Manitoba landlords need better protection, owner says, after estimated $8K in damage to Brandon property
Shirley Harkness says red tape and delays gave tenant time to cause thousands of dollars in damage
When Shirley Harkness walks through her Brandon rental property, she wants to cry.
The walls and ceiling are covered in graffiti and pocked with holes. 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, her former tenant at the property, who moved in on Nov. 22, was evicted. Harkness had been trying to evict him since mid-December and alleges the tenant caused at least $8,000 in damage. He paid rent for November but was late paying for December and January.
Landlords need more protection to protect them from situations like hers, she said, and she wants Manitoba's Residential Tenancy Branch to 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 rented out her sole rental property for 4½ 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 how many people 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 her property, 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 he had to be out by Feb. 8.
Harkness said the eviction process was frustrating and slowed by bureaucratic 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.
She also had trouble getting statements from her neighbours, since they had to include their names, phone numbers and addresses on any evidence she provided to the Tenancies Branch.
Many feared retaliation, because the tenant would also get a copy of any evidence submitted, Harkness said.
Evictions challenging
When asked about the eviction process, the province referred CBC to the Manitoba Tenancies Branch website for landlords.
The office in Brandon, a city of just over 54,000, has two full-time equivalent positions — a client service officer and a hearing officer, a provincial spokesperson told CBC. The spokesperson did not confirm whether the 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 office held 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 for Manitoba's Professional Property Managers Association, says evictions for reasons beyond failure 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 the tenancy is being terminated.
But those often become "he said, she said," situations, Charach said.
Video evidence can help, as can a sworn affidavit from 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 neighbour or other tenant is called in as a third-party witness, said Charach.
His advice for landlords is to conduct good tenant screening and make sure they have insurance to help with repairing any damage.
Harkness said she did not have insurance on the property because she couldn't afford it.
Melissa Wilkinson, an administrator with Vionell Holdings — Brandon's largest 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 scores and 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'
Harkness wants 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 to figure 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."
Corrections
- We initially reported that the tenant paid rent for November but nothing after that. In fact, the tenant paid rent late in December and January.Feb 27, 2024 10:51 AM CT
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