Displaced Vancouver tenants still waiting for money owed 9 months after fire

First a fire forced them from their homes, and now some displaced tenants say British Columbia's high rents and "terrible" renter protections have forced them from the province as well.

Some former tenants of a Vancouver apartment complex say their ex-landlords still owe them hundreds of dollars in compensation, nearly nine months after the Mount Pleasant building went up in flames and threw their lives into upheaval.

Avneet Takhar and Hunter Watt say the owners of MacQuarie Place have been slow to return the damage deposits of more than 70 displaced tenants, and several still have not had their money returned.

"It's a combined thousands of dollars," said Watt. "I'm one of the lucky few who did get my damage deposit back."

B.C.'s Residential Tenancy Act requires landlords to return damage deposits, plus interest, to tenants unable to return to their homes due to a fire or other destructive event.

A line of credit belonging to building owners Fu De (Henry) Ren and Feng Yan had a recent balance of nearly $1 million, according to the payment receipt of another tenant's deposit, which was shared with CBC News.

Neither owner responded to multiple requests for comment before publication. 

At the time of the July 2023 fire, which was ruled accidental, Ren and Yan were facing dozens of charges relating to alleged fire code violations dating back to 2021.

Inspection reports obtained by CBC in October showed the city had been trying for years to get the owners to fix the problems, which inspectors feared would help a fire spread more quickly.

There had also been fires at two other rental buildings owned by the couple as well — first reported by The Tyee — one of which was fatal.

In February, Ren and Yan pleaded guilty to several violations at MacQuarie Place, and were fined a combined $4,500, according to court records. The couple is still facing several more charges after the fire gutted the building.

Ren and Yan also still owe $431.25 to Takhar herself, according to an order by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) on Jan. 18, due to delays she faced moving into her unit eight months before the fire.

She also spent more than $1,000 exterminating mice and rats in her apartment last spring after Ren refused, documents show, but that claim was denied by the RTB. 

Screenshots of correspondence confirm Ren and Yan have not paid Takhar or replied to her requests for payment, which was due on Feb. 3.

The RTB cannot legally enforce the order, and Takhar says she does not want to pay further out of pocket to take her case to small claims court.

Takhar says not getting the money back, when Ren and Yan listed the lot for sale for $13 million after the fire, feels like a slap in the face to her and other tenants.

"He's doing really well out there. He just had a $4,500 fine from the court, so it's really ridiculous and it just shows that nothing's gonna happen," she said, referring to her former landlord. 

Mariah Javadi, an organizer with the Vancouver Tenants Union, says it is very common for some landlords not to compensate tenants because they know it will be very difficult for tenants to compel them to pay.

"It's entirely on the tenant to chase the landlord down, bring them to small claims court, go through that whole rigamarole just to get what they're legally owed," she said in an interview. 

"The RTB doesn't participate in the enforcement really at all. And the landlord could be doing this to tenant after tenant after tenant, and they never really face any kind of consequences."

Takhar says Ren and Yan shouldn't have been able to own rental buildings due to the past fires and mounting violations, and that the RTB needs to be able to compel landlords to pay tenants the money they are owed.

"At this point it's not even about money," said Takhar. "He is not fit to own buildings that other people live in because he's putting lives at risk."

Ex-tenants move out of province

The tenants say the fire underscores how vulnerable low-income tenants can be and how little accountability there is for landlords, echoing concerns from other tenant advocates.

Many former residents of MacQuarie Place have struggled to find housing they can afford.

Maggie Garner had to give up her cat temporarily until she and her partner finally found an apartment in January, and at least one other tenant, Francois St. Jacques, told CBC he still hasn't found anywhere and is living in a basement suite with his son.

"I have a good job," said Takhar. "But some of the people in the building were much older, and have pets, and it's really hard for them to rebuild again."

Watt says after the fire, he realized prices had risen so much since he moved into MacQuarie Place in 2020 that he couldn't afford anything decent that was close enough to his work.

He had to quit his job, move just outside of Edmonton to live with family, and is now working as a consultant in hopes of being able to find somewhere more affordable to live.

Takhar says she has lost all hope she will get the $431.25 back, and her faith in B.C.'s rental laws as well.

After living with family in Surrey and then in a basement apartment for several months, the marketing professional moved to Toronto last week where she says she will pay more but feel more protected as a tenant.

"I'm not living in B.C. because of these terrible laws," said Takhar.