A Steveston housing co-op is being accused of unfairly trying to kick out a resident while claiming it is owed more than $16,000 in arrears.
On April 4, 2023, Garry Point Housing Co-operative filed a petition at the B.C. Supreme Court to take possession of a unit Timothy O’Rourke was living in.
It also sought to recover arrears of housing charges (rent) it calculated to be $16,445.
The ongoing legal battle between Garry Point and Timothy stemmed from the co-op’s attempt to terminate his father, Laurence O’Rourke’s, membership back in 2021.
According to a B.C. Supreme Court decision issued by Justice Simon Coval in April 2022, Laurence moved into a local care facility due to poor health in June 2020.
Timothy and his mother had lived in the co-op unit since 1989 until her passing in 2000, at which point Laurence moved in and became a member of the co-op.
When the co-op learned of Laurence’s situation in June 2021, they notified Laurence he was in breach of co-op rules by failing to reside in his unit as his primary residence and held a directors’ meeting in August 2021 to consider terminating his membership.
Though Timothy spoke at the meeting, 75 per cent of the directors voted to terminate his membership and for all occupants to vacate the unit.
Process of terminating co-op membership 'unfair': judge
In a letter sent to the co-op following its decision in August 2021, Timothy’s lawyer explained he had lived in the unit for “virtually all his life” and detailed hardships including his responsibilities caring for an ill father and a son with special needs.
While Timothy told the court he had applied for membership in 2021, the co-op denied having records of the application.
The co-op also argued the information about Timothy’s hardship was “revealed too late,” after the decision was made, even though he had “ample opportunity” to raise it beforehand.
It added had Timothy applied for membership “properly,” he was unlikely to succeed, claiming he was a “problematic occupant.”
Coval agreed the co-op’s termination of Laurence’s membership and the attempt to evict Timothy was carried out according to rules but he found it was unfair because the decision was made without consideration of Timothy’s “extremely difficult and vulnerable” circumstances.
“I find the decision to evict Timothy O'Rourke has extremely serious consequences for him and his young son,” wrote Coval, adding Timothy said he couldn’t afford to move and affordable housing was crucial for him because he couldn’t work full time.
Coval declined to make an order of possession and asked the co-op to remedy the unfairness by giving Timothy “reasonable time and opportunity” to apply for membership and consider his application in “good faith” along with their decision on Laurence’s membership.
He also found the co-op was entitled to arrears against Laurence for $3,177 plus $1,059 per month of any unpaid rent from Nov. 10, 2021.
While Timothy told the court he was concerned the co-op board’s “numerous” eviction attempts were “part of an ongoing persecution” and his application “would not be considered in good faith,” Coval said he has not found “any kind of bad-faith dealings.”
He added the co-op would be entitled to seek vacant possession of the unit if Timothy did not get membership.
Staying in the unit in protest of co-op
To this day, Timothy continues to live in the Garry Point co-op unit.
In a procedural decision issued April 22, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Thomas noted Timothy’s circumstances had not improved since Coval’s decision.
In his summary of events that took place after Coval's 2022 decision, Thomas clarified that it was "primarily based on the facts provided by (Timothy)."
"I wish to stress that Garry Point has not had an opportunity to provide their side of the story," he wrote.
Timothy told the court his membership application was denied in June 2022 and the co-op indicated Laurence had “voluntarily terminated his membership in Garry Point.”
“(Laurence) suffers from dementia and may not have been competent to do this,” wrote Thomas, adding that Laurence provided a letter to the court indicating it would not have been his intention to terminate his membership.
According to Timothy and the co-op’s petition on April 2023, they entered into a payment plan to settle Laurence’s housing arrears.
The co-op claimed it received payments until January 2023.
Timothy told the court the co-op denied his membership application in June 2022 and told him in August 2022 that his membership application was “still outstanding” and he provided additional materials.
The board then allegedly scheduled a membership interview with Timothy in November 2022, which took place while Timothy was on a period of disability leave from his workplace. His membership was denied one month later.
At that point, Timothy stopped paying his father’s arrears and housing expenses. He told the court he felt his membership application was not “fairly assessed” and the board was “biased against him and limited the (membership) interview,” among other reasons.
He added the payment plan he proposed “put him in significant financial distress” because he was not working.
The co-op ultimately terminated Laurence’s membership after its demands for payment of arrears were not met. Timothy did not attend the meeting.
In his decision, Thomas interpreted Timothy’s reasoning for not attending the meeting to be due to his “reasonable apprehension that the board was biased against him and his father, based on the manner in which they had previously attempted to terminate his father's membership and the way they had handled his membership application.”
Thomas emphasized the importance of procedural fairness, citing the “worsening of (Timothy’s) personal conditions.”
Thomas directed the parties to schedule a three-day hearing at minimum to hear Garry Point’s petition and gave them procedural directions to move the case forward.
He also directed the matter be “characterized as urgent with the (court) registry and should be heard, if at all possible, before the end of this year.”
None of the claims have been proven in court.
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