Dartmouth tenants get eviction notices same day renoviction ban ends
CBC
On the same day Nova Scotia's renoviction ban was lifted earlier this week, a representative from Elly Archer's new landlord came to her door with a message.
"He said that we are going to be getting evicted," Archer told CBC News in an interview Wednesday.
Archer lives in a house on Murray Hill Drive in Dartmouth, N.S., that has been converted into four one-bedroom flats. The same landlord owns another building next door that has also been converted into four flats.
All eight flats received the same warning, said Adele Martell, who lives in the other building.
"He didn't have anything to present to me, he had no papers," Martell said. "He just kind of very briefly said, 'I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but I'm going to have to evict all of the tenants in these apartments.'"
Archer and Martell said the landlord's agent told them they were being "renovicted," and they should expect to receive the official paper known as a DR5 shortly. But both said their flats have already received extensive repairs within the last three years.
"There's actually nothing in here that could be renovated. Everything is new," Martell said. "I believe this is just an excuse that he's giving so that he's able to hike the rent up for as much as possible."
Nova Scotia banned renovictions as a temporary measure tied to the COVID-19 state of emergency in November 2020. The ban ended with the end of the state of emergency on Monday.
The province has made changes to the Residential Tenancies Act that require tenants to be given at least three months notice before a renoviction. If a tenant does not agree to leave, the landlord must apply for an eviction order.
Property records for the two buildings on Murray Hill Drive show the buildings officially changed hands on March 3. Kwesi Ellis of Toronto purchased the two properties, which are the only ones he owns in Nova Scotia.
CBC News reached out to Ellis by phone. He confirmed that he had recently purchased the buildings, but declined to comment further.
Archer, who is 66 and a pensioner, has lived in the building for 15 years. She pays $676 a month. Martell, who is a single mother of two school-aged boys, has lived in the building for two years and pays $850 a month.
Both said they believe it will be impossible for them to find another apartment for the equivalent price. Neither expected to get word of a renoviction at their building on the day the ban expired.
"I thought that was pretty nasty," said Archer.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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