Oak Bay tenant calls for provincial, municipal tenant support following 'renoviction'

Neil McKinlay and his family were forced to permission their location of 28 years successful Oak Bay, B.C., past month, aft the building's renters mislaid a two-year conflict with their landlord and were evicted for renovations.

Now paying importantly much astatine his caller rental, McKinlay is calling connected the state and District of Oak Bay to heighten tenant assistance and crack down connected landlords who evict tenants to renovate — known arsenic renoviction — and then, potentially, rent retired units astatine a higher price. 

The destiny of McKinlay's gathering was decided past fall, erstwhile the the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) sided with his landlord, Andrew Rebeyka, successful a determination viewed by the CBC, ordering each tenants retired of the gathering by the extremity of March. 

"It was a heartache due to the fact that this had go our home," said McKinlay, who had fought the RTB proceedings successful his escaped time.

"It's also, to beryllium honest, a small spot embarrassing to say, present I americium … I've been evicted."

'Expensive and stressful'

In the neighbouring municipalities of Victoria and Esquimalt, renovicted tenants are entitled to assistance specified arsenic compensation based connected their magnitude of tenancy, moving expenses, assistance relocating and, erstwhile renovations are complete, the close of archetypal refusal to instrumentality to their portion for 20 per cent beneath marketplace rate.

Those policies bash not beryllium successful Oak Bay.

McKinlay and different erstwhile tenant of the 14-unit gathering astatine 2161 Haultain St., accidental they were each fixed 1 month's rent erstwhile they were evicted — which they accidental made up conscionable a fraction of their moving expenses and the higher rent prices they present pay. 

For McKinlay's two-bedroom apartment, his household had paid astir $1,400 monthly. Now, helium says, they pay about $1,000 much a month.

Joanne Thorwaldson, who lived successful the gathering for 5 years, present lives crossed the street. Her rent, she says, has doubled.

"The process was truly costly and stressful," she said. 

"The toll, I think, is going to beryllium yet to beryllium told, due to the fact that of people my complaint of wage didn't double. My request for nutrient doesn't change."

A "large bulk of suites" successful the gathering were rented beneath the marketplace complaint anterior to the evictions, according to the Capital Regional District's Regional Housing Acquisition Strategy, dated January 2024, which listed the gathering among respective for merchantability oregon precocious sold properties that could beryllium acquired arsenic affordable housing.

Tenancy subdivision sides with landlord

In 2021, B.C. introduced changes to "eliminate astir renovictions" by requiring landlords to beryllium to the RTB that indispensable upgrades oregon repairs are lone imaginable if the tenancy is ended, anterior to issuing immoderate evictions. The state besides launched an online portal successful 2024, to marque wide to landlords what the conditions are for ending a tenancy and the risks associated with evicting tenants successful atrocious faith.

RTB documents amusement that in Rebeyka's exertion to the tenancy branch, helium argued the 65-year-old Oak Bay gathering had aging components that needed to beryllium replaced.

He cited inspections from multiple contractors helium hired who recovered the plumbing lines were astir 40 years past their emblematic beingness expectancy. Rebeyka besides said helium wanted to upgrade the building's electrical system, adhd in-suite laundry, instal caller kitchens and redo the flooring.

According to Rebeyka, the gathering would beryllium uninhabitable owed to the renovations for astatine slightest a year, with h2o and energy unopen disconnected for a important information of that time.

But the landlord's Oak Bay tenants raised concerns to the RTB that Rebeyka had a past of buying properties and past evicting tenants to execute renovations, and questioned the "good faith" of his intentions. 

The CBC contacted Rebeyka implicit email aggregate times seeking an interrogation and comment, but did not perceive backmost successful clip for publication.

In its decision, RTB arbitrator C. Amsdorf wrote that Rebeyka had each the permits successful spot for the work, and agreed that it was "not reasonable" for tenants to stay successful the gathering owed to the grade of the renovations.

"I admit that the Landlord has been progressive successful different situations wherever they person evicted occupants of a gathering for ample standard renovations," Amsdorf wrote successful the decision. "However, I bash not find this is grounds of atrocious faith, arsenic the Landlord is legally entitled to use for this benignant of an bid of possession, provided they conscionable the criteria."

McKinlay says helium feels a person look should beryllium taken astatine landlords with a past of renovictions.

"While I respect the result of the RTB process — and admit its precise beingness — I americium funny however different neighbourhood buildings of akin property and attraction histories tin acquisition important renovations without evicting tenants," said McKinlay.

Douglas King, enforcement manager of Victoria-based non-profit Together Against Poverty, says the concern shows the existent strategy isn't up to the task of preventing renovictions, peculiarly arsenic it puts a load connected tenants, who are often under-resourced compared to landlords. 

"It's often near to the tenants to effort to beryllium that the landlord doesn't necessitate vacancy to bash the repairs that they stated, and that's not realistic," helium said.

Renovictions don't conscionable affect the tenants who are displaced, King says. It tin make much request for subsidized housing, putting further unit connected constricted enactment and disposable units.

"When we neglect to support debased income lodging stock, 1 of the lone places that tin beryllium affordable to idiosyncratic connected disablement oregon seniors … everybody pays the price," helium said. 

Province, territory quality responsibility

Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch says helium would enactment introducing akin renter assistance policies successful his municipality to those that beryllium successful Victoria and Esquimalt, but thinks the work should prevarication with the state to standardize tenant assistance measures, truthful that each B.C. renters person the aforesaid rights.

Murdoch says it's B.C., done the RTB — not municipalities — that should beryllium successful complaint of making definite tenants are protected from atrocious religion renovictions and supported if eviction is necessary. 

"Our penchant and astir preferences successful the state would beryllium that the state look astatine this carefully, due to the fact that it appears to not beryllium moving the mode it was intended to work," helium said.

"They're expected to beryllium addressing this."

Between July 2021, erstwhile B.C. introduced the caller renoviction exertion process, and March 2025, the Ministry of Housing said determination were 209 applications filed to evict tenants to implicit large renovations. Of the applications that were addressed successful that period, 87 were withdrawn, 68 were dismissed, 29 were granted landlord possession, 15 were settled with landlord possession, and 7 were mixed decisions containing aggregate units.  

According to the Ministry of Housing, the RTB conducts post-eviction audits to guarantee landlords travel done connected their reasons for evictions. 

McKinlay says helium feels determination should beryllium a authorities registry to way each developers who person a past of renovicting tenants from aggregate properties, including those allowed to bash truthful by the RTB.

"Tracking developers who renovict successful a serial manner, arsenic my erstwhile landlord does, allows the authorities to rise the question, 'Are each these genuinely necessary?'"

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the state volition statesman to station decisions connected rental-related fines — including mendacious evictions — online successful June, to supply an accidental for radical to spot which buildings are illegally acting arsenic "serial renovictors." B.C. has besides accrued fines for those abusing the system. 

However, helium says helium feels it's connected municipalities — similar Oak Bay — to supply the enactment McKinlay is asking for.

"There are a batch of measures that we enactment successful spot to enactment renters, and if there's much opportunities we'll surely look astatine that," Kahlon said.

"At this point, we judge section governments should beryllium stepping up and putting their ain policies successful place."

With nary 1 claiming work for these protections, it's unclear however — and if — alteration volition ever come. And adjacent if it does, it's excessively precocious for McKinlay and his erstwhile neighbours.

"Someone asked maine the different time if I've begun to settee into our caller home, and I'm not definite that's imaginable aft this experience," said McKinlay. "My consciousness of location has been altered by this."