says the residents of E. George Estates Manufactured Home Park have lived there for decades, and believed they'd have a 'long-term or perpetual interest' in the lands even though they didn't own the properties. The park was established in the 1970s and the Songhees First Nation took control of it in 2019, then moved two years later to end tenancies of the plaintiffs who are not members of the nation. The ruling says the reserve is overcrowded and the First Nation wants to develop the lands for 'much-needed housing for its members,' telling plaintiffs in June 2021 that they'd have to move out in three years. Justice Veronica Jackson's ruling says the court has 'a great deal of sympathy' for the plaintiffs, many of them elderly with health problems, but mobile home park tenants anywhere face the prospect of lease terminations, and three years' notice was 'more than reasonable.' Lawyer Michael Drouillard, representing the 30 plaintiffs, says his clients are 'overwhelmed' at the prospect of having to leave, and have been given until Aug. 15 to vacate under threat of having their utilities turned off. Drouillard said he has filed an appeal of the ruling, which he said the court delayed releasing publicly for a month 'to respect the privacy of the plaintiffs during a period of transition.' He said the decision was 'absolutely crushing' to the plaintiffs. 'Most of them, their finances are now wiped out because they paid a lot of money for these homes that they now have to move and which are actually not really capable of being moved as a practical matter because of the costs and logistics involved,' he said. He said one of the plaintiffs had a stroke and is no longer able to take care of himself, and others lack a support network to help them figure out what to do now that they've lost the case. 'It's very overwhelming for these folks,' he said. The ruling says many of the tenant plaintiffs were under the mistaken impression the mobile home park lands were covered by a 99-year lease, but instead were month-to-month tenants. It says some thought that if they paid their rent and taxes and followed park rules 'they could stay forever.' The judge said the situation facing the tenants has been a source of 'tremendous personal hardship and financial distress.' 'However, the situation is not of the Songhees Nation's making,' Jackson ruled. 'None of the plaintiffs were ever entitled to a long-term interest in their sites.' Drouillard said he has filed an appeal, and worries that some tenants are at 'immediate risk of homelessness' if they're forced to leave by the deadline set out in a letter sent by the Songhees First Nation on July 15. 'The reason why I'm saying they're at heightened risk for homelessness is because this eviction has both required them to leave, but it's also annihilated their life savings,' he said. Lawyer Kaelan Unrau for the Songhees First Nation said his client wasn't immediately available for comment on the court's ruling. The ruling says the park was established in the 1970s and operated by a company owned by a First Nation member who later died, before the First Nation took it over. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2025. Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Owners of Fort Lauderdale assisted living home rack up $40,000 in fines, board says
The owners of an assisted living home accused of removing all of its residents to convert to luxury apartments have now racked up $40,000 in fines over the renovations, Fort Lauderdale code enforcement officials said at a meeting Tuesday. Management for Oasis Living Quarters announced the controversial evictions at a meeting in March, according to residents, employees and a state inspection report. As residents moved out, workers began tearing down partitions, demolishing kitchenettes and installing air conditioning units. But the facility never received a permit for the renovations or changed the building's use from an assisted and independent living home to apartment buildings, according to city officials. The removals, which included residents who were bedridden or had dementia, also led to a lawsuit and citations from the state over the lack of written notice. Attorneys for Oasis have claimed that it did provide notice. At a May 27 code enforcement hearing, an angry code enforcement board decided to give the owner of the property, Lauderdale Commercial Blvd Partners LLC, two weeks to comply with code and then begin fining them $1,000 a day if they did not comply. The LLC is connected to Lee and Jay Podolsky, members of a family of notorious landlords in New York City, the Sun Sentinel previously reported. On June 11, the fines began. By Tuesday, the fines totaled $40,000 and are continuing to increase each day, officials said. Andrew Gebbia, the building inspector, said he visited the property last week and the owners still were not in compliance with code. At that point, the contractor had not submitted applications for plumbing and electrical permits, Gebbia said. As of Tuesday, he had submitted the two applications but both still required additional documents and information. Asked if the building was occupied, Gebbia said yes, but not the units that were under construction. Half of the property that was once Oasis' assisted living side is already operating as Waterview luxury apartments. The assisted living residents had first been moved into the other half, then told to leave in March. Ariel Grosfeld, an attorney for the Abrams Law Firm in Fort Lauderdale, appeared at the Tuesday meeting on behalf of the owners, asking the board to postpone the case until the next meeting because the attorneys for the owners are at trial. She also cited 'the convoluted nature of the case, the procedural history, and the irregularities from city staff.' 'If they get the continuances, the fine still accrues, it's still a thousand in a day?' asked Jacquie Shaw, a member of the board. Assistant City Attorney Rhonda Montoya Hasan said yes, unless the board decides otherwise. The board voted to postpone the hearing until August and to continue fining the owners $1,000 a day in the meantime. A lawsuit in Broward County Court over the removals remains active. It was originally filed on behalf of a bedridden tenant still living at the facility. She later died shortly after moving out. Grosfeld, the attorney for the property, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nearly 2,000 households in need of new home as Quebec's moving day nears
