Manitoba landlordsneed better protection, owner says, after estimated $8K in damage to Brandon property

When Shirley Harkness walks through her Brandon rental property, she wants to cry.

The walls and ceiling are covered in graffiti and pocked withholes. Piles of garbage, including urine-soaked adult diapers, are strewn across the floor, along with countless cigarette butts. There's drug paraphernalia, like small baggies, sharps packages and tourniquets. The doors, lights, fans and appliances have been heavily damaged.

"It looks like somebody came in, threw a hand grenade and just ran," Harkness said. "It's totally destroyed."

On Feb. 8, herformer tenant at the property, whomoved in on Nov. 22, was evicted. Harkness had been trying to evict him since mid-Decemberand allegesthe tenant caused at least $8,000 in damage. He paid rent for Novemberbut was late paying for December and January.

Landlordsneed more protection to protect themfrom situations like hers, she said, and she wants Manitoba'sResidential Tenancy Branchto make major changes.

"The tenancy board does nothing for you," Harkness said. "It shouldn't be that ... a tenant has more rights in somebody's house than the owner of the house."

Harkness had rentedout her sole rental property for 4 years without incident. She found a new tenant who seemed like a good fit her only worry was that the property was not fully accessible, since he used a wheelchair at times. The tenant assured her the house worked and some helpers would look after him.

The tenant was the only person who signed the lease, she said.

But the situation became a nightmare the moment her tenant moved in, Harkness said. His"helpers" stayed with him, she said,but it's not clear howmanypeople were living there, since they were constantly in and out of the house.

The property turned into a "party house," she said, with constant damage and police visits. Harkness said there was even a visit from the Brandon Police Service's tactical team in early December.

She started the eviction process with the Tenancies Branch in mid-December, based on damage to herproperty, failure to pay rent on time and alleged criminal activity.

An initial hearing was held on Jan. 10, followed by an appeal hearing on Feb. 6. The final verdict was in favour of Harkness because the tenant did not attend, meaning hehad to be out by Feb. 8.

Harknesssaid the eviction process was frustrating and slowed bybureaucratic red tape. Her calls to the Brandon office were often rerouted to Winnipeg, and it was hard to talk to someone in person for guidance, she said.

Shealso hadtrouble getting statements from her neighbours, since they had to include their names, phone numbers and addresses on any evidence she provided to theTenancies Branch.

Many feared retaliation, because the tenant would also get a copy of any evidence submitted,Harkness said.

Evictions challenging

When asked about theeviction process, the provincereferred CBC to the ManitobaTenancies Branch websitefor landlords.

The office in Brandon, a city of just over 54,000, hastwo full-time equivalent positions a client service officer and a hearing officer, a provincial spokesperson told CBC.The spokespersondid not confirm whetherthe office is fully staffed.

Eviction hearings can be held in person at the Brandon office, virtually or via teleconference.

The province says in 2022-23, the Tenancies Branch's Brandon officeheld 46 such hearings for the city and surrounding area.

"I don't even know what that office is there for. They sure don't do anything for you," Harkness said.

"If you have to deal with anything, you have to go through the Winnipeg office."

Avrom Charach, a spokesperson forManitoba's Professional Property Managers Association, saysevictions for reasons beyondfailure to pay rent are difficult.

"The jeopardy is huge for an honest landlord who ends up with a dishonest tenant, because one bad tenant not paying one month's rent could wipe out the profit of the property for years," Charach said.

In certain circumstances for example, the tenant causes "extraordinary damage" to the property a landlord can give a five-day notice thetenancy is being terminated.

But those often become"he said, she said," situations, Charach said.

Video evidence can help, as cana sworn affidavitfrom someone like a neighbour,"because those hold more weight in court than an email," he said.

But there may be fears of retribution if a neighbouror other tenant iscalled in as a third-party witness, saidCharach.

His advice for landlords is to conduct goodtenant screening and make sure they haveinsurance tohelp with repairing any damage.

Harkness said she did not have insurance on the property because she couldn'tafford it.

Melissa Wilkinson, anadministrator with Vionell Holdings Brandon'slargest property management company,with around 1,500 residential units said her company has a screening process that includes income verification and checking potential tenants'credit scoresand references.

Vionell Holdings still sees some evictions due to non-payment, but evictions driven by damage are rare, Wilkinson said.

"There are situations where they do happen, but the majority of the time the screening does help," she said.

'The laws need to be changed'

Harknesswants to get her rental property back on the market, because it's a source of income and housing is in high demand in Brandon.

Her three-bedroom, two-storey home is listed for $1,250 a month,plus hydro and water. She's fielding numerous calls about the rental, but can't rent it out right now due to the damage.

Harkness is trying tofigure out if she can get compensation from her former tenant in small claims court.

"The laws need to be changed so that they're in favour of the landlords, not in favour of the tenant," she said.

"If you get a bad tenant or a drug dealer you might as well just walk away."

Manitoba landlords need better protection, owner says, after estimated $8K in damage to Brandon property

8 months ago

Duration 2:03

Shirley Harkness of Brandon, Man., started the eviction process with the provincial Tenancies Branch in mid-December for damages to her rental property, failure to pay rent and alleged criminal activity. She says the tenant caused $8,000 in damages before finally being evicted in February.