Sheds rented as homes by Winnipeg poor

Backyard sheds in a Winnipeg neighbourhood are renting for $100 a month, even though the city ordered the practice stopped several months ago.

Two sheds, in the city's St. Boniface community, are being rented to people down on their luck, according to the owner.

Charlie Warman told CBC News on Friday that he is renting out two sheds in his backyard on Horace Street, and has other similar structures for rent in Winnipeg's north end.

"I am down and out," one renter, Debbie Peachy, told CBC News. "I am sick. I have a gambling addiction."

Peachy, 43, said if it were not for Warman, she would be forced to live in a tent under a bridge.

She said the shed is warm and comfortable. She said she has access to running water and a bathroom.

"I don't want pity. I don't want none of that," Peachy said about her situation. She said social assistance payments are not enough to cover rent in a regular apartment.

She has been living in the shed for two years and prefers it to a homeless shelter, which she said she has experienced in the past.

Peachy said that if a health inspector were to order her to move, she would tell them to leave her alone.

"Give the poor a break," Peachy said.

In November 2008, CBC News reported that the sheds were ordered closed, due to health and safety concerns.

There was no immediate information available on why that order was not enforced.

CBC News contacted city and provincial officials about the situation. Initially, officials said the matter was not within their purview. Later, a spokesperson for the provincial government told CBC News that a complaint had been received about the sheds and the matter would be investigated.

It was not reported which ministry would lead the investigation.