Roommates damage walls before moving in wild B.C. rental dispute
We don’t often uncover a rental dispute where bad actors admit their wrongdoings, but that happened to be the case in one B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute.
The recently posted decision is between one applicant and two respondents who lived together at one point in rental housing.
BM claimed that JC and LC damaged the house walls, which BM had to pay to fix. While the respondents, JC and LC, admitted to damaging the walls, they said that BM’s claim of $2,000 for damages was too high.
Additionally, BM claimed the respondents left some belongings behind, which they denied.
- You might also like:
- B.C. passengers denied refund for unusable Air Canada flights
- Tenant only lasts a few days in B.C. rental after bedroom discovery
- B.C. furniture store ordered to pay back thousands over squeaky sofa
BM had leased the house from the owner, and at one point, five people, including BM, were living together in the home.
Around April 1, 2023, the respondents and one other roommate moved out. However, they didn’t leave quietly.
Before moving, BM said that the respondents damaged the walls. While BM wasn’t in the house when it happened, she received a Snapchat video from one of the other roommates showing what had transpired.
TP, another one of the roommates, described the video.
“TP says the videos showed the respondents kicking and punching holes in the walls and using other objects to destroy the home. TP says the respondents were laughing while doing so,” the tribunal decision states.
While the tribunal couldn’t see the video, BM showed photos of the aftermath, and the tribunal said that the holes in the walls were consistent with punching and kicking. One section of damage had holes stretching from the floor to the ceiling.
No motive or reasoning for the damage was mentioned in the dispute.
BM said she paid $1,400 for the damage to be fixed, and the tribunal agreed that the respondents were to blame and ordered them to pay that amount. At some point, LC paid BM $50, so the tribunal deducted that from the damages.
While the tribunal dismissed BM’s other claims, it ordered JC and LC to jointly pay BM $1,475, which included damages and tribunal fees.