The Disgrace of Mount Pleasant
Elderly Tenant Forced Out After 26 Years by Landlord Previously Labeled Community "Steward"
Author’s Note: All names and personal information have been redacted to protect the privacy of the parties involved.
Mount Pleasant, Vancouver — A 26-year resident of Mount Pleasant was recently forced out of her long-time home under circumstances that have left many in the community outraged. The landlord, who has publicly been called a “steward” of the community, allegedly harassed and pressured the elderly tenant after she refused a voluntary rent increase, ultimately forcing her to leave in what members of the community are calling “an absolute disgrace.”
A Tenant’s Ordeal
For over two decades, the tenant, a woman in her 70s, lived in her unit without any significant issues. The problems began in 2019, when the landlord requested a voluntary rent increase far above the legal limit. Living on a fixed income and recently bereaved, the tenant refused the $445 increase. Following this refusal, she claims the landlord embarked on a campaign of harassment designed to push her out of her home.
Timeline of Events
-
1998-2019
Stable Tenancy
The tenant lives peacefully in her unit for over 20 years without incident.
-
27 May 2019
Request of Voluntary Rent Increase
In 2019 the landlord sends a letter to all tenants asking them to voluntarily accept a $445 rent increase. As the request was described as voluntary, it was considered legal despite being significantly above the legal limit. Living on a fixed income and having just been bereaved that same month, the tenant refused the $445 increase.
-
2019-2024
Refusal of Rent Increase and Period of Alleged Harassment
The landlord and his family allegedly begin subjecting the tenant to verbal abuse, invasion of privacy and unlawful entry to her unit, refusal to repair utilities, and illegitimate threats of eviction. A complete description of each event along with its associated evidence can be found below.
-
30 June 2024
Notice of Eviction
Less than two weeks after threatening to evict the tenant if she did not “watch her mouth” and one week after stating “I don’t give a shit about her” to the tenant’s upstairs neighbour, the landlord serves the tenant with an eviction notice, claiming the unit was needed for a close family member to occupy.
-
26 July 2024
Tenant Files Dispute
The tenant files for dispute resolution, claiming the eviction is in bad faith. Under British Columbia’s Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), a landlord may end a tenancy to house a close family member, but this must be done in “good faith” and free from ulterior motives.
-
30 August 2024
Tenant Withdraws Dispute
Faced with the dilemma of either risking immediate homelessness if she lost the September 10 hearing or incurring unaffordable double rent if she secured housing before the decision, the tenant withdraws her application for dispute resolution.
-
30 August, 2024
Landlord Advertises Separate Listing in Same Complex
On the same day the tenant withdraws the dispute and one day before the end of her tenancy, the landlord lists a different single bedroom unit in the same complex for rent on Craigslist.
The Full Story
For over 26 years, the tenant lived in her Mount Pleasant home, enjoying stability and a strong sense of community. In 2019, the landlord asked all tenants in the building to voluntarily accept a $445 rent increase—an amount well above the legal limit but technically allowed since it required tenant approval. The tenant, whose late husband was in hospice at the time of the request, declined the increase due to her fixed income and the emotional and financial strain of her loss.
A Deteriorating Situation
After her refusal to pay the voluntary rent increase, the tenant claims that her once-secure living situation began to deteriorate. According to her, the landlord and his family initiated a campaign of intimidation and harassment that started with subtle hints and escalated to face-to-face verbal harassment, invasion of privacy via unwelcome entry to her apartment, and threats of eviction.
When they asked people for a voluntary rent increase, everybody did except for ... you.
”- Landlord's daughter and family employee to the tenant (Allegedly)
Presented below are the photos, text messages, entries from the tenant’s personal journal, and eyewitness statements all submitted as evidence for the dispute resolution hearing. A tenant’s statement document that was submitted as part of the evidence for the hearing alleges it is proof of a systematic effort to pressure her into leaving.
One of the alleged tactics involved occasionally placing newspaper clippings with bold headlines about rising rents on a desk just outside the tenant’s door, with highlighted sections emphasizing the gap between her rent and current market rates. The first newspaper clipping appeared shortly after the tenant’s refusal to voluntarily increase her rent. The article’s subtitle read “Two-bedroom apartments near $3,000 a month”, closely echoing a section in the landlord’s request for rent increase, which read “The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now $1,828.00 while the average rent for a two-bedroom is $2,916.00.”
The tenant alleges the newspaper postings were part of a tactic to pressure her into accepting a higher rent or else move out to allow the landlord to collect the higher rent he believes he is owed. The landlord did not deny posting the clippings in the evidence they submitted for the dispute resolution hearing, stating “As the owner of the building I can display any legal document I choose in the public areas the same way I display the annual business licence.”
The message was clear: she was paying too little, and her continued residence was unwelcome.
Verbal Harassment and Intimidation Tactics
As time went on and it became clear that newspaper clippings would not be sufficient to coerce the tenant into leaving, the landlord and his family allegedly began verbally harassing the tenant. Entries in the tenant’s personal journal document multiple instances of verbal harassment by the landlord and his daughter who is an employee of the family business. These incidents were recorded at the time they occurred, and screenshots of the journal entries were submitted as evidence in the dispute resolution hearing and are presented below.
Suddenly, [the landlord’s brother] opens my back door and says to me, ‘Tone it down.’ He came right into the kitchen...Then he was about to leave, turned around and said, ‘If you don’t tone it down, I’ll ask you to leave.’
”- Tenant's testimony
In one encounter, the daughter reportedly told the tenant, “I will do anything to protect my family.” Another journal entry from March of 2021 recounts how the daughter expressed her displeasure over the tenant’s refusal to pay the voluntary rent increase. The entry states “Then she approached me and said something like when they asked people for a voluntary rent increase, everybody did except for [REDACTED] and me. (Are they treating [REDACTED] badly?)”
