Longtime Vancouver tenant paying $1,060 per month questions family-occupancy eviction

A Vancouver man is facing eviction from his home of more than 10 years and believes it may be in bad faith.

Ron Martin received an eviction notice from his landlord by registered mail on Friday, instructing him to vacate his one-bedroom Marpole apartment by November 30 because his landlord’s child wanted to occupy the unit.

The kicker? Martin’s landlord, Hardy Enterprises, is a company that owns the entire 35-unit building he lives in, plus another apartment building in Kitsilano.

He believes the landlord wants to jack up the rent to market value since he pays $1,056 per month after staying in the unit for more than a decade.

“My landlord obviously has motive,” he told Daily Hive. “It’s a corporation, and they do own two properties with a total of 63 units. So wanting to evict me to move in a family member, well, it’s preposterous.”

Submitted

The eviction notice listed property manager Kathryn Hurwitz as the landlord, even though Martin pays his rent to Hardy Enterprises every month. It indicated Hurwitz’s child would occupy the unit.

Land title documents confirm Hardy Enterprises owns the building, not Hurwitz. Martin isn’t sure of Hurwitz’s relationship to Hardy Enterprises, and Daily Hive has reached out for clarification. Hurwitz’s LinkedIn profile indicates she works in property management for the company.

Martin’s building is on Heather Street in Marpole. (Submitted)

The property manager offered to move Martin to a different unit in the building if one came up, but on the condition that a new lease would start. BC has rent control that restricts rent increases to a government-mandated amount (often tied to inflation) for tenants who stay in the same unit. But when a tenant moves into a new unit, landlords can set the rent at whatever they want.

Equivalent units in Martin’s building are renting for up to $2,000 per month right now, he said. And that’s actually lower than average asking rent for a one-bedroom across the city — which has now climbed past $3,000.

Martin works in healthcare administration, and doesn’t take home enough money to afford to hand over an additional $1,000 to $2,000 each month. He’s 56, single, and quiet. He always pays his rent on time, and has never had a complaint against him in the building.

“I’ve paid my landlord over $100,000 over the last 10 years, just for them to kick me out so they can raise rent and get somebody else in there,” he said. “It’s unethical.”

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Prior to getting served the eviction notice, Martin had planned to stay in his unit until he retired and moved somewhere more affordable.

He’s filed a dispute with the Residential Tenancy Branch, and his hearing is on January 4 — meaning he’ll be able to stay until the hearing rolls around. But if the RTB sides with his landlord, he’ll have only 48 hours to vacate the unit.

If Martin is evicted, he has another opportunity to prove to the RTB that the landlord’s family member didn’t occupy the unit. If the RTB sides with him, the landlord will have to compensate him 12 months’ rent.

But Martin believes that the penalty is too low. Even if he proves the eviction was in bad faith, his landlord will make up the difference in just one year.

Plus, he’s not looking to be compensated $12,700. What he wants is to keep his home.

“It’s very evil,” Martin said. “You know, I’ve committed to paying them rent on time. Where’s their commitment?”

Daily Hive has reached out to Martin’s property manager but did not hear back before the deadline.