Halifax tenants scrambling to find new housing after landlord serves termination letter

Several tenants living in Halifax’s tallest building are scrambling to find a new place to live after being served a letter terminating their leases.

“I was very shocked, I thought it was just us and then I checked around and it was a lot of other people,” Irfaan Kasmani said, an international student from Kenya, who lives in Fenwick Tower.

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Kasmani says the letter he received stated that damage incurred to the building during a November 2017 fire has resulted in extensive damage. As a result, the units need to be vacated in order to have them restored.

Two letters have been sent, the first on Feb. 28, stating the termination date was the last day of March.

Another letter has been delivered since, saying the new termination date is April 30.

“I have nowhere to go now. I’m searching for an apartment as we speak. I’m probably going to stay at a friend’s house up until the end of the semester,” Kasmani said.

Attempts to reach Templeton Properties for comment about the notices weren’t successful.

A fire broke out on the 26th floor of the building on Nov. 29, 2017, and repairs have been underway ever since.

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According to information from the Nova Scotia Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord may give tenants notice to quit when possession of the premises is required for demolition or renovation purposes.

The situation has other building tenants feeling uneasy for the ones who are being forced to leave.

“That sucks, that’s the worst. I wish at least Fenwick could compensate them a little bit for their troubles and stuff like that,” Marco Laforest said, another tenant who isn’t impacted by the notice to quit.