What's Happening In Your Province
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Source: CBC News
Although came out in the news in 2019 this is very informative for Landlords to know this process is there for them. New fact sheet lays out how property owners can evict lawbreaking tenants Another tool has been added to the community safety toolbox with a new fact sheet about evicting tenants engaged in criminal activity, Point Douglas community activists say. The fact sheet, put together in collaboration with community members, lets landlords know what they need to do to evict tenants who are breaking the law and putting others at risk, Manitoba Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said Monday. "Giving a tool like this to landlords, so that landlords know what they need to do; to tenants, so that tenants know what their landlords can do, and to the community, all of those will contribute to improving the safety and the quiet enjoyment of tenants in rental accommodation," said Elaine Bishop, a longtime resident of north Point Douglas and a board member of SISTARS (Sisters Initiating Steps Towards a Renewed Society), which runs Barber House and the Eagle Wing Early Education Centre. "We saw the effect on tenants' lives of having to live in rooming houses where drugs were being used," she said. The fact sheet provides a checklist of what landlords need to evict a problem tenant. "What we need in communities is a whole toolbox of safety-related activities and resources that can help the community take charge of its own safety," Bishop said. "As somebody who lives in this community, I want to live in a safe neighbourhood, and this is another way of helping us do that." Check List :https://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/commsafe/pubs/scnafactsheet.pdf For more information, contact: Manitoba Justice Public Safety Investigations Phone (Winnipeg) (204) 945-3475 (Toll Free outside Winnipeg) 1-800-954-9361
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Source: Wpg Sun
The Manitoba government has taken steps to assist tenants affected by a sudden eviction, it was announced Friday. Manitoba Consumer Protection and Government Services reports, the Residential Tenancies Branch (RTB) has issued several orders to the landlord of 285 College Ave. in Winnipeg and is helping tenants return to their units immediately. The province will have security officers at the apartment starting at 8 p.m. Friday and will provide 24-hour security until midnight on Monday. The security team has been given a list of tenant names and there will be new keys available for tenants to access their apartments. Identification matching the tenancy list or proof of tenancy will be required. Dozens of tenants were given cash and told to immediately vacate the Stratford Hall three-storey apartment building on College Avenue on the weekend after a notice saying the building was shut down was posted at the front entrance. Tenants came back to the apartment building on Monday to signs that the locks on the building would be changed in 24 hours. Many of their belongings were strewn on the lawn outside of the building. At a news conference Wednesday, Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Bernadette Smith said the government was “outraged” at the eviction. “These events are unacceptable, and they’re roadblocks to our efforts to end homelessness in our province,” Smith said. Smith said evictions without due cause, entering a tenant’s suite without notice, as well as disposing of their belongings are all illegal. She added changing locks on an apartment without due process is also illegal. Smith added the province is working to help rehome tenants and compensate them for the loss of their belongings. 7/17/2024 0 Comments These events are unacceptable': Manitoba government investigating apartment mass evictionSource: CTV News The Manitoba government is working to rehome residents who were suddenly evicted from a Winnipeg apartment building, and said charges could be laid against the property owner. Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Bernadette Smith said the government was “outraged” at the eviction at 285 College Avenue. Tenants came back to the apartment building on Monday to signs that the locks on the building would be changed in 24 hours. Many of their belongings were strewn on the lawn outside of the building. “These events are unacceptable, and they’re roadblocks to our efforts to end homelessness in our province,” Smith said. Smith said evictions without due cause, entering a tenant's suite without notice, as well as disposing of their belongings are all illegal. She added changing locks on an apartment without due process is also illegal. Smith added the province is working to help rehome tenants and compensate them for the loss of their belongings. Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister Lisa Naylor said the investigation into the eviction is ongoing by the Residential Tenancies Branch. “This could add up to some substantive charges,” Naylor said. “And if the investigation reveals there are criminal actions as a part of what has gone on, it can also be referred to the justice system.” Naylor said the property owners are previously known to the RTB.  Source: Global News
