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West End rental scene plagued by rent hikes
Fighting BackProposed Seafield Apartments rent increase typical of trend
| Vancouver Courier |
Friday, March 06, 2009
The first thing you notice when entering the West End apartment of Brian Broster and his partner Ross Warring is the spacious living room and bright sunlight streaming through the windows.
Other features of the charming two-bedroom suite include original hardwood floors, lead glass windows off the kitchen and high ceilings.
But, Warring explains, that charm is a trade-off for living in a 1931 three-storey walk-up with a tiny galley kitchen with minimal counter space, no balcony and heat provided by radiators, which on this sunny February day give the suite a tropical feel, even with the window open.
Warring and Broster believe it’s that mix of vintage detail and lack of amenities that makes the $1,374 monthly rent they pay for their 1,250-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment right on the money. But that’s not how the new owners of the Seafield Apartments at 1436 Pendrell St. see it.
In January, Broster and Warring, along with the other tenants of the building, received notices from Gordon Nelson Investments stating the company has applied to the provincial government’s Residential Tenancy Branch for rent increases of up to 73 per cent. That would see the monthly rent on Broster and Warring’s apartment rise to $2,255.
Gordon Nelson Investments is owned by local businessmen and brothers-in-law Jason Gordon and Chris Nelson. The tenants claim the application, based on what’s known as “geographic profiling” is outrageous, but Chris Nelson argues the increase is in keeping with what’s being charged for similar apartments in what he calls one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in North America.
The landlords and tenants will fight it out March 11 during arbitration through the Residential Tenancy Office. Though not legally binding, the outcome of the ruling, which could take up to 30 days to decide, is expected to be precedent setting.
The tenants of the Seafield view the application as yet another ploy to drive them out of the building, which would give Gordon and Nelson carte blanