Halifax tenant fighting renoviction prepares for apartment to be condemned

After months of fighting to stay in her Halifax apartment, Stacey Gomez is facing a new hurdle. Last week, she received a phone call saying her apartment on Church Street will soon be condemned by the Halifax Regional Municipality due to poor air quality caused by mould growth. 

"It was a big shock," Gomez said Monday. "I just out of the blue received a phone call and I was told actually, that I would probably need to leave immediately that day.... I was very sad, I cried, it's just like a big upheaval in my life."

Gomez doesn't know when the order to condemn her apartment will be executed, but she has started preparing to leave.

"I don't have anywhere to go," she said. "There's no supports by the city or the province to support people in my situation to have access to emergency housing."

In a statement, a representative for Halifax Regional Municipality said the building has been deemed unsafe. It must be vacated, and the air quality issues must be addressed before the units are reoccupied.

"Municipal staff currently have an active case investigation for this property, therefore, no detailed information can be released at this time," said spokesperson Klara Needler.

CBC asked the provincial department of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Affairs, which is in charge of the Residential Tenancies Act, if a unit being condemned impacts the tenancy or rights of the tenant. A spokesperson said the tenant must leave if their unit is condemned, but wouldn't clarify what it means for the status of their tenancy.

Gomez is one of the last tenants left in the seven-unit building. In March, the building's new owner, Marcus Ranjbar, gave all the tenants forms known as a DR5, asking them to leave for renovations, and most complied. 

Gomez questioned the need to terminate her tenancy for what the building permit describes as minor renovations, and the matter was escalated to a residential tenancies hearing. 

In September,  Ranjbar's request to terminate Gomez's tenancy was rejected and he was ordered to pay her $837.91 in damages.

Ranjbar is now appealing the decision to the Nova Scotia small claims court. The next step in the dispute will be a hearing that Gomez requested to be public, though the date has not yet been set. 

At the time of the original hearing, Gomez acquired a copy of a "mould risk evaluation" commissioned by Ranjbar before he bought the building in December 2021. Ranjbar submitted the environmental report as evidence in his application to have Gomez renovicted. 

A renoviction occurs when a landlord forces residents to leave a building so it can be renovated, then rented to new tenants for substantially higher prices.

The report, prepared by Pario Engineering and Environmental Sciences, says phase one of the evaluation was completed in November 2021. 

The report showed several areas where "water intrusion was suspected". 

"Recommendations within this report stated that the source of the water must be identified and rectified, to prevent further mould and fungal growth, which represent a risk to tenants," the report said.

Gomez believes Ranjbar purposely didn't fix the mould despite knowing about it for more than a year. She pointed to other instances where repairs were withheld.

"When I had a toilet that wasn't working, I notified him immediately. He hung up at me at one point when I called him to make repairs, then ultimately refused to make repairs, and then I had to pay for that myself," she said.

"I think I can just see that the actions weren't taken, and due to negligence by the landlord, this is the situation that I'm in right now, that I'm going to have to immediately leave my home for an undefined period of time."

Landlord response

In a statement emailed to CBC News, Ranjbar said he has been aware of the mould issue, but work couldn't begin while the unit was occupied.

"The environmental issues at the Church St. property were documented by an environmental consultant and the conclusion was that they could not be remediated while the property is occupied, as disturbing mould is hazardous to the health and safety of tenants," Ranjbar said. 

He said all the building's tenants have agreed to relocate, except Gomez. 

"We understand the significant disruption and challenges of needing to find a new home and we have made numerous offers to the tenants of the property, consisting of six months' rent, $500 to cover moving costs, and the full return of their damage deposit," he said.

Ranjbar made the offer in last month's residential tenancies hearing. Gomez said she would not accept any offers that would terminate her tenancy, but would instead agree to leave while the work was being completed and return after. 

Ranjbar did not accept this, stating he doesn't know how long it will take for the repairs to be completed. 

Gomez said she is worried about her health after being in the apartment with mould surrounding her for so long. But she says she will continue to tackle the dispute through the legal system, and eventually once the repairs are completed, she hopes to return home. 

"I'm still connecting with my lawyer about what the next steps are going to be in our case, but definitely the landlord has a responsibility to ensure that a unit is is safe and healthy for a tenant to be in."