Halifax, NS (October 25, 2022) – Today, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) officials issued an “Order to vacate unsafe property” to landlord Marcus Ranjbar (4364812 Nova Scotia Limited) for his Church St. building, which is at the centre of a renoviction battle. Tenant Stacey Gomez was told by municipal officials that she would need to leave her unit within hours of the Order being served.
The Order reads: “the Property is deemed to be unsafe due to excessive mold in the air posing a health risk to residents occupying the space.”
On August 12, 2022, Mr. Ranjbar submitted an environmental report as evidence in his application to renovict Ms. Gomez. According to the environmental report, Pario had “identified several areas where water intrusion was suspected” in November 2021 and had recommended to Mr. Ranjbar “that the source of the water must be identified and rectified, to prevent further mould and fungal growth, which represent a risk to residents.” Ms. Gomez says that this did not take place.
Ms. Gomez says she informed the municipality. On August 29, 2022, the landlord was issued an HRM Notice of Violation for 4 infractions in Ms Gomez’ unit. The landlord was ordered to submit a professional air quality test by September 16, 2022 due to water damage observed in the unit, or face daily fines of $237.50. However, the testing was conducted on September 19, 2022, and the results were dated October 17, 2022. In addition, the landlord was ordered to investigate the source of water entry and undertake repairs by September 25, 2022, or face daily fines of $237.50. Ms. Gomez said that this did not happen. HRM spokesperson Klara Needler disclosed that the landlord has not been fined.
“The landlord knew about a mold issue in the building since November 2021, prior to purchasing the building. He took no action to fix this issue or stop it from getting worse, which likely exacerbated the problem and led for the building to be condemned by HRM. I find it unfair that the landlord submitted air quality test results over one month late to HRM, yet faced no penalties. I was told by HRM that I had to leave as soon as possible, because of unsafe conditions. If the municipality cares for my safety, why allow this delay from the landlord?,” said Ms. Gomez.
Ms. Gomez was notified on October 20, 2022 of the pending order to have her unit condemned by the HRM. On October 24th, she went public sharing that she had nowhere to go.
Speaking to the Halifax Examiner on October 20th, the Department of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services Spokesperson Susan McKeage had stated: “Tenants’ insurance may also assist in a situation like this. Tenants’ insurance is always strongly recommended. Tenants with insurance should check with their insurer to see what help is available to them.” Ms. Gomez says that her tenant insurance doesn’t cover emergency housing caused by mold, and she suspects that this is the case for others as well.
“On October 24th, I let municipal officials know that I had nowhere to go. My friend called the temporary emergency housing agencies recommended to me and we had not heard back yet. When HRM officials came today to inform me I had to leave, I didn’t know where I would be staying tonight. It was a stressful day, trying to figure that out. Thankfully, the HRM officials stepped up their efforts to help me today, which resulted in me having a place to stay for 2 weeks via the Department of Community Services.”
Ms. Gomez’s tenancy rights remain in effect. For example, the landlord must notify her 24 hours prior to entering her unit. However, Ms. Gomez says that the company’s property manager Morgan Fraser entered her unit without authorization shortly after she left today.
On September 12, 2022, a Residential Tenancy Officer issued a decision dismissing the landlord’s application to renovict Ms. Gomez. On September 16, 2022, the landlord filed a Notice of Appeal with the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia seeking to have this decision overturned. A hearing date in Small Claims Court is in the process of being scheduled. The Adjudicator’s decision will determine if Ms. Gomez will be evicted from her home.
“We know that there are landlords that do allow their properties to go into a state of disrepair so that they can more easily evict tenants and that should not be taking place,” Ms. Gomez said.
Ms. Gomez says she is seeking for repairs to be completed and to be able to return to her unit, under the same terms.
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
