A tenancy dispute over relocation and a lockout has been mostly resolved, though resident Ted Wilson is not impressed with the way things were handled.
After the apartment’s hot water tank leaked July 23, the owner, Macro Properties, told Wilson he would need to vacate for three months at a minimum. Then, on Monday, he said the lock on his door was changed, though the company said that was accidental.
He was given three days’ notice to leave while repairs were being done.
Wilson, a senior employed as a forklift operator at Odin Seafood, said he lost two days of work during the busiest time of the year because of the situation.
After days of confusion, Wilson sought the advice of Paul Lagace, a housing advocate at the Prince Rupert Unemployed Action Centre.
While Wilson’s case was eventually addressed by Macro, another senior tenant might not have been so confident in advocating for themselves, said Lagace.
“[The company] did the right thing, but it wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t stand up,” Lagace said.
According to Wilson, his property manager offered him a new apartment for the interim, which would have cost Wilson an extra $400 of rent per month. Now, he said, Macro promised they will not hike his rent.
While Wilson is happy to not have a rent hike, he’s still not satisfied and is left with unanswered questions. A lack of clear communication has also been a point of concern for the 66-year-old.
“It’s stressing me out… I get home from work and I’m too tired to do anything,” he said. “They’re not saying anything to me, why do I have to call them to find out what to do?”
Imran Jivraj, director of property management at Macro Properties, said the conflict has largely been resolved, but admits there were some communication blips.
“The apartment is not safe, we have to go in there and do the work,” said Jivraj. “I think there has been some communication issues here that we’re going to take care of.”
It took five days for the company to come fix the water issues, according to Wilson, who’s worried his hydro bill will explode because of the heavy use of fans to fix the water damage, though Jivraj said these kinds of things happen frequently and tenants never pay the bill in the end.
“This happened Sunday, [the property manager] came by Thursday and finally started dealing with it,” Wilson said.
Jivraj disputes these claims and said there was a Macro employee that happened to be on-site after the water tank blew and was able to turn the water off quickly.
Both Wilson and Lagace said they were yelled at by the property manager when they asked for answers, though more recent talks have been more amicable.
“I’ve probably dealt with only a few lockouts in my entire 10 years, certainly never with a senior who’s done nothing wrong,” Lagace said.
He also noted that he has rarely had any problems in the past with Macro, the largest landlord in Prince Rupert.