Summerside renters have received a second eviction notice in two months

Some people living at the Causeway Bay Hotel in Summerside are facing their second eviction notice in two months.

At the end of August about 60 long-term tenants were given eviction notices for Oct. 1. That notice was retracted — but some received another notice this week.

About 20 tenants were given eviction notices on Oct. 13, all for the same thing: damage in their apartment done by renters or visitors. The notice also claimed units were not being well kept. The notice says tenants have to leave by Nov. 13.

Robert Wall lives at the hotel and has been speaking out about the evictions. He says he wasn't surprised to see another eviction notice.

"I had a gut feeling it was going to happen," he said, adding the notice came shortly after paying October's rent.

Under the P.E.I. Rental of Residential Property Act, tenants are supposed to be given 60 days notice of an eviction in most cases. However, there is a subsection which states people can be evicted in 30 days if damage to a unit is proved to be caused by a tenant. There is a provincial moratorium on evictions due to renovations, which will stay in place until the new Residential Tenancy Act is brought in.

Tenants at the hotel received a notice on Wednesday stating units would be inspected on Wednesday. However, CBC spoke with tenants Wednesday afternoon who said their units have yet to be looked at.

Wall said he plans to get a hearing with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, but he's worried he and his neighbours could end up homeless.

"There's people living in tents, people living in cars," he said. "And if something isn't done soon there are going to be 20 or so more."

Frank Covello, who also rents a room at the hotel, said he's worried that if the eviction holds he will have nowhere to go.

"It's going to be leading to folks like myself, you know, unfortunately being without a home," he said. "And that is kind of an embarrassing thing to have to explain to an employer when you're looking for a job.

"If you were in a situation where you had nowhere to stay and you were homeless sleeping out of a car storage locker, how are you supposed to keep your integrity throughout the entire process and not worry about it?"

Connor Kelly with the P.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing said he isn't surprised the tenants received another eviction notice because there is nothing stopping landlords from issuing eviction notices one after another.

"I have been in the units, they aren't dirty or damaged, like they are perfectly clean they are pretty well maintained," he said.

Based on past experiences, Kelly said the eviction will likely be defeated if it goes to IRAC.

Lynne Lund is the MLA for the area. She said the city doesn't need more hotels, it needs more affordable housing.

"If these individuals already had other options on where they could go, affordable, safe, available units we wouldn't be having this conversation," she said.

"If we don't address the root causes of our housing crisis it's Causeway Bay today, but it is going to be another building tomorrow."

Lund said the provincial government needs to enact more policies to protect renters facing housing insecurity. She said she gets calls every day from people in Summerside being evicted from their homes. 

The owners of the Causeway Bay Hotel did not respond to a request for comment.