A B.C. tenant must vacate her rental unit after the landlord alleged her son disturbed tenants with a series of inappropriate behaviours.
The tenant had applied with the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) to cancel her landlord's notice to end the tenancy.
The tenancy commenced on June 4, 2014, with a rent of $777.49 due on the first of every month. The one-bedroom unit is located in a 45-unit building. The tenant's adult son (KL) began living with the tenant in February 2022. The tenant's other son (SL) lives in the building in another unit.
The building manager attached a one-month notice to vacate the building on May 28, 2022, that ordered the tenant to leave by June 30, 2022. The notice said the tenant unreasonably disturbed others in the building, jeopardized the health and safety of other occupants, and put the landlord's property at risk.
The landlord said there were a series of break-ins and thefts from vehicles after KL moved in with his mother. On March 30, 2022, the landlord claimed they saw KL riding a bicycle in the underground parking garage that belonged to a different tenant. KL returned it the following day and the tenant started storing her bike on her balcony; another tenant submitted a letter supporting this claim.
KL said he owns many bikes and the landlord may have seen him riding one of his.
On May 7, 2022, the landlord saw KL "naked in the laundry room and smoking." She left to get her cellphone to call the police but when she returned the tenant and her other son, SL, were there. KL had his clothes on so she did not make the call. The landlord alleges that KL later told her he was on drugs when he was naked and wasn't thinking clearly.
The tenant claims that KL was not naked but was wearing a Speedo. He admitted to smoking but believed the marijuana was "laced with something."
Tenant allegedly steals motorized scooter
On May 1, 2022, a motorized scooter belonging to another tenant went missing from the underground parking garage. On May 8, 2022, the landlord was driving in her car with someone when she saw KL on the scooter. KL turned down an alley and the landlord followed him. She located him sitting on the scooter at the side of the alley. In a submitted video, KL sits on the scooter with a helmet in his hands and the landlord is heard accusing KL of stealing the scooter. KL repeatedly asks the landlord, “From where?" The landlord replies, "from the underground parking lot." KL says he found it in the alley.
KL said he didn't take the scooter but a homeless man in the area appeared to be riding a "new-looking scooter." He said he helped bring it back home when his mother told him the tenant was missing one.
The landlord called the tenant after the incident to discuss what happened. When they met in person, KL was observed bringing the scooter back to the underground parking garage. The scooter's owner later informed the landlord that the ignition was ruined. The landlord told the tenant that she would have to get her son to leave or they would be forced to evict her. Since the tenant was unwilling to have her son removed, the landlord issued the eviction notice.
On Aug. 29, 2022, KL was also observed "grinding metal on the tenant’s balcony which sent sparks into a dry tree while there was an extreme fire hazard at the time."
The tenant said her son was sanding a metal bracket for a table but that it created "minimal sparks."
On Oct. 3, 2022, 911 was called because the tenant's sons were fighting and throwing things off her balcony. Police escorted KL off the property.
On Nov. 30, 2022, KL appeared intoxicated and caused other tenants to feel uncomfortable in a stairway. While the tenant did not refute this, she said KL's pain medication may have added to his poor judgment and they have rectified that issue.
Tenant believes landlord wanted to re-rent unit for more money
The tenant claims the landlord wants to evict her to re-rent the unit for more money and is using her son's behaviour as an excuse. However, the landlord states she works as an agent for the owner and doesn't make more money for increased rents. She argued ending a tenancy creates more work but cannot allow a tenant to unreasonably disturb other people.
The RTB made an important distinction that the standard of proof in tenancy hearings is much less than in criminal trials. In tenancy disputes, proof means something is "probable" whereas criminal proceedings require that facts are proven "beyond a reasonable doubt."
The ruling notes that KL has several inconsistencies in his story. For one, his mother said he'd have "nowhere to go" if he wasn't living with her and had no possessions. However, he also claimed to have several bikes; the RTB said it seemed unlikely he had these bikes.
The RTB also noted that KL would have disturbed tenants in a mind-altered state in a Speedo; he didn't have to be fully nude to make them uncomfortable.
The video of KL on the scooter also seemed to support the landlord's claim that he'd taken it from the parking garage. He did not explain that he had taken it because he heard it was missing but said he'd found it in an alley.
The board dismissed the tenant's application to cancel the one-month notice to end the tenancy with cause.
