A Cardston, Alta. landlord is once again entitled to his land after an unwanted tenant was living on his driveway for the last month, a Lethbridge judge ruled Tuesday Morning.
Robert Cox, the man living in a makeshift shed on the driveway, showed up to court 16 minutes late to learn that a judge had terminated his residency.
“I think the system works if you follow through with it,” landlord Ivan Negrych said. “It takes a long time for it to work, but it does work.”
The embattled landlord thought he’d have an empty rental home at the beginning of October after his tenant, who was Cox’s common-law partner, gave him proper notice. She moved out, but Cox refused to leave. He then set up camp on the driveway and had an extension cord plugged into the home for electricity.
Ivan tried calling police to have Cox removed, but learned the only way to evict Cox was through a judge.
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However, Cox had a friend pick up his mini home on a trailer on Monday and moved off the driveway less than 24 hours before the court appearance.
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Cox appeared to be frustrated in the courtroom and told the judge he was under tremendous stress. He was given a warning by the judge after he appeared to make inappropriate gestures towards Ivan and his wife.
“He gave me the finger and several people in the courthouse saw it,” Marsha Negrych said. “The judge reprimanded him for that, so he gave it to me two more times.”
Cox declined to speak on camera after being dismissed, but told Global News he’s now living with a friend in Magrath, Alta.
The Negrychs still plan on filing a civil claim to go after Cox for arrears of rent and damages to their property which they estimate to be almost $3,000. The judge waived a fee to file the claim.
“We’ve learned from our experience here that we have to be more diligent in who we rent to now,” Ivan said.
Ivan has since cleaned his driveway and hopes his story will result in additional rights for landlords across the country.
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