A Kelowna woman says the owner of a home who evicted her to offer the property for short-term rentals is now stiffing her on a monetary judgment handed down by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB).
Kim De Witt was awarded a judgment of $30,100 by the dispute resolution division of the RTB on March 22 but says the property owner, Jaswinder Singh Bedi, has not paid up.
The money was to have arrived Monday.
"They are ignoring us. We've reached out through registered mail, I've tried calling the number the arbitrator gave us," De Witt told Castanet News.
According to documents filed with the arbitrator, De Witt was given two months' notice to move effective May 1, 2022, by Bedi when he purchased the home stating he was moving into the home.
However, she said she went back a week later to retrieve some mail and was met by a man who said he was there through an Airbnb listing.
The owners testified at the hearing they did occupy the home from May 2022 until August 2023 before renting it out as an Airbnb then entering a short-term rental contract with students in September 2023.
The arbitrator, when reviewing the evidence, sided with De Witt.
"I find the purchaser did not comply with the act as they did not occupy the premises for at least six months if they did at all," the arbitrator wrote.
"The purchaser first rented the premises out as an Airbnb then rented it out to other tenants commencing Sept. 1, 2023.
"While the purchaser refers to other sick family members and had to rent because of this issue, the purchaser provided no documentary evidence to support this. Further, even if I accepted this to be true, which I do not, it would not meet the requirements of the Act and would be a personal choice."
The law allows for judgment in the amount of one year's worth of rent, in this case $30,000, plus $100 for recovery of the filing fee.
"I get it. Everybody knows if someone sells a house and you're a renter, that's how it goes," says De Witt.
"But this situation, no. It's not right. I had to move twice in one month because I couldn't find a place."
De Witt says she will now turn to small claims court in order to get the judgment.
Changes made by the provincial government last year made it easier for people to collect money owed through an RTB order, but a trip to court is still required.