With Quebec's moving day fast approaching, more than 2,000 households across the province are still searching for housing — 320 more than at the same time last year, according to the province's housing corporation. Advocacy groups say they are bracing for more emergency calls. "There's been a lot more evictions, cases of repossessions," said Lyn O'Donnell, with the Citizen Action Committee of Verdun. "People are not only dealing with eviction. They're also dealing with the fact that they've received rent increases that, you know, like your average person just can't afford." In Montreal alone, some 270 have asked for help, the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ) says. Advocates warn the number is misleading. "That's just what's reported, right? So there's so much invisible homelessness involved in that. That even includes families with children," O'Donnell said. The city says help is available by calling 311. "We have enough resources, enough budget to help you find a new dwelling," said Philippe Sabourin, City of Montreal spokesperson. "We can also offer temporary resources or a temporary dwelling. We also have some resources for the storage if it's required." Help is out there — but not enough Help is also available through the SHQ and some people may be eligible for a rent supplement. But housing advocates say these resources are far from enough. "Housing is scarce, first of all. And also the program is mostly for low-income households," O'Donnell said. "And you have to have lived on the island of Montreal for the past 12 months and you have to have used up all of your own resources." O'Donnell said all of these measures are only temporary. The real solution is making more social housing available through a dedicated social housing program and putting in place real rent control, she says. At the moment, Quebec's rental board does not cap rents, rather it issues recommended rent increases and intervenes only if the tenant refuses the increase and cannot negotiate the new rent with the landlord. Housing advocacy group Le Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) says the increasing number of households in search of a home is due to the scarcity of affordable housing in the province. The SHQ says that of the 1,989 households at risk of homelessness, 473 are already in temporary accommodations, such as with family, friends or in a hotel. WATCH | How to get help: The regions with the highest number of cases include Lanaudière (294), Montreal (269) and Montérégie (235). Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for FRAPRU, said people are often hoping for a solution up until July 1, and then come forward looking for help soon after. She said some end up in their cars or camping. Assistance varies across province Although rehousing assistance is available throughout the province, the measures offered to tenants vary greatly from one region to another, said Laflamme. Not all municipalities offer the Quebec-backed rehousing assistance program like the one in Montreal, which provides temporary accommodations, moving and storage. The housing shortage is easing slightly across the province, with the housing vacancy rate at 1.8 per cent in 2024, up from 1.3 per cent in 2023, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). But this improvement does not translate into greater affordability, Laflamme said. In Montreal last year, the vacancy rate for units under $1,150 was less than one per cent. This compares to more than five per cent for units priced at a minimum of $1,675, which likely includes many recently built rental apartments, according to CMHC data. New data from Statistics Canada, released Wednesday, also shows soaring prices for available housing. The asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Montreal was $1,930 in the first quarter of 2025 — a 70.8 per cent increase from 2019. In Montreal, the average rent increase was 18.7 per cent in 2024 for apartments that changed tenants, compared to 4.7 per cent for dwellings where a lease was renewed, according to the CMHC. Since 2018, rents have jumped 47 per cent for all apartments in the province, according to a compilation by FRAPRU based on data from the CMHC. To address this unaffordability, FRAPRU urges Quebec to double the number of social housing units in the rental stock within 15 years, which would involve the construction of at least 10,000 new social housing units per year. The government has adopted a national housing strategy and set a target of 56,000 rental units per year — but no target for social housing, laments Laflamme. Even for tenants who are not moving this year, the situation is far from ideal, as many are facing steep rent increases, said Laflamme. The average rent increase suggested by Quebec's housing tribunal was 5.9 per cent for 2025. "This year's lease renewal period has been extremely difficult," said Laflamme, citing a large number of callers looking for ways to mitigate rent increases.
