West End apartment owner Gordon Nelson Inc. (GNI) acted in bad faith when it attempted to evict all 15 tenants in its Seafield building 10 days after it failed to win a 73% rent increase, according to a February 21 Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) arbitrator’s ruling.
But that decision will have limited influence.
“Unfortunately RTB decisions aren’t binding on other arbitrators. So, it’s not a far-reaching decision necessarily,” Pivot Legal Society lawyer Doug King told Business in Vancouver February 23.
“I think it’s something they should pay attention to. It’s a bit of a ground-breaking decision because it ruled on the issue of bad faith and that’s something that’s not that common.”
The decision means the tenancies of the Seafield residents will continue as they did before the eviction notices were given in the fall. It also means that GNI can no longer force tenants to vacate the building to carry out repairs.
“It’s significant for the tenants,” King said. “It goes a long way to preserve their tenancies in the future.”
Click here for a link to the reasons for judgment.