Halifax, NS (November 1, 2022) – The Department of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, which is responsible for the Residential Tenancies Program, has confirmed to CBC Nova Scotia that a municipal Order to Vacate an Unsafe Property doesn’t end a tenant’s lease. This is contrary to the claims made by landlord Marcus Ranjbar (4364812 Nova Scotia Limited).
On October 31, 2022, CBC Nova Scotia’s Nicola Seguin reported: “The provincial department in charge of Residential Tenancies says when a building is condemned, the tenant must leave. But it doesn’t end their lease. Both the tenant and landlord have the same rights as before. If a landlord wants to evict their tenant, they still have to serve them a Notice to Quit. If the tenant disagrees, it goes through a hearing just like any other dispute.”
On October 25, 2022, municipal officials notified Ms. Gomez that the landlord had been issued an HRM Order to Vacate Unsafe Property for his Church St. building due to elevated levels of mould detected in an air quality test. Mr. Ranjbar has been seeking to renovict Ms. Gomez since March 2022. On October 25, 2022, the landlord served Ms. Gomez with a Landlord’s Notice to Quit – Additional Circumstances (Form F). He has wrongfully claimed that her tenancy was immediately terminated as a result of the HRM Order.
Municipal officials have also stated that the HRM Order did not impact Ms. Gomez’ tenancy.
On October 25, 2022, HRM officials Shawn Kennedy (Assistant Building Official), Adam Sadler (HRM Building Official) and Officer Bing with HRM Compliance came to notify Ms. Gomez of the HRM Order. “Everything under the landlord tenancy act, all those rights, that all still applies. This has nothing to do with that,” said Officer Bing to Ms. Gomez in a video shared with the media.
On October 28, 2022, Ms. Gomez says she also spoke with an official from the Mayor’s office who reiterated: “You still do have your tenancy rights.”
“Municipal and provincial officials have confirmed that for people in my situation, our tenancy rights are still in effect. This means my lease is still in place. Will Marcus Ranjbar continue to wrongfully claim that my lease is up?” said Ms. Gomez.
On October 30, 2022, the landlord removed Ms. Gomez’s possessions from the unit, without her authorization. Ms. Gomez continues to assert her tenancy rights, and her goal of returning to the unit she calls home once repairs are completed.
