Illegal North Vancouver hostel remains open as deadline passes

It has been weeks since the City of North Vancouver filed a court petition seeking an injunction to force an illegal short-term rental hostel operation to shut down.

But neighbours say the Oasis Hostel is still in operation.

Back in August, townhouse owner Emily Yu was given 21 days to respond to the city’s petition, or risk facing further legal action.

Despite that, online advertisements for the property are still up, and accepting bookings.

WATCH: North Shore townhouse owner flouts short-term rental laws

2:01 North Shore townhouse owner flouts short-term rental laws

“There’s still some activity. It’s certainly reduced now that she’s not on Airbnb and Booking.com and Hostelworld.com,” said neighbour Dan Goldberg.

“But we saw people as recently as this weekend. So yeah, there is still activity, Emily’s not turning people away from what I gather.”

WATCH: North Vancouver Airbnb hostel battle goes to court

1:53 North Vancouver Airbnb hostel battle goes to court

Sources have told Global News that Yu was given a seven-day extension from the city, however, requests to the City of North Vancouver for confirmation were not met by deadline.

When asked directly about the extension, City of North Vancouver lawyer Michael Moll declined to comment.

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Yu was in North Vancouver provincial court on Thursday, though over a separate matter.

WATCH: More details on controversial North Vancouver hostel

2:15 More details on controversial North Vancouver hostel

She was seeking to have the entry warrant used by the city to access the suite on March 28 rendered void, and all evidence collected with it sealed.

That request was dismissed by the judge, who ruled that the issue was actually in the BC Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, where the city’s petition has been filed.

However, she added that based on her reading of the case law, she didn’t feel like Yu would have met the legal requirements to win her case.

Yu’s 1,700-square-foot townhouse is being advertised as a 15-bed hostel, in violation of City of North Vancouver bylaws.

WATCH: City of North Vancouver takes on illegal Oasis hostel

1:31 City of North Vancouver takes on illegal Oasis hostel

The unit offers beds in a six-bed mixed dormitory, a four-bed mixed dormitory, a two-bed budget suite and a three-bed comfort suite.

Neighbours say they’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to have the short-term rental operation shut down, and have even won their case in the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal.

She has also been ordered by the BC Supreme Court to stop using her townhouse for short-term rentals, and been assessed $6,000 in fines.

READ MORE: Rogue Airbnb hosts that break strata rules to face fines of up to $1,000 per day

Yu claims she’s not doing anything wrong, and that a grandfathered clause means she’s exempt from the city’s bylaws.

“It’s incredibly frustrating to continue to have to deal with Ms. Yu,” said Goldberg.

“We recently had a meeting and we discussed all of the circumstances up to now and how far we’ve come and what kinds of things we might do next, and she attended that meeting, and she maintained her continued right to continue to rent, the fact that she’d been grandfathered, all the things she’s said in the past.”

Yu’s strata council has hired a new legal firm to determine its legal next steps.