CBC
24-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Dal Legal Aid raises concerns about access to eviction data following info request
Social Sharing Officials with Dalhousie Legal Aid Service say the results of recent freedom of information requests heighten long-standing concerns they've had that the provincial government affords them less access than it does the group that represents Nova Scotia's landlords. The organization released documents last week showing that for years, Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia has received data related to why evictions were sought in disputes between tenants and landlords. Sydnee Blum, a community legal worker with Dal Legal Aid, said that data is something her organization has been trying to get since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said some of it was accessible through the freedom of information system, but that should not have been a requirement. "We only ever went through that process because we were told that's what we had to do," Blum said in an interview. "We didn't realize that simply sending an email asking for stats would have resulted in the same results." Since Dal Legal Aid publicized the findings last week, Blum said Service Nova Scotia forwarded the same information that was going to Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia. Melissa Mosher, the director of residential tenancies for the province, said in an interview that there was no attempt to withhold information or disadvantage one organization over another. Mosher said statistics on evictions are produced each week and, during a meeting with stakeholders in 2017 that included representatives for landlords and Dal Legal Aid, it was explained that that information was available. Although the executive director of Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia has been routinely requesting the information via email, Mosher said Dal Legal Aid has not. "It's not something that I reach out to them to provide them with," she said. "It's more so at request." Mosher said the department is contending with an antiquated information system that makes it difficult to produce data without extracting it manually. Although a new system is being developed, it's still not ready. Meeting requests honoured by Service Nova Scotia She said there have been discussions with Dal Legal Aid officials in the past about what kind of information is and isn't available, what requires a freedom of information request and what can be released in keeping with privacy legislation. A meeting for further discussion between the two sides is scheduled for later this week. "I want the tenant and landlord groups equally to feel that they can approach us with questions." But Blum said previous attempts by people at Dal Legal Aid to understand what information and data is collected by Service Nova Scotia and what can be requested have not been successful. "We've never been given a clear answer, let alone the data itself." Blum said she remains concerned that the government is more interested in listening to the interests of landlords and homeowners than they are those of tenants. Difficulty accessing decision makers Dal Legal Aid also highlighted an email in its disclosure package where Mosher notes that representatives for landlords "have the ability to meet with senior leadership within government that the tenant groups do not typically have." Mosher, who was responding to a request from the landlords group to bring more representatives to a stakeholders meeting than the department would permit, said her comments referred to the fact that there is only one group that speaks for landlords while there are multiple groups that advocate for tenants. She said her team typically meets with groups on behalf of tenants and landlords when requested. Blum said her organization has no problem meeting with administrators with residential tenancies, but it's proved more difficult getting an audience with cabinet ministers and other decision makers within government. "Frankly, over the years we've stopped even trying just because it's been inaccessible to us."
BreakingNews.ie
11-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Government accused of being ‘all over the place' on its rent control plans
The Government has been accused of being 'all over the place' and 'confused' on its rent control plans. Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused the Opposition of confusing the proposals and said he did not accept that they would lead to an increase in evictions and rent costs. Advertisement The new rent proposals include extending a 2 per cent rent cap for areas of high demand nationwide, with an exception for new developments, which can charge rent increases in line with inflation. New tenancy reforms include six-year-minimum tenancies for the first time, to be rolled out from March 1st, 2026, which will ban no-fault evictions for landlords with four or more tenancies. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the proposals were 'a shambles'. I'm heading into Leaders' Questions to challenge Micheál Martin on his plan to hike up rents again and again! Fianna Fáil are fleecing renters and we must fight back! — Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) June 11, 2025 'You are literally all over the place, confused by your own back-of-the-envelope proposal,' she said during Leaders' Questions on Wednesday. Advertisement She said there was 'a very real danger' that the plan will 'tighten' rental supply in the coming months, as landlords could delay putting properties back on the market to charge a higher rent from March next year. Ms McDonald said that the Government was unclear about whether the plan allowed all landlords to set their rents at 'full market' value at the end of the new six-year tenancies. The Sinn Féin leader and other opposition TDs said on Tuesday this would 'jack up' rents either in the coming months or in six years' time, facilitated by government policy. 'This clearly meant people staying in an existing property, signing a new tenancy agreement, along with people moving into a property for the first time. And then, you were caught out. Advertisement 'So throughout the afternoon, you scrambled around denying that this was the case and then sometime in the evening, somebody slipped off and bizarrely changed the press release on the department website with a new wording, a wording that changes nothing.' On Tuesday in the Dáil, Ms McDonald, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit raised concerns about a Department of Housing press release which said that 'all landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy, unless a 'no-fault eviction' occurs.' On Wednesday, Ms McDonald said that this line had been changed on the department's website to include all landlords 'who have entered into a new tenancy arrangement on or after March 1st 2026' will have the right to reset rent at the end of each six-year tenancy. Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused Ms McDonald of 'bluff and bluster' which he said would contribute 'nothing' to Ireland's housing supply. Advertisement 'You're attacking all of this, and you're making absolutely false assertions, because all you are interested in is the politics of this. 'How can I exploit the housing situation to gain electoral or political gain?' Social Democrats' deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan accused the Government of 'contradictory messages' on its rent control plans. He also asked whether they had 'ditched' the rent reset every six years based on comments given to the Dáil. Advertisement 'You've told it all just a few minutes ago that new tenancies after March 2026 will be capped at CPI (Consumer Price Index), no mention of a reset every six years. No mention of that. Is the reset gone every six years? 'Do you accept now they are going to lead to huge rent increases for most renters, and these measures will increase hardship, poverty, evictions and homelessness for renters?' 'No, I don't deputy,' the Taoiseach replied. 'The bottom line is, I repeat again, all existing tenants will not have their rents increase beyond 2% and no attempts by you to sow confusion will change that reality.' A row ensued in the Dail when Mr Martin accused the Social Democrats of not believing there is 'a role for the market' in housing supply, to which Social Democrat TDs objected.
