As a heatwave continues to bring warm temperatures to the region, a tenant living in an apartment complex in Metro Vancouver is concerned about her inability to install AC in her suite.
The resident in question, whose name we’re protecting due to privacy concerns, told us that a day after they emailed the property manager for permission to have an AC unit in her suite, a notice was sent to tenants advising them that they were requested not to use AC in their units.
“Right in the middle of a heat wave, no less,” the tenant said.
According to the tenant, they formally requested consent on July 3, and on July 4, the notice advising tenants not to use AC was posted.
Pinecrest Apartments is located in Coquitlam, a building managed by Tribe Property Management.
“Tribe’s slogan is ‘community management with heart,’ but to allow tenants to live in hot apartments in the midst of a heat wave doesn’t seem to have very much ‘heart’ if you ask me,” the tenant told Daily Hive.
The concerned tenant told Daily Hive that they emailed the property manager to get consent to acquire an air conditioner through BC Hydro’s free AC program. The posted notice stated that management would perform an electric assessment of the building to see if it could allow for more air conditioners.
The tenant emailed the building manager as a follow-up but didn’t receive a response. They later received an email on July 8 from the building manager asking the tenant to provide information about their electric usage for the last 12 months and further information about BC Hydro’s AC units, which the tenant did not have.
According to the tenant, some residents have AC units installed, adding insult to injury.
“It seems as though they are doing nothing but picking on certain tenants while playing favourites with others,” the tenant added.
Daily Hive was informed by building management earlier today that there have been some changes.
“We can confirm that this building had a recent assessment done by an electrical contractor that raised concern about old wiring in the building, with the recommendation that no one in the building use AC as a safety precaution until further notice,” said a statement from a representative of Tribe.
The building management’s statement indicated that tenants with installed AC units would be prohibited from using them.
“A communication was delivered to all tenants whether they had an existing AC unit or not, advising there to be no use of AC in the building until further notice. We have also put staff on notice to ensure this ask is being met by all tenants.”
Tribe adds that they’ve made this choice for the safety of all tenants in the building.
“There are 44 suites or what we refer to as units in the building. Of those, only 3 have individual AC units in their suites (as of yesterday). So the ask is those with AC in their individual homes to please refrain from using them until the assessment is completed. We will have the results of the assessment shortly, at which time it can be determined what the wiring can handle, and this will be communicated accordingly. At this time, the ask is impacting very few in the building,” the Tribe spokesperson added.
While the building manager has since removed their AC unit, the tenant shared pictures with Daily Hive showing other units still have installed AC units.
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“So until management has people actually remove them, I don’t believe people aren’t using AC, and don’t believe management will properly enforce their request that AC not be used,” the tenant added.
The Residential Tenancy Branch suggested that the tenant file a report “given the fact that my tenancy agreement doesn’t restrict AC usage,” and that’s what they plan to do next.
We asked Tribe for a copy of the electrical assessment, and in response, it said it would provide us with an update next week.