KELOWNA – Tenants of a rooming house in Kelowna’s Rutland neighbourhood are hoping they don’t face the same fate as their counterparts in a nearby housing complex.
On Monday, ten tenants in a rooming house on Mayer Road were forced to pack up and leave after receiving a short eviction notice. They say the landlord and owner of the building, Heinz Strege, failed to tell them the building was sold in a foreclosure sale.
Strege also owns a rooming house on Graham Road. That building is also on the market, listed as a foreclosure sale, but this comes as news to the tenants there.
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When asked if he knew about the sale, tenant Dave Barry said “no, no.”
With no for sale sign in front of the property, tenants were completely unaware the house was placed on the market months ago.
The tenants are have low income and some are on disability, including Barry. He’s upset to find out secondhand that the house is on the market.
“I just moved in June 1. I would have nowhere to go. I live in a wheelchair,” he says.
Another tenant, who didn’t want to be identified for fear of repercussions, says he’s very concerned the landlord has kept news of the foreclosure sale secret. He’s worried he’ll be in the same predicament as the tenants on Mayer Road and suddenly without a home.
Strege wouldn’t comment to Global News about the issue today. But when he was questioned yesterday about a possible sale, he claimed “it might be, if the price is right” – even though it’s been on the market since December 2014.
Some of the tenants now say they’ll be keeping an eye open for other places to live.
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