Tenants given 1 week to find new homes due to deficiencies in southern Manitoba building

More than a dozen people have been told they need to leave their suites in a southern Manitoba apartment building in a week because the rural municipality says their safety is at risk.

The RM of Montcalm delivered a notice to the tenants at 144 Caron St. in St. Jean Baptiste, Man., this weekend that Manitoba Hydro will disconnect power on May 5 at 1 p.m. because multiple orders to force the building owner to make repairs and meet building codes have not been adhered to. St. Jean Baptiste is about 70 km south of Winnipeg.

The tenants of the 15 suites that are currently occupied will have to find new places to live at that time, including Steve Lakatos, his partner and three children.

"We have until Friday and we don't have a place yet … they need to pay for our moving expenses. Why should we when we're getting kicked out for no reason and on such short notice with kids," said Lakatos, who has a lease until September.

He worries about finding a three-bedroom apartment in the span of a week.

"I care about everybody. I'm scared for everybody finding a place, but honestly, they'll find it easier than us," Lakatos said.

Fire safety inspection names deficiencies

The building's owner Eduard Heidebrecht was told his building is not properly maintained to guard against fire or the risk of fire, that it's over the occupancy limit and was altered without the proper permits, according to a letter dated April 27 signed by the RM's chief administrative officer.

There are 40 deficiencies putting tenants at risk, including an outdated fire alarm system, not enough smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, improperly maintained fire separations between suites and combustible materials that were stored improperly, according to a fire safety inspection report dated April 18.

Heidebrecht told CBC News he converted the building from nine units to 18, and then applied for a permit to do so. The RM council denied the application based on safety concerns and the owner was ordered to revert the suites back, which didn't happen, said the notice to tenants.

The notice, signed by Reeve Paul Gilmore and council, suggests inspections have taken place over the last few months, and the owner was told several times to adhere to different orders.

"All of these orders and notices were not adhered to," the letter to residents says.

"This decision was not made hastily … this decision was made to ensure the safety of residents and the community of St. Jean Baptiste."

Heidebrecht says he obtained a permit from MSTW Planning District, which he showed to CBC News, saying he received the permit last year.

"Everyone in this town is aware about renovation. Over a year I did this renovation and nobody tell me that I did something wrong or that it's not safe," Heidebrecht said.

He said he's fixed 99 per cent of the problems, but is confused about what's not safe.

'Out on the street'

Fellow resident Adonis Dubois called Heidebrecht a "scofflaw" who didn't take the warnings of the RM seriously.

"I can't tell you how many times he said that, 'It's my house. I can do whatever I want,'" Dubois said in an interview Sunday.

"When the municipality started giving him trouble with the stop work orders, he just started working on the weekends so that he knew that there wouldn't be any inspectors available to come and see him do the work." 

Dubois said he already planned to move out and was lucky to find a place, but he feels bad for the tenants who are now scrambling to find homes. 

"These poor people, you know, they're out on the street next week," Dubois said.

The notice addresses the short timeline, writing, "The RM of Montcalm Council understands that the closure or possibility of closure was not relayed to residents by the owner prior to Friday, April 28, 2023, and we understand the hardship that this causes."

Reeve Paul Gilmore declined to be interviewed.

Heidebrecht said he would not be offering to pay for moving expenses for his tenants, saying he doesn't have the money to do so.