For over 17 years, Abby has lived in her basement apartment in Kensington-Cedar Cottage. Abby is an active member of her neighbourhood and community and has a long history of volunteering, including at her local Neighbourhood House.

Abby’s landlord lives in the main unit upstairs. Abby has been an excellent tenant, taking care of her unit and doing additional work for her landlord: she takes care of the garden and also watches her landlord’s dog. Now Abby, who is living on a fixed income, is facing eviction. On September 7, the landlord served Abby a “Notice to End Tenancy for Landlord’s Use of Property.”

A Bad-Faith Eviction

During the tenancy, the landlord suggested they would like to evict Abby so that family members or homestays could move in. Previously, Abby asked to remain in the unit and the possibility of eviction was averted. Meanwhile, the landlord failed to take care of basic repairs, including a broken stovetop and screen door, and asked Abby not to use the dryer in her unit in order to save on electricity.

In late 2023, Abby’s landlord asked her to agree to a voluntary rent increase of 42%. Feeling pressured, Abby agreed to an increase of 24%. Following this, the landlord was upset with Abby for not agreeing to a larger increase.

Abby believes her landlord intends to move a homestay into her unit, or re-rent the unit at a much higher rent amount. It strains credulity that the landlord would wish to move into the basement suite of the house when they currently occupy the much larger upstairs unit. It’s also implausible that the landlord, who recently requested an illegally large increase in rent, now claims to want to occupy Abby’s unit and will receive no rental income from it.

Residential Tenancy Branch

Abby filed a dispute with the Residential Tenancy Branch, and faced the hearing in November. Her landlord hired a lawyer and submitted hundreds of pages of evidence. Abby tried to prove that the illegal rent raise motivated a bad-faith eviction, but the RTB decided in favour of the landlord. This shows how difficult it is to fight a landlord-use eviction through the RTB.

In Abby’s current state of health, and with the massive increase in rent that a new lease would mean, a move would be devastating. Abby plans to continue fighting the eviction, including applying to the BC Supreme Court for a Judicial Review of the RTB decision.

Timeline of Events 

• July 2007-October 2023 - Abby lives peacefully in her home
• November 2023 - The landlord informs Abby her rent will increase by 42% in March 2024. Abby informs the landlord this would be an illegal and unjust increase
• December 2023 - Feeling pressured by the landlord, Abby agrees to a 24% rent increase. The landlord is angry with Abby
• September 2024 - The landlord serves Abby with an RTB-32L “Four Month Notice to End Tenancy For Landlord's Use of Property”
• November 2024 - RTB dispute decision in favour of Abby’s landlord
• January 31 2025 - Date set for Abby’s eviction

Call to Action

In spite of the RTB not ruling in her favour, Abby is determined to continue fighting this eviction. In Abby’s words: moving is not an option. 

Abby needs a strong community behind her in the coming weeks. As her official move-out date (January 31st) approaches, she also needs people who can make it out on and around that day to support her.

Check back soon for an interview with Abby herself—on her deep roots in this community and how this eviction fight has impacted her.