Two sisters who faced eviction without notice decided to take their situation to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal.
In April 2023, the sisters signed a roommate agreement with a third tenant to share a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo.
They told the tribunal that in July, just months after signing the agreement, the roommate evicted them without notice. They claimed damages of $2,000 for the security deposit and $1,850 in rent, for a total of $3,850.
The roommate told the tribunal that the sisters didn’t give notice that they were moving out, so she didn’t owe them anything.
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The roommate had a lease agreement with her landlord for the condo between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. After that, the lease was to continue on a month-by-month basis. Under the agreement, the roommate was to pay for utilities, heat, WiFi, cable, and a cleaning service.
The sisters were to live in the apartment as roommates with the third tenant between May 1, 2023, and October 31, 2023. If all parties agreed, their rental would also be carried forward month by month after the agreement was up.
For the monthly rent, the sisters would pay $3,700 per month, which included the use of the condo, building facilities, utilities, a parking spot, and access to bike storage lockers.
The sisters paid the rent for May and June without issue. In early June, the landlord came for an inspection relating to a plumbing issue. After that, the landlord emailed the sisters, asking about their arrangement with the third roommate. They told the landlord they believed that the roommate was subletting the condo to them.
Apparently, the landlord wasn’t a fan of the agreement. On July 4, they gave the third roommate a one-month notice to end the tenancy for cause because she allowed an unreasonable number of occupants in the unit and assigned a sublet without permission.
Trying to reassure the sisters, the third roommate said she would dispute the notice to end the tenancy and said that if there were an eviction, it would occur in September or October at the earliest.
Things got a bit testy after that. On July 6, the third roommate told the sisters that the $3,700 rent cheque for July had been returned, so she asked them to e-transfer it instead. They e-transferred half of the money because of the transfer limit. On the same date, the roommate asked the sisters to leave one of their two sets of keys with the building’s concierge because she had a meeting with the landlord.
That day, the sisters told the roommate they felt uneasy about the living situation because of the tensions with the landlord.
The roommate told the tribunal that on July 7, the landlord entered the condo without permission, which resulted in her calling the police. The police met the landlord in the lobby.
The next day, the roommate asked the sisters to pay the remainder of the rent but to reduce the amount by $100. She didn’t say why there was a reduction. The sisters said they would not pay the rent until the roommate returned the second set of keys and confirmed in writing that they would have the condo for the rest of July.
They also said they would be moving out because of the strain of the landlord dispute, adding that they’d stay until July 31 and help the roommate find a new tenant. They also discussed buying her furniture if she agreed to return the security deposit. Otherwise, they told her they’d move by July 15 without paying the July rent.
On July 9, the roommate texted the sisters, saying, “Move out now. I will have your things removed.” One sister responded, “Okay.”
“Then [the roommate] texted that if the [sisters] paid the $1,850 owing for July rent as soon as possible, she would leave the condo that day for the remainder of the month, but she would not return the second set of keys,” the tribunal decision states.
The roommate said that when she returned to the condo on the afternoon of July 9, she realized the sisters had already moved out. The sisters disputed this, saying that after the police incident on July 7, they took some of their belongings and stayed somewhere else until the dispute was resolved. They also said some of their belongings were still in the condo.
On October 26, the landlord was granted possession of the condo, effective October 31, 2023.
The BC tribunal agreed that the sisters faced an eviction without notice on July 9. The tribunal ordered the roommate to pay the sisters $3,228.60, including $2,835.48 as a refund for the security deposit, pro-rated rent, and the rest in tribunal fees.