Halifax, Nova Scotia – On November 13, 2022, tenant Stacey Gomez had arranged to recover her belongings from landlord Marcus Ranjbar (4364812 Nova Scotia), after he had the items removed from her home without her consent. Ms. Gomez and Mr. Ranjbar are in an ongoing renoviction battle which dates back to March 2022.
On October 25, 2022, the landlord was served an “Order to vacate unsafe property” by Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) while repairs are completed to address excessive mould in the air. That same day, the landlord served Ms. Gomez a Form F and claimed that her lease was terminated effective immediately. However, this was not following the rules set out by Nova Scotia’s Residential Tenancy Program.
The Department of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, which is responsible for the Residential Tenancies Program, further confirmed to CBC Nova Scotia that a municipal “Order to Vacate an Unsafe Property” doesn’t end a tenant’s lease.
Nevertheless, on October 30th, the landlord removed the tenant’s belongings from her Halifax apartment, claiming that the items were abandoned property. “It felt like a violation for the landlord to come into my home and remove all my belongings. I was afraid they would throw away my items and anxious to see how they left things,” says Ms. Gomez.
Ms. Gomez had arranged to pick up her belongings on November 13, 2022 from 10am to 8pm at the Uhaul Storage facility in Halifax being rented by the landlord. She was accompanied by five volunteers for the move.
“We were forced to wait around, since they arrived late (10:30am). When we finally got access, it was clear that they had packed items carelessly. We found items that were damaged and others appeared to be missing. They had rented a cheaper outside storage unit for my belongings, including my pantry items. In the unit, we saw a rodent trap. It was all devastating. At around 1pm, they said that we would only have 20 minutes remaining,” said Ms. Gomez.
Ms. Gomez says she will be doing a more thorough assessment of losses and damages, and is currently exploring her legal options. She is requesting support for legal fees through a GoFundMe campaign.
