St. John's woman facing prospect of full teardown of garage-turned-home
Tiffany Elton is bracing for costly remediation as lawyer steps in pro bono
A St. John's woman who believed she bought her forever home is facing the possibility of having to tear the property down and start from scratch, but now has the backing of a lawyer who has taken on the case.
Tiffany Elton purchased her first home in July 2020, but soon learned the property had significant issues — the biggest being that the structure had been a fire-damaged commercial garage.
Contractors have provided her with two options to deal with myriad structural and electrical defects outlined by the City of St. John's, after Elton approached the municipality with her concerns.
Both remediation and rebuilding, she said, cost about the same as the purchase price she paid nearly two years ago.
"I need $160,000 and I need to tear down and rebuild the house in 4½ months because the deadline (with the city) is fast approaching," Elton said in a recent interview.
"There seems to be three separate building issues. One being that it was a garage, so it is still structurally a garage. Then there's across the front foundation where the garage door was. Then there's the fire issues."
Elton purchased what she believed was a recently renovated bungalow but soon began unraveling details about the history of 11 Summer St. after rodents found a way into her home.
She discovered the building was a commercial garage that had been converted to a residential home decades before, without the proper permits from the city. The garage had been in a significant fire, and the structure was charred black.
Elton was issued a long list of fine notices by the City of St. John's after she alerted them to the issues. She has until September to rectify all of the defects. If she doesn't, she could have to pay up or get out.
"Sometimes when you notify an authority about an issue, it backfires," said lawyer Joe Thorne, a partner in the St. John's office of Stewart McKelvey.
"Calling in the city was intended to address a certain issue that she had and now the city has gone in and said, 'Well, there's no occupancy permits for this house and you have major structural issues.'"
Thorne took on Elton's case pro bono after seeing her story profiled by CBC Investigates in January.
"Honestly, my heart just went out to her," he said.
"She's really been was a victim of her circumstances, and whether or not someone is legally responsible for that, she is a victim of the process and I really wanted to help out if we could."
Thorne said Elton tried to protect herself during the home buying process by getting a home inspection, a lawyer, and title insurance. But she's still left in a unenviable position.
Legal assistance
Thorne said he has been investigating the previous owners of the home and whether anyone knew or ought to have known about the fire damage.
Elton said many people came forward to her following the story with information on the history of the property, which could be helpful in the future.
In an email to CBC News in January, the previous owner said she had no idea that the property had been a garage that was significantly damaged by fire.
They owned it for 10 years before selling to Elton. The property has changed hands multiple times since its conversion 35 years ago.
Bringing a case to court would be a lengthy and costly process, and Elton says she doesn't have much time left.
In 1986, the owners applied to have the garage converted into a home and the city council of the day approved the conversion.
However, there is no record on file that indicates the city ever received a permit application to do that work or inspected the property after its conversion to a residence.
Despite that, the city has acknowledged that the property was able to be sold as a residential home for decades.
As the city now knows the extent of the damage to Elton's house, it is requiring significant work to be done.
"You're dealing with a municipality and they've got their policies and procedures and they need to make sure that homes are safe for occupancy and all those things," Thorne said.
"But there also needs to be room to consider, you know, Tiffany herself and not just the property, but the person behind the property, who owns the property."
Elton said the city has helped by providing a letter for her title insurance company that outlines the issues with the property.
She said she understands the city is limited by its own acts and codes, but that doesn't remedy her predicament.
The City of St. John's declined a request for an interview.
Help from the public
While the challenges ahead may seem insurmountable, Elton said, she is encouraged by small steps along the way.
After many failed attempts, Thorne and his team convinced an adjuster from the title insurance company to assess the property.
And in the weeks following her story airing, her small business got an uptick in sales.
But nothing, she said, has been more helpful than getting free legal help.
"As you can imagine, it's an emotional roller-coaster. So it's been tough getting through it all," Elton said.
"But just to have that counsel is excellent."
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