Halifax, Nova Scotia (January 10, 2022) – On January 11, 2022, a Residential Tenancy Hearing will take place in response to the latest attempt by landlord Marcus Ranjbar (4364812 Nova Scotia Ltd.) to evict tenant Stacey Gomez from her Church Street apartment.
On September 12, 2022, a Residential Tenancy Officer dismissed the landlord’s application to renovict Ms. Gomez and ordered him to pay $837.91. To date, this has not been paid to the tenant.
On October 25, 2022, the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) issued an order stating that the building was unsafe due to high levels of mould detected in an air quality test. Ms. Gomez temporarily left the apartment for repairs to be completed.
That day, the landlord served Ms. Gomez a Form F: Landlord’s notice to quit – Additional circumstances and claimed that her lease was terminated effective immediately. Shortly after, he proceeded to remove her belongings from the apartment without her consent. However, this was not following the rules set out by Nova Scotia’s Residential Tenancy Program.
On November 23, 2022, Ms. Gomez filed a Form J: Application to Director to set aside the notice to quit given by the landlord. In her Form J, Ms. Gomez is arguing that “the landlord’s inaction allowed the mold issue to develop to the point that HRM had to step in for [her] safety.”
Ms. Gomez is seeking to return to the apartment once the repairs are completed, as well as compensation of up to $16,488.18 for the landlord’s actions, including breaches of the Residential Tenancy Act’s (“Act”) renoviction provisions. In addition, Ms. Gomez is seeking the levying of a $1000 fine for each of the landlord’s breaches of the Act, including illegal eviction. If Ms. Gomez is successful, this would be the first time in Nova Scotia history that the fine has been levied.
“If I win, this would be a historic victory for tenant rights in Nova Scotia,” said Ms. Gomez.
To date, Ms. Gomez states that she has not been provided with a timeline for repairs by the HRM or the landlord.
