Evicted BC renter ordered to pay $2,500 for being a nuisance
BC’s Small Claims Court has ordered a renter to pay $2,500 in damages to her former condo neighbour over complaints that she was a nuisance.
The woman was evicted from the condo she rented in August 2023, and her former neighbour (the complainant) filed a suit naming the tenant and her former as defendants.
The complainant wanted compensation for the “noise, harassment, smoking odour, and other disturbances” she endured at the hands of her neighbour.
The complainant initially claimed $5,000 in damages, but the court knocked it down to $2,500 and absolved the landlord, who didn’t live in the suite, of responsibility.
The neighbour alleged the renter would wait for her in the hallway to “scream obscenities” at her.
The situation became so tense that the strata voted to spend up to $50,000 to get the woman out of the building.
“Written statements from the strata president and the building manager confirm that [the woman] banged on the shared walls of [the complainant’s] unit, slammed doors, and shouted profanity from her balcony on a weekly, if not daily, basis. The statements also confirm that the strata called the police to address [the woman’s] behaviour almost weekly,” the decision posted online read.
In deciding the $2,500 damages payment, the Civil Resolution Tribunal member considered that the complainant worked from home, and the woman’s outbursts interrupted her work, her daily prayers, and her enjoyment of her home for one year.