First, Floyd Pauline's landlord said he was evicting her to make room for her sister-in-law. Then he said it was because of bad behavior. But in the end he made sure Pauline couldn't stay by throwing out his possessions and starting renovations on his unit.
The landlord said Poulin gave up a bedroom in his Halifax apartment — an 11-unit building in the Fairview neighborhood — but Poulin, 74, said he was forced out.
Sydnee Blum, a legal aid consultant who works with Poulain, calls it an illegal eviction and says the case is an “extreme” example of landlords trying to evict tenants.
Renovations — when landlords evict tenants for the express purpose of making significant renovations — are controversial, but legal in Nova Scotia.
However, there is a procedure that must be followed. In this case, it wasn't. The landlord had to give Pauline three months' notice and three months' rent compensation.
Instead, landlords and tenants have now spent nearly three months at loggerheads, and Pauline said it's far from over. He said that he plans to seek compensation for the lost property.
Rent refused
Niaz Saberi took ownership of 171 Main Avenue in September. He told CBC News in a brief interview that Pauline never paid the rent. Saberi later declined to answer further questions and deferred to his attorney, who had no comment.
Paulen said he didn't want to authorize an automatic withdrawal from his bank account — a method he had never used to pay rent — but he provided a bank draft. Saberi refused to accept that payment.
Paulen, like some of his neighbors, received an eviction notice on September 26. They were issued DR2 forms, indicating that the new owner or a member of their family wanted to move in.
Pauline was given two months to move out. He said he didn't know what to do.
“My foundation and my stability for the whole winter are in jeopardy,” he recalled thinking.
That's when he contacted Blum, who informed him that DR2 was invalid. The form can only be used for buildings with four units or less, and must be issued before a change of ownership is finalized.
Paulen fought the eviction through the Residential Tenancies, a quasi-judicial body that rules on disputes between landlords and tenants.
The residential tenancy officer's decision shows Saberi has taken DR2 back, but he still wants Pauline out because of unpaid rent and “behavioural issues”.
Expulsion denied
The Residential Tenancies Officer said there was “failure” to understand how rent was paid and there was insufficient evidence to prove any wrongdoing. They said that the eviction order was not allowed.
But by then it was too late. Saberi had already begun clearing out and renovating Pauline's apartment. He had been renovating other apartments in the building for months.
Poulin said when renovations began in the fall on the units next to and below him, it was so disruptive that he began spending more time away from his apartment — eating out, driving around, and occasionally crashing with friends.
He said he had been away from his apartment for a few days when he got a call from a neighbor saying their landlord was removing Pauline's property.
He said he lost a bedroom suite, a mattress, a kitchen set and personal belongings including cute photos. He said none will be easily replaced.
“It's thousands of dollars and everything is very expensive. You shop around and get your sales and collect your things over the last couple of years and all of a sudden it's gone in a wave of a homeowner. It's very sad.”
Poulin now rents a room in a house nearby, but it's not a permanent arrangement, he said.
Double the fare
Blum said she is working with several other tenants in the same apartment building who are fighting Saberi's eviction orders. None of them wanted to speak publicly.
Meanwhile, Saberi has started listing renovated units for rent. He's asking $1,495 for a bachelor apartment — double the $737 Pauline paid for her one-bedroom.
“This is an extreme example, but we know it's happening all over the province over and over again,” Blum said.
Without she said An enforcement unit for residential rentThere is little recourse for mercenaries who want to fight like Poulain.
