The City of Vancouver is ordering people out of the run-down Balmoral Hotel as of June 12.
It says the 150 residents are in “imminent danger,” adding that the place could actually collapse.
It also says it expects the owner to immediately begin fixing the hotel up once the residents are out.
The city also says it will do the work itself and charge the owner if the owner doesn’t comply.
Deputy City Manager Paul Mochrie is putting the blame on the owners, the Sahota family.
“What we are dealing with is, many decades of under investment in a building by private owners.”
He said the city will try to remediate the building after the tenants have left.
When asked why the city did not do something sooner, Mochrie said they did act.
“The city, the fire department, the Vancouver Police Department have been acting. This has been a significant focus of enforcement effort for years and years.”
The city says they will be working with BC Housing to find residents a place to live, but will consider shelters if nothing is found for them.
It calls the evacuation and relocation a “last resort decision,” but said the building is too dangerous and the people need to get out for their own good.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Vancouver is slamming the Sahota family for the state of the Balmoral Hotel.
In a statement, Gregor Robertson said the city has referred more than 150 issues to the hotel for prosecution but those aren’t always successful.
He adds staff is looking into every possible legal and regulatory tool at their disposal to force the owners to improve the Balmoral and hold them accountable for ignoring city bylaws.
Residents don’t want to move
One of the residents, Tracey, said she hasn’t had running water in her room since December, but still, she said her room is one of the better ones.
But she said she doesn’t understand why the city is jumping in now.
“This has been ongoing for years; the city knows full well. We’ve had inspections here before. This isn’t the first inspection, they’ve known about these conditions for a long time and now the city’s going to step in?”
She said housing is very difficult to find, so she doesn’t know how the city will accommodate them once they’re kicked out.
The city says it will be working with BC Housing to find residents a place to live, and will take shelters into consideration as an option.
Pivot Legal Society lawyer DJ Larkin said she supports the city’s call for action to make the building safe, but adds it needs to do more for residents being displaced.
“The problem we have is that tenants are not protected against evictions into homelessness and because the city has chosen not to act until the building became unsafe, these tenants may not have an avenue forward to stay in their housing. What they require right now is swift government action to rehouse everyone on a temporary basis.”
The city says it expects the owners of the Balmoral Hotel, the Sahota family, to immediately begin fixing the building once residents are out.
With files from Terry Schintz, Kyle Benning and Michelle Morton
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