It’s been four days since the power went out and the hot water heaters went cold at a downtown Vancouver single room occupancy hotel (SRO), but some tenants stay they’re still shivering.
As of Tuesday evening, heat had not been restored to all units of The Regal Hotel on Granville Street after it went down on Christmas morning, leaving residents in freezing conditions for several nights.
“The number one thing a person needs is a room and heat. If you don’t have heat, why are you paying rent?” frustrated tenant Stephen Walsh said in an Tuesday interview. “I pay $700 a month.”
Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said it “doesn’t seem reasonable” that it would take three days to repair a fuse — the reported cause for the loss of heat in the building.
She was also concerned by conflicting reports that the heat had been turned back on, while tenants said it wasn’t.
“If you’re living in these incredibly cold temperatures right now, those are life-threatening situations if people don’t have basic necessities to keep warm,” said Kirby-Yung.
Since Sunday, Environment Canada has warned that lows with the wind chill could drop below minus 20 in Vancouver.
On Tuesday, the City of Vancouver told Global News by email that its “latest information is that heat has been restored to the building.” Some tenants later said that wasn’t the case.
“The City’s Inspections group became aware of the heat issue on December 27 and followed up immediately,” wrote Gail Pickard of the municipality’s corporate communications department.
“Our understanding is there was an issue earlier over the holidays which building management attempted to resolve, but the problem had reoccurred.”
The city’s chief building official and assistant manager of electrical inspections visited The Regal on Tuesday, but in a Wednesday update, the municipality did not confirm that heat was restored to all units.
“Our staff visited the Regal Hotel yesterday and confirmed the building was getting warmer when we visited,” wrote Kira Hutchinson.
“We were informed that additional work is happening on the heating system this morning, and are following up today to ensure that work is completed and full heating has been restored.”
The Regal is owned by a company controlled by the Sahota family, which in 2019, pleaded guilty to a number of bylaw violations related to the derelict Regent and Balmoral SROs.
The owners faced 60 charges related to deplorable living conditions at the Balmoral, and in December 2017 the city referred nearly 500 violations related to the Regent to prosecutors.
In September, the City of Vancouver sought an injunction that would force the owners to complete repairs at the ageing Regal Hotel.
The lawyer who has represented the Sahota family could not be reached for comment on Tuesday and is on vacation until Jan. 4. Mayor Kennedy Stewart did not respond to a request for comment.
Global News has also been told some are without heat at the Ivanhoe and Dodson hotels.
“If I get out of my bed I’m freezing, so it’s depressing having to stay in my room all the time, trying to bundle up to stay warm,” said a tenant at the Ivanhoe who asked not to be identified for fear of being evicted.
“They’re charging me $725 and that eats up about two-thirds of my disability allowance. For $725, I would hope they give us heat.”
Municipal Coun. Jean Swanson said in an interview city inspectors are expected to visit the Ivanhoe on Wednesday.
Keith Wiebe at the Anhart Community Housing Society confirmed upgrades are in the works at the Dodson Hotel so tenants can have electric baseboard heat in all rooms, and the connection will be finished next month.
All tenants, meanwhile, have electric radiator heat serviced by the old electricity system, he wrote in an email.
The City of Vancouver said Tuesday it is aware of issues at the Dodson.
“The City was advised late on Christmas Day evening that there was an issue with the steam boiler (heat) at the Dodson,” wrote Pickard. “The City provided some advice and support to the building management, and have not had an update.”
Kirby-Yung said the city doesn’t have a lot of recourse when a private SRO operator doesn’t meet standards — especially none that result in a quick fix.
“The city can issue orders requiring the operators to fix the building, but the challenge is this can be a slow process that can take time, and meanwhile, we have individuals that are suffering in their homes,” she explained.
Victoria Desroches, a friend of a tenant at The Regal, said the entire situation is appalling.
“I just don’t see how we can stand by and allow that kind of situation to continually occur for people who have done nothing other than pay their rent and are lawful tenants,” she told Global News on Tuesday.
“It’s a public safety issue, it’s a tenants’ rights issues, it’s where is the city stepping up for enforcement? It’s the property owners — why aren’t they doing what every other property owner is compelled to do if their tenant is at risk?”
The City of Vancouver says staff monitor SRO compliance through annual inspection and respond to resident complaints. The municipality operates more than 1,000 units of non-market housing, including SRO, and clothing and equipment to keep warm is available at its buildings, Pickard wrote.
With files from Rumina Daya and Julia Foy
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