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The Story  of  Mr. & Mrs. Dhillon

Mr. Dhillon came to see us because his landlord wanted to increase their rent by $200/month.  Mr. and Mrs. Dhillon are both disabled from a car accident and they struggle to pay the $900/month rent as it is. This rent increase is beyond what is allowable under the Rental Tenancy Act. The allowable rent increase this year is 3.7%. We spoke to the Landlord, but in this case to no avail. The next step was an Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) hearing which we advised the client to apply for. The Landlord retained legal representation for th

Mr. Dhillon came to see us because his landlord wanted to increase their rent by $200/month.  Mr. and Mrs. Dhillon are both disabled from a car accident and they struggle to pay the $900/month rent as it is. This rent increase is beyond what is allowable under the Rental Tenancy Act. The allowable rent increase this year is 3.7%. We spoke to the Landlord, but in this case to no avail. The next step was an Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) hearing which we advised the client to apply for. The Landlord retained legal representation for the hearing and we had one of the Advocates with first level tenancy training assisting Mr. and Mrs. Dhillon. We won this hearing for the Dhillon and they were so happy.

 

It was short lived, The Landlord decided to give an eviction notice sighting multiple different reasons. There was a 2 month notice for personal use of his 14 year old son, then he used damage to the suite as another reason, and his last reason was that the tenants were causing extreme stress to his wife and she was having health issues due to them. This appeared to be a harassment eviction to get the tenants out so that the Landlord could then raise the rent as he had originally wanted to do. This Residential Tenancy Board Hearing would require the expertise of our most experienced tenancy Advocate. The Landlord once again retained legal counsel to represent him. This hearing would be based on the evidence but didn’t seem to ne anything factual to support the allegations.  We were able to use the previous hearing which went to show Landlord credibility and motive.

 

We prevailed and the Dhillon’s tenancy was saved and they are very happy to not have to move.  They can’t afford to move especially in today’s rental market. We have not heard back from our clients since the last hearing so it would seem the landlord gave up on trying to evict them illegally in order to raise the rent.

 

e hearing and we had one of the Advocates with first level tenancy training assisting Mr. and Mrs. Dhillon. We won this hearing for the Dhillon and they were so happy.

 

It was short lived, The Landlord decided to give an eviction notice sighting multiple different reasons. There was a 2 month notice for personal use of his 14 year old son, then he used damage to the suite as another reason, and his last reason was that the tenants were causing extreme stress to his wife and she was having health issues due to them. This appeared to be a harassment eviction to get the tenants out so that the Landlord could then raise the rent as he had originally wanted to do. This Residential Tenancy Board Hearing would require the expertise of our most experienced tenancy Advocate. The Landlord once again retained legal counsel to represent him. This hearing would be based on the evidence but didn’t seem to ne anything factual to support the allegations.  We were able to use the previous hearing which went to show Landlord credibility and motive.

 

We prevailed and the Dhillon’s tenancy was saved and they are very happy to not have to move.  They can’t afford to move especially in today’s rental market. We have not heard back from our clients since the last hearing so it would seem the landlord gave up on trying to evict them illegally in order to raise the rent.

~ as narrated by Ellen Silvergieter, Advocacy Office Director

 

To read more success stories from the Advocacy Office, please visit  our website