March 26th, 2012

Whalley chairwoman for ACORN  and tenant at Kwantlen Park Manor stands in front of the building she lives in and used to manage.  Her landlord Gurdyal Singh Sahota was the first to be fined by Residential Tenancy Branch.

Gurdyal and his company Waterford Developments fined $115,000

The residential building, which houses 31 suites and nearly 40 occupants, is known for rotting deck railings, decayed ceilings and walls that look to be about ready to sink.  This led to Gurdyal and his company to receive the first administrative penalty under the BC Residential Tenancy Act.

Gurdyal and Waterford Developments did not follow an agreement made in May 2011 to fix a constantly leaking rook at the building in North Surrey.

How did they come up with $115,000?

The break-down to the fine is as follows.  A one-time fee equaling $5000.  Then, a fine of $500 per day until fixing the ceiling since a deadline on June 2011.

What does tenant and former building manager Collard think?

The fine was “warrented” says Collard.  She continues on saying the building has had “deteriorating conditions” for over two years.

She is very skeptical whether the repairs will in fact ever be completed, as many of the units are empty.

“It’s been pretty hellish,” Collard said. “No tenant should have to endure a continuing situation where there are no repairs getting done. We don’t know when we will get repairs. We are hopeful we will following this decision.

Who is Gurdyal Singh Sahota?

The Sahota family own several buildings considered “problematic” in Metro Vancouver.  This include the Pandora hotel where the roof collapsed and the 36 tenants were given a $170,000 settlement because they were made to leave the unsafe building.

Acorn compares the conditions at Kwantelen Park as similar to the Pandora hotel in 2005, two years before the roof whent down.

So what is ACORN?

ACORN is a very controversial group originating in the Unites States and have been moving into Canada over the past few years, especially the province of Ontario.  The Ontario Landlords Association has debated the merits and sincerity of this group.

What about the Government?

Rich Coleman, the B.C. minister responsible for housing, said administrative penalties are only considered for “serious, deliberate contraventions of the act.”

“It should send a message to these landlords — and there’s not many of them — who decide they’re going to flout certain responsibilities they have to their tenancy agreement with these tenants,” Coleman said Tuesday.