A Delta, B.C., family that successfully fought an eviction order this summer has been left scrambling after the decision was overturned.
Kim Kenal, her 80-year-old mother and her adult daughter who lives with a disability have been given until the end of January to move out of the property.
Making matters worse, Kenal is scheduled to undergo surgery for pancreatic cancer next week.
“Right now I am trying to keep my composure, lessen the stress like the surgeon said, pack and try to find a place at the same time,” she told Global News.
“My mom has been probably crying ever since all of this started, on and off. And my daughter is really upset.”
Kenal and her family have lived in the house since 2014, and currently pay about $2,000 per month in rent.
In recent months, she has been involved in a dispute with the landlord, who claims he wants to move his son into the property.
Kenal believes she is being unfairly evicted, and alleges the landlord has previously threatened to move his son in if the family didn’t agree to large rent hikes.
Reached by phone, the landlord declined to comment.
In June, the Residential Tenancy Branch ruled in Kenal’s favour, and cancelled the landlord’s eviction order.
That ruling was overturned earlier this month, with dispute resolution services finding “the landlord successfully established on the balance of probabilities that their adult child intends in good faith to occupy the rental unit.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” Kenal told Global News.
Kenal said she’s resigned to having to find a new place to live, but said with her upcoming surgery the family should be given an extension on their move-out date.
She’s appealing to the landlord to be flexible.
“Put a hold on this just for a little while so I can get my surgery and chemo — my mom can’t do much, my daughter can’t do much,” she said.
“I just need a little bit more time to find a place, because there’s not many out there that I can afford.”