Yukon government files lawsuit over Whitehorse 'purple cabin' property

The Yukon government is suing the leaseholder and sublet of the "purple cabin" property in downtown Whitehorse, whichis currentlyat the centre of a land-leasing dispute,in an effort to get them off the property.

The government filed a statement of claim in the Yukon Supreme Court against Len Tarka and Eric DeLong on Oct. 13.

Tarka owns the cabin at 6088 6th Ave., near Lambert Street, while DeLong currently resides there.

DeLong, who has lived in the cabin for four years, recently launched a campaign to save his home after the government said what Tarka believed was a life-long lease on the land the cabin sits on had, in fact, expired.

Neither Tarka nor DeLong have filed statements of defence against the government's lawsuit yet, and the case has yet to be tested at trial.

Lease was for 30 years, not life, lawsuit claims

Tarka, according to the statement of claim, received a lease for the land from the government with a term of "30 years or the life of the Lessee" on Oct. 1, 1991, with an annual rental fee of $100.

However, the lawsuit argues the lease was subject to legislationthe time that "restricted leases to a maximum term of 30 years," and also contained no right of renewal.

The Yukon government started notifying Tarka in 2019 that his lease was set to expire on Sept. 30, 2021, and that he would be required to return the property to the government in a "satisfactory" condition, the lawsuit continues.

While Tarka requested a renewal of the lease in October 2020, the statement of claim says the government declined the request "for a number of reasons," including that the property is in "a moderate geohazard zone, subject to slides for the clay escarpments located above." It also claims the City of Whitehorse objected to a renewal "without a geotechnical analysis and mitigation measures" and required a subdivision approval to lease the entire property.

The lawsuit claims Tarka, who has rented out the property since 1996, was notified of the reasons at the beginning of August. The government then sent notices to Tarka and DeLong on Oct. 1 that the lease had expired, and that "they were now trespassing on the Property, and Yukon was demanding vacant possession of the Property."

"Mr. Tarka and Mr. DeLong currently retain possession of the Property by either residing there or keeping their chattels or buildings and structure on the Property," the statement of claim says, adding that the property, in 2020, had an appraised market value of $84,600 for leasing purposes.

The Yukon government is asking the court for an order of vacant possession of the property, and a declaration that any belongings or structures remaining on site 90days after the order be considered "abandoned and can be disposed of by Yukon."

It's also seeking rent from Tarka for the period between Oct. 1 and the date of vacant possession at a daily rate of $23.17, based on an annual rental fee of 10 per cent of the current appraised value, the cost of removing anything left on the property and legal costs.