Housing NWT sometimes evicts tenants in winter. MLA asks why notices served in coldest months

Housing NWT has evicted seven tenants from their homes this winter for what it describes as illegal activities or disturbances, according to a spokesperson for the corporation.

In an email to CBC News, Aurora Nind said the corporation had also issued 14 eviction orders since last April and that it had made 121 applications to the rental office for eviction orders against tenants between April and February.

Of those applications, 21 of them were to evict tenants in Hay River. There were sixteen in Yellowknife, 14 in Inuvik, 11 in Délı̨nę and eight in Fort Providence. 

Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya pressed Housing Minister Lucy Kuptana in the Legislative Assembly last month about why the housing corporation seeks eviction orders against public housing tenants in the coldest months of the year. 

"Many of these people have arrears but are willing to pay to stay in their homes," said Yakeleya.

Housing NWT says it obtained 10 eviction orders in the Dehcho since the start of April, six of them due to arrears. 

Yakeleya said some of her constituents in housing lost their jobs or took on caregiver roles for family members and their rent wasn't adjusted to reflect that. She asked how the corporation works with tenants before it pursues eviction orders formally at the rental office.

Housing Minister Lucy Kuptana said the corporation considers compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis because in many communities, it is the only housing available. She confirmed there is no policy against carrying out evictions in the winter. 

Tenants reluctant to fight orders 

Tenants Association Northwest Territories founder Lisa Thurber-Tsetso says many tenants don't attend the initial hearings where a landlord seeks a formal eviction order to remove them from their housing.

Decisions made in their absence have the same force as a Supreme Court order and must be appealed within 14 days, she said.

CBC News combed through months of rental office decisions sought by local housing authorities on behalf of Housing NWT to terminate a lease or evict tenants. 

In one example, the Délı̨nę Housing Authority obtained an order in November to evict a tenant who had lived in their home since 2011 and paid $325 per month in rent. The rental office made a decision in their absence and without representation, ordering an eviction Feb. 1 over $1,950 in arrears. 

"The hearing is intimidating. They don't go to the hearing and someone is making that judgment call for you," said Thurber-Tsetso. She said tenants being evicted for illegal activity that isn't proven in court is also a big issue. 

In another case, an eviction was ordered in February for a woman whose daughter began occupying her unit with her and caused disturbances. In another, a tenant who sought treatment faced eviction in the winter unless they paid $1,205 in arrears.

"I think a lot more people would appeal those decisions if they had the resources," Thurber-Tsetso said. 

Thurber-Tsetso said Housing NWT workers are intended to work with tenants to prevent evictions. It's sad, she said, that tenants often come to her saying nobody from the coporation reached out to them to work out a solution. 

She said the corporation's maximum rent – which is 19.5 per cent of a person's income – puts tenants behind when it isn't updated to match their financial situation. Most evictions are a result of arrears, she said. 

"They're not treated as human beings or tenants. They're treated as a money commodity," she said. 

"Housing NWT has a huge budget. They are given money to provide low-income housing and if people can't afford the rent, obviously it's not low-income housing." 

In the legislature in February, Kuptana said local housing organizations tell tenants when violations have been made. She said they only issue a notice to terminate a tenancy and submit an application to the rental office once "all reasonable efforts are exhausted." 

Nind, the spokesperson for Housing NWT, said it has sometimes refrained from carrying out evictions in December because of the holidays.