Multiple health enforcement orders issued to Lethbridge apartment complex

It’s been a nightmare scenario for some residents in an apartment complex in west Lethbridge.

Sherida Scott, a resident and former property manager for the units on Mt. Crandell Crescent West, says the rentals have many issues, with Alberta Health Services having served multiple orders over the past year.

“With the current situation with AHS, obviously there’s a standard of living that’s not being met here,” said Scott.

Currently there are five active work orders for individual units from AHS spanning back to May 2023, which include flooring, drywall, cleanliness and electrical problems.

With two, unit closures were in effect as of April 3, 2024.

Scott says the owner, Govind Reddy, who resides in Surrey, B.C, declines to fix the issues, but continues to rent out the units before they’re resolved or clean.

“There was one young lady who was actually told to live in a unit that was condemned,” said Scott. “Some have waited as long as three months for a place and he’s promised them.”

Global News reached out to Reddy over phone and email, and he says he’s spent thousands on repairs and believes the orders are not justified as the complex is doing everything accordingly.

He said he plans to email the prime minister to intervene.

While Scott has been a tenant since 2022, she’s worked as the property manager from July 30, 2023, to April 14, 2024, and her name has appeared on some of the AHS worker orders as an “owner.”

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“Being the only person that Govind would allow to work on these units with a person he let me hire, I didn’t have a big staff, nor would he allow me to hire anybody professionally.”

Scott says that if the contractor wouldn’t cut corners, they’d be fired.

“I couldn’t deal with that, so I quit. I couldn’t deal with having to fire somebody for doing a good job. I couldn’t deal with him telling me to lie to another person and tell them that they’re going to be getting a place by the first (of the month),” explained Scott.

In one instance she shared, a family had to live in a camper at a campground that was intended to move into unit 305, but it’s currently one of the units that’s been closed.

Tabetha Dolan attempted to rent a unit last year, but says that the day she was supposed to move in, it was in deplorable condition, with animal feces scattered throughout the unit.

“He literally took my damage deposit, told me I could move in, it wasn’t ready, and he then asked me for the rent — just like he’s done to other people — to fix the place and I said: ‘No, I’m not giving you any more money until it’s ready to move into,’” shared Dolan.

“He then called me back and told me that I wasn’t going to be moving in there, even though we had a signed lease, and that he had rented to someone else who was willing to give him three months rent in advance, so I had to take him to court because he wouldn’t pay back my damage deposit.”

Dolan says she made the trip to B.C. to serve Reddy papers, but was unable to make contact.

Devin Martin has lived in his unit since 2020, and says he’s dealt with many problems, adding he’s kept a folder of notices from his landlord.

“It’s actually about an inch thick of eviction notices that I’ve received for every single time that I’ve asked for a repair,” said Martin.

He says he’s been to court a few times with Reddy, but after Martin spoke to the AHS health inspector about his living conditions, the eviction notices have since been rescinded.

AHS declined an interview but indicated that legal action is possible.

Scott is in the process of moving out of her unit and is warning renters to do their due diligence before signing a lease agreement or putting down a deposit.