The province of Manitoba says it’s investigating the evictions at a North End apartment building earlier this week. Numerous residents were forced to leave an apartment on College Avenue in Winnipeg this week, with minimal notice. Many tenants told Global News they were offered money to leave abruptly and were locked out of their apartments, and some had their personal belongings removed and tossed out. Kyle Lemke was one of them. “It’s severely impacted my life, it was by all means, as I suspected at first, an illegal eviction,” Lemke told Global News. Lemke is now staying in a hotel, trying to decide what to do next. “My finances are obviously dwindling right now,” he said. “Homelessness is not something I’ve ever experienced, and not something I ever want to experience.” During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said many of the landlord’s alleged actions are illegal. “I just say shame on that landlord. He needs to be part of the solution and he needs to make amends for what he has done,” Smith said. “And he’s going to be held accountable by this government.” The province says it’s working to identify and contact each of the residents of the apartment building to help them find housing and to help compensate tenants for personal items that were thrown out by property management. It says residents are able to make a claim against the landlord and is urging them to contact the Residential Tenancies Branch for further steps. It will also be conducting an investigation into the landlord’s actions. “This could add up to substantive charges,” Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister Lisa Naylor said. “And if investigation reveals criminal action has gone on here, then it can be referred to the justice system.” Marion Willis, the founder and executive director of Street Links, says many of the tenants previously lived in homeless encampments and were re-housed by her organization. She says she also has concerns this landlord will take similar action at another rental property. “The people in that building, at least 50 per cent of them are people we’ve taken out of encampments and housed in that building,” Willis said. “They aren’t people you’re going to mess with, but they’re human beings, though, and they have as much of a right as you do and I do to be housed.” Global News reached out to Lanawae Housing Centre who said they are in the process of moving tenants out and working to ensure tenants have alternate accommodations. Source Winnipeg Free Press
LIONS Housing Centres and the Lions Club of Winnipeg have been accused of inflicting “organizational elder abuse” on seniors because of the way they sold Lions Place to a for-profit real estate company in 2023. The accusation is listed in a new report that states the two groups failed to investigate alternatives to selling the 610 Portage Ave. property and kept its tenants, many of whom had lived there for decades, in the dark about the transaction. In “A Betrayal of Trust: Exploring the Financialization of Lions Place in Winnipeg as a Case of Organizational Elder Abuse,” the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives calls on the provincial government “to launch an immediate public inquiry, investigation and/or audit” into the management and spending of both Lions Housing Centres and the Winnipeg branch of the Lions Club. “The sale of Lions Place represents both a major net loss of affordable housing and an example of the targeted dismantling of community for older adults in Winnipeg,” says the 46-page report, which is being released today. “We conclude that it can also be conceptualized as organizational elder neglect and abuse in a community setting, reflective of a broader problem of mistreatment of older adults more generally, manifested here in mistreatment by a non-profit charitable organization.” One of its authors, Laura Funk, a sociology professor at the University of Manitoba, said the province needs to take action because Lions Housing Centres still looks after seniors at both Lions Manor, at 320 Sherbrook St., and Lions View, at 311 Furby St. “The seniors at Lions Place thought their needs would be looked after, but it was like the rug was pulled out from under them,” Funk said about the sale to the for-profit Mainstreet Equity Corp. in Feb. 2023, for a reported $24 million. Funk said there had been a long-standing relationship of trust between the tenants and the Lions and it was shattered by the sale. “This is organizational elder abuse or institutional… they lost their sense of security for their final years. They knew if their care needs advanced they could go down to Lions Manor and now it’s less clear. This was the Lions (service club) — that’s why it is so shocking.” Tenants only learned about a possible sale of the 287-suite building in July 2022. The 55-plus complex was built in 1983 with federal government funding and an operating agreement that later transferred to the provincial government. Even though the residents rallied against the sale, it went through early in 2023. The families minister at the time, Rochelle Squires, said the province would cushion the change by paying the seniors $1.2 million in rent subsidies for two years. The building was renamed “Residences of Portage Commons.” A spokesperson for the Lions Club of Winnipeg could not be reached for comment. A Lions Housing Centres spokesman said he could not comment until after he reviews the report. Norm Pohl, the president of the resident council in the building, moved into Lions Place with his wife, Edna, about five years ago. Pohl said they were both Lions Club members at the time, but they both quit the organization after the sale of the building. “The Lions Club has a vision statement and they really, really forgot their vision,” he said. “The vision is noble, it is caring for people. They have lost their vision.” Pohl said the province should hold an inquiry into what the Lions did in the years leading up to the sale. “I hope that comes out,” he said. “If there is a villain in this whole thing it was the Lions Club. It wasn’t Mainstreet. They just bought the building.” The report recommends the government subsidize rent paid by tenants for as long as they live in the building — something Pohl said he appreciates. The report also suggests the building be sold to another non-profit or the government. Tom Simms, whose 94-year-old mother lives in the building, and who was interviewed for the report, said he is pleased the provincial government has agreed to meet to discuss its findings. “A year has passed since the sale and there is a lot of anxiety there,” Simms said, adding he believes the number of seniors has dropped to about 35 per cent of the building. “There is anxiety about what the future holds. There was an emotional impact of the whole sale of the building. There is only one year left of the rent agreement. The people in the building should be protected. “It needs to be extended by the new government so people aren’t pushed out of their residences.” Other recommendations include having the provincial government enact legislation that would ban the sale of non-profit buildings to the private sector, especially ones which have received taxpayer funding; ensure tenants are included on building housing boards; and revisit provincial legislation on elder abuse to add indirect and more organizational harms. Housing Minister Bernadette Smith did not answer questions about whether the province would investigate the situation or continue to pay the rent subsidy. “We are engaged with the company and will continue to pay close attention to this situation in order to support the seniors who have built a community and call the building home,” Smith said in an emailed statement.  Source - Manitoba Government Site
Manitoba has a new law to make communities and neighbourhoods safer. The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act is the first of its kind in Canada.It works by holding property owners accountable for threatening or disturbing activities that regularly take place on their property related to:
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act information pamphlet (682 Kb PDF) How do you define property?Under the act, property can include a structure, business, house, apartment, suite, co-operative housing unit, mobile home or land on which there is no building. How does the process start?The process starts when one or more residents of a neighbourhood who fear for their safety or security file a complaint with Manitoba's director of law enforcement. The complaint is kept confidential. The identity of those who file it cannot be revealed at any time. The director may launch an investigation. If there is evidence to support the claim, the director has several options:
If the director decides not to act on the complaint, the person or persons who made the complaint can take the matter to court at their own cost. Who investigates the complaint?Public Safety Investigations of Manitoba Justice will receive and investigate the complaint. What happens if either a Community Safety Order or an Emergency Closure Order is granted?A notice and a copy of the order outlining conditions are posted on the property. At the same time, a copy of the order is served on the owner. It will order the owner to take steps to stop the problem and also bar tenants from continuing in specified activities. It may order some or all people to leave for a specific period of time if they have been involved in such activities. The tenancy agreement or lease of any tenant may also be terminated. The property may also be closed for up to 90 days. What can a tenant do who is not involved in illegal activities?Tenants who have not been involved in any illegal activities can apply to the court for a variance of the order, which allows them to return to the property. The application has to be done within 14 days of being served, although the court may extend this time. What can an owner do if they receive an order to close the property?Before the closure date, the owner may ask the court to set aside the order. A property owner may also appeal an order if it involves a question of law and if a judge of the Court of Appeal has given leave to do so. This must be done within 14 days after the order is pronounced or within such further time as a judge allows. The judge's decision on the application for leave to appeal is final and not subject to further appeal. What happens if the owner does not comply with a Community Safety Order?An owner who does not comply may face a number of penalties, including a fine of up to $500 for every day compliance does not occur and possibly fines or imprisonment if found in contempt of court. An owner who transfers property to another party without letting them know that an order is in effect may be liable to a fine of up to $20,000 and/or a year in prison. What happens if the tenants do not comply?If the tenants involved in unlawful activity ignore the order, they may be liable to a fine of up to $500 and may also be liable to fines and/or imprisonment if found in contempt of court. Defacing an Order or entering a closed building.Anyone who removes or defaces an order or in any way interferes with it faces a fine up to $2,500 and/or three months in prison. Someone who enters a property closed under an order may be liable to a fine up to $5,000 and/or six months in prison. What happens if an owner is falsely accused?Each complaint is thoroughly investigated. If no evidence is found to support it, the complaint is dropped. An owner found to be innocent and who has also taken reasonable steps to prevent illegal activities on their premises can get help in removing problem tenants. Who is responsible for the costs of closure?The owner of the property is responsible for costs related to the closure of the property. Does the act apply to gangs?Yes, if they are habitually involved in one or more of the activities defined above. Can my house be closed if my teenager has a noisy party while I am away?Not unless there is evidence that your home is habitually used for one or more of the activities defined above. For more information, contact:Manitoba Justice Public Safety Investigations Phone (Winnipeg) (204) 945-3475 (Toll Free outside Winnipeg) 1-800-954-9361 |
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