Landlords not doing adequate repairs, East Vancouver tenants complain

Several upset tenants of an East Vancouver apartment claim their landlord is pocketing their rent money while letting their home fall into ruin. 

The tenants of 801 East 6th Ave. have complained multiple times to building management — of black mould, bed bugs and cockroaches, leaking ceilings and even intruders sleeping in the complex's underground parking lot — and on Wednesday, the Vancouver Fire department cited the landlord with a number of safety violations. 

Shannon Sirosky, one of the residents in the building, said the owners should fix the issues. 

"I think the owners of the building need to step up and fix all this stuff because it's ridiculous," she said.

Still, many of the low-income tenants say while the building is run down, they have no choice to but to stay because they can't afford to move. The rent is just below average at the massive 180-unit complex at $1350 a month for a two-bedroom unit.

Don Baker says he is facing eviction because he fought the landlord many times to get problems fixed. He claims he recently slipped from a puddle on the rusting floor and ended up with four stitches on his head.

"They're just waiting for it [the building] to fall down and use it for other means, but they're not taking into consideration when it does fall down, people are going to get hurt," he says. 

Long history of violations

The landlords have a troubled history with buildings they manage. In 2013, they were threatened with legal action by the city for infractions at another East Vancouver building and were also the target of angry tenants in the 1980s who complained of poor living conditions and unfair rent hikes.

CBC reached out to the landlord Giovanni Zen and his son Moreno through their family-run business, but a company representative declined to comment.

Tenant Marni Thorpe is moving out rather than spend another day in her dilapidated apartment, and she puts the blames on the Zen family who live in West Vancouver's exclusive British Properties.

"Well enjoying life, for sure, better than we are!" she says of them. 

The 75-year-old woman recently battled cancer and says the black mould and bed bugs made her recovery harder. 

"Your self-esteem kinda goes down, because you want to be living in a place to feel secure and satisfied," she says. 

"This has gone on long enough."