It’s a problem house that has more than three dozen police files on it.
And this week, the Kelowna home along the 200 block of Nickel Road — which has been red-flagged by multiple enforcement agencies — was once again visited by RCMP and local bylaw officers.
“Since November of 2021, we’ve had 37 police files there,” said Kelowna RCMP Const. Mike Della-Paolera. “Not all (are) criminal code (offences), (some are) assisting bylaw or (the fire department). But every time we go there, we create a police file.”
The Rutland neighbourhood home has drawn the attention of the city’s Property Standards Compliance Team, which is made up of various agencies. It was created two years ago to address potentially unsafe or illegal properties.
“We deal with the properties that are most egregious and are causing a real problem in neighbourhoods,” said Ken Hunter, a bylaw supervisor with the city.
“This particular property on Nickel Road checks all the boxes.”
The latest visit to the home was on Thursday afternoon to conduct what officials are calling an inspection.
“Last night during the bylaw inspection, we recovered a $5,000 stolen electric bike that we’re working to return,” said Della-Paolera.
The home is well known to police. Earlier this year, Mounties attended the property in connection to a serious assault that occurred there. But there’s a lengthy list of other safety-related infractions as well.
“There’s a number of violations for building, fire and zoning,” said Hunter.
The compliance team is working with the homeowner, who lives in the Lower Mainland and is trying to evict the tenants.
“They’re living in the building illegally,” said Della-Paolera. “The landlord is actively trying to help get them evicted through the Landlord Tenancy Act.”
The landlord contacted Global News, saying he’s frustrated with the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) after trying to get the tenants evicted.
“I have all the files that I have applied and spent hundreds of dollars and been to Kelowna many times just to get possession and lost thousands of dollars for no fault of mine,” homeowner Amrit Chopra said in an email. “In spite of my repeated request on all different valid grounds, RTB has failed to issue me an order of possession for my rental house in Kelowna.”
Chopra said he is owed around 15 thousand dollars in rent from the current tenants who have caused irreversible damage.
“I think I may be out about $500,000. They have left the house in such a position, that it is beyond repair. I’ll have to demolish it or rebuild it. I’m super disappointed and appaled by the way RTB is working.”
Global News has reached out to the provincial government for more information.
Neighbours are hesitant to speak publicly, citing safety concerns. However, efforts are underway to get the problem fixed.
“There’s no cookie-cutter approach to how fast the issues are going to get resolved,” Hunter told Global News. “But we will maintain a collaborative effort and concentration on the hosts until the matter is resolved.”
Police say the public can help.
“We encourage all the neighbours and anybody who walks by or drives by, if they see anything that’s concerning to police, call the RCMP. We will attend right away and deal with whatever matter that it is,” said Della-Paolera.
“It’s a family neighbourhood and people in the neighbourhood have a right to feel safe. And we’re working towards it.”
On Monday afternoon, the province responded to Global News’ inquiry.
In an email, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Attorney General and minister responsible for housing said the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) can confirm that the referenced address is subject to dispute resolution.
“The RTB is currently dealing with a high volume of applications resulting in delays for landlords and tenants who file for dispute,” said the spokesperson.
“We appreciate the frustration of landlords who may be dealing with tenants who may take advantage of these delays to continue to stay in the unit. Landlords are able to apply for a monetary order for any unpaid rent that accumulates while they await the hearing.”
The spokesperson said the dispute resolution process is intended to resolve issues where one party is not upholding their obligations under the Residential Tenancy Act.
“Until the file is reviewed by an arbitrator, it is difficult to determine whether a dispute has merit. The standard of proof in a dispute resolution proceeding is based on a balance of probabilities — meaning that it is more likely than not that the facts occurred as claimed,” said the spokesperson.
“The onus to prove their case is on the person making the claim, which was the landlord in this case. It is important that parties to a dispute resolution proceeding provide all necessary evidence to prove their claim. The RTB is actively looking for ways to improve wait times. The RTB is working to streamline hearing processes and identify opportunities for faster outcomes for both landlords and tenants.”
The spokesperson added that the RTB has an expedited hearing process for emergency matters, where urgency and fairness necessitate shorter service and response time limits.
“Landlords can apply to end a tenancy early through the expedited hearing process if a tenant is causing significant damage to the rental property or if they significantly interfered with or unreasonably disturbed another occupant or the landlord of the residential property,” said the spokesperson.
“Applications to end a tenancy early are for very serious breaches only and a landlord would need to provide sufficient evidence to prove the tenant committed a serious breach.”
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