By 2024, the encounters had begun to wear on the elderly widowed tenant. An entry from January 3, 2024 states she was confronted by the daughter in the laundry room who called her a “c**t” and said “Nobody wants you here. “The entry ends with the tenant writing to herself “[I] Have to go-leave the place. Make the change.”
The landlord did not address these allegations in his submitted evidence.
An Escalation in Tactics
As time passed, the alleged harassment escalated. The tenant recounts one particularly distressing incident involving the landlord’s brother, who is also an associate in the family business. During a small dinner party with friends, the landlord’s brother allegedly entered her unit without permission. The tenant’s testimony, submitted as evidence in the dispute resolution hearing, details the incident:
“I was having a small dinner party with [two friends] at my house, playing Christmas music. We were laughing and having a good time. Suddenly, [the landlord’s brother] opens my back door and says to me, ‘Tone it down, [tenant].’ He came right into the kitchen. I was sitting at my dining room table. Simply opened the door, entered, and said this. Then he was about to leave, turned around and said, ‘If you don’t tone it down, I’ll ask you to leave.’”
This incident, where the landlord’s brother allegedly entered her home uninvited and issued threats, left the tenant feeling deeply unsettled and intimidated.
The tenant also provided written testimony about the frequent threats of eviction she received from the landlord, documented in phone screenshots, which she claims were used to intimidate and harass her. The landlord did not address these either of these allegations in his evidence.
Neighbours Begin to Notice
The situation reached a point where even neighbors began to notice. The tenant’s upstairs neighbor submitted a signed testimony describing how, on separate occasions, the landlord and his brother expressed disdain for the tenant. The statement recounts how on October 31, 2022 the landlord’s brother allegedly remarked, “We like you guys, but please just be aware it’s an old wooden building and the noise travels easily. I mean, I don’t care about the tenant downstairs—she can roll around in the grave for all I care—but we don’t want to disturb [the other neighbor].” On June 22, 2024, the brother reportedly stated, “I don’t give a shit about her.”
The landlord did not dispute the June 22nd quote in the submitted evidence but denied the October 31 remark, however incorrectly stating that the witness claimed it took place at the same time as the June 22nd instance, raising question as to the validity of this denial.
On June 30, 2024, one week after being quoted as saying “I don’t give a shit about her”, the landlord and his brother served the tenant with an eviction notice. The landlord claimed that the unit was needed for a family member—a rationale that the tenant and her supporters immediately questioned.
The Dispute Resolution Hearing
On July 16, 2024, the tenant formally disputed the eviction notice, arguing that it was issued in bad faith, motivated by a desire to obtain higher rent for the unit that had been rent controlled for 26 years. According to the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) in British Columbia, landlords may end a tenancy to house a family member, but it must be done in “good faith.”
In the case of Gichuru v Palmar Properties Ltd., 2011 BCSC 827, the BC Supreme Court determined that good faith requires an honest intention without any dishonest motive, irrespective of whether the dishonest motive was the primary reason for ending the tenancy. As outlined in GL2A-1:
“[Good faith] means they do not intend to defraud or deceive the tenant, they do not have an ulterior purpose for ending the tenancy, and they are not trying to avoid obligations under the RTA or the tenancy agreement.” (GL2A-1)
“If there are comparable vacant rental units in the property that the landlord could occupy, this may suggest the landlord is not acting in good faith.” (GL2A-1)
According to Residential Policy Guideline 2A, the ‘good faith’ requirement imposes a two part test. First, the landlord must truly intend to use the premises for the purposes stated on the notice to end the tenancy. Second, the landlord must not have a dishonest or ulterior motive as the primary motive for seeking to have the tenant vacate the residential premises. For example, the landlord may intend to occupy the unit. That intention may, however, be motivated by dishonest or undisclosed purposes.
Given the seemingly overwhelming amount of evidence the tenant had compiled throughout the years, it appeared likely she would win the dispute. However, the legal framework offered little reassurance. The hearing was set for September 10, just 10 days after the eviction notice was to take effect. If she lost, she faced immediate homelessness with no clear timeline for vacating. If she secured another apartment in the meantime, she risked having to pay double rent—a financial burden she could not afford.
She [the tenant] can roll around in the grave for all I care.
”- Landlord's brother according to a witness statement
Facing these overwhelming challenges, the tenant withdrew the dispute on August 30, 2024.
On the same day that the tenant withdrew her dispute, the landlord listed another unit in the same complex on Craigslist. This raised further doubts about the landlord’s stated need to house a family member and suggested a calculated effort to replace a long-term tenant with someone who could pay more.
Call to Action
This experience is not unique. In Vancouver’s competitive rental market, long-term tenants, particularly seniors, face increasing pressure as landlords seek to maximize profits by replacing them with tenants who can pay higher rents. This case raises serious concerns about housing insecurity for vulnerable populations in the city.
The Mount Pleasant community must demand accountability from landlords who exploit their tenants. Residents are urged to contact local officials and advocate for stronger tenant protections, ensuring that no one else has to endure what this tenant has experienced.
Get Involved
- Join a Tenants Union: Visit the Vancouver Tenants Union to understand your rights and how to protect them.
- Support the Tenant: Share her story and join the call for better housing protections in Vancouver.
Additional Resources
- Local Tenant Rights Organization: Explore resources to learn more about your rights as a tenant.
- Residential Tenancy Branch Policy Guidelines: Detailed policy guidelines from the Residential Tenancy Branch.
- Contact the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB): Get in touch with the RTB for assistance with tenancy issues.
Leave a comment