P.E.I. landlord says rental turned into a nightmare after tenants 'ruined' her property

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

When Thamara DeVries handed implicit the keys to her afloat furnished location successful Wheatley River, P.E.I., successful February, she thought she was renting it to a household of four. 

But soon aft move-in day, DeVries was called to assistance with the property's blistery tub. 

"I realized that determination was a ma and a dada and 10 children, which is decidedly not what we agreed on," DeVries told CBC News.

She said the mates confirmed the 10 children were each theirs and were each surviving successful the house.

DeVries instantly contacted the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), which handles disputes betwixt landlords and tenants connected P.E.I.

That began a months-long effort to evict the tenants. She said the ineligible process has dragged on, and successful the meantime, she's watched the location deteriorate.

"That process has been incredibly painful, excruciating and draining, to accidental the least," she said. "We person a hard clip going to bed, and our fiscal concern has changed rather a bit, including lawyer fees and the information that they haven't paid immoderate rent since April."

CBC News knocked connected the doorway of the spot successful an effort to talk to the renters, but nary 1 answered. 

'Beyond devastated'

Eventually — aft providing the tenants with written announcement that she was going to participate the property, successful accordance with IRAC argumentation — DeVries called the constabulary for assistance.

She said she didn't consciousness harmless going successful without officers adjacent aft noticing assertive dogs connected the site. Soon she saw thing she recovered adjacent much menacing.

"There were knives each implicit the doorway frames connected each doorway of the main level — each covered successful knives — to forestall america from walking into the property," she said.

"We had to region the knives and propulsion the doorway successful and to spot the implicit catastrophe that it was."

Once inside, the archetypal happening she noticed was the odor — "the worst odor you could imagine," DeVries said.

She said the downstairs of the spot had been turned into a greenhouse for increasing plants and each the furnishings had been tossed outside, exposed to wintertime conditions. She besides recovered kittens successful the bathtub. 

"The furnishings is gone, ruined. The floors are ruined. The surface doors and each the screens connected the windows are ripped. The room is perfectly trashed and the carpets are perfectly filthy and… my blistery tub isn't moving anymore and the gait looks similar a dump," she said, describing her locomotion done the house.

"At that point, I americium beyond devastated."

Outside, she said the tenants had turned the gait into farmland and dumped respective truckloads of manure connected apical of wherever her good sits. Despite repeated requests to person it moved, she said the heap remains there.

"I'm going to beryllium near with possibly $80,000 of damages, lawyer fees to the extortion and the intelligence accent that is … beyond thing anyone tin imagine," she said.

Eviction bid delayed

DeVries presented photos of the damages and documents showing non-payment of rent during a proceeding astatine the extremity of May. IRAC ruled the tenants had 7 days to vacate.

But she said the tenants appealed the decision, arguing they couldn't find lodging wrong a week and alleging favoritism successful the rental marketplace against ample families.

"Honestly, I person nary thought however immoderate of those 2 things are related to me," DeVries said.

The tenants besides applied for a instrumentality of rent totalling $14,500, on with "compensation for affectional distress" successful the magnitude of $12 million, according to IRAC documents. 

That exertion was denied, with a residential tenancy serviceman for the committee penning that the tenants "have not established a valid assertion for a instrumentality of rent and I bash not person the jurisdiction to see the tenants' assertion for affectional distress." 

The adjacent proceeding betwixt the 2 sides volition beryllium conducted successful writing, and some sides tin taxable grounds aboriginal this week. It's not known erstwhile a determination volition beryllium made. 

"In each rental matters, the committee endeavours to supply a timely determination to the parties, taking into relationship the unsocial circumstances of each matter," IRAC wrote successful a connection to CBC News. 

Meanwhile, DeVries said it pains her to spot the spot her household worked hard to acquisition — the spot wherever she hoped to big her daughter's wedding someday — successful an unrecognizable state.

"It's the process that is sidesplitting us. It's not... that I person nary evidence. It's the information that the process is truthful dilatory and there's truthful galore loopholes, and radical cognize however to play the game," she said. 

"It conscionable feels that determination is simply a precocious level of injustice and the process is not fair."

'Know what you're getting into'

Conflicts betwixt landlords and tenants are communal connected P.E.I., said Rowen Gallant, programme manager of Renting P.E.I. astatine Community Legal Information.

Gallant said the bureau often receives calls from tenants seeking to recognize their rights oregon needing enactment aft a narration with their landlord has breached down.

He added that landlords indispensable besides beryllium informed of their responsibilities from the beginning. Renting P.E.I. offers a usher specifically for landlords.

"It helps you cognize what you're getting into earlier you really get into the occupation oregon the occupation starts," helium said.

He added that bully connection and relationship-building are besides important successful preventing and managing imaginable conflicts. He said this applies to some tenants and landlords.

"When some parties person a steadfast knowing of however the authorities works and what their rights are and what their responsibilities to each different are, that ever is going to springiness you the champion accidental of occurrence astatine having a bully relationship."