Messy legal fight by former North Vancouver Airbnb host ends in jail time
After years of being the centre of several legal disputes, a former short-term rental operator is going to jail.
Emily Yu, who ran an illegal Airbnb out of her North Vancouver home, was sentenced earlier this month to 30 days and one-year probation following a guilty verdict for disobeying a court order.
She’s also banned from being within 100 yards of the townhouse.
Yu was arrested in 2020 after she padlocked the gate of her former home, preventing prospective buyers from touring the property.
She lost ownership of the property after she failed to pay back the more than $50,000 she owed in legal fees following the court battle she lost against her strata that all began after she refused to stop using her property as a hostel.
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“I find Ms. Yu’s ongoing defiance has been so wilful and deliberate that a significant period of incarceration is necessary to serve the need for denunciation and both general and specific deterrence,” provincial court Judge Joanne Challenger said in her reasons.
Throughout the proceedings, the Supreme Court document suggests Yu had repeatedly forgotten to silence her cellphone, claimed to not speak English, and suggested documents were “forgeries” and witnesses were “imposters.”
“I find the fantastical theories and unfounded suggestions made during the trial before me, including her assertion that she is still the lawful owner of the townhouse, were the product of the mind of a desperate person who likely has an unhealthy personality construct,” the judge explained.
The judge also didn’t accept claims that Yu’s behaviour was due to being under the influence.
“Ms. Yu suggested she was hungover or intoxicated and that a medical condition had “flared up” which, in concert, led to a failure in judgement or understanding at the time of the offence. However, she was inconsistent as to whether she was hungover or intoxicated and no suggestion was made to any of the witnesses present at the time of the offence that she was under the influence of alcohol. The medical letters submitted do not speak to any medical condition which could have impacted her judgment. I do not accept her submissions in this regard.”
The maximum penalty for disobeying a court order without lawful excuse contrary to s. 127(1) of the Criminal Code is a six-month jail sentence or a $5000.00 fine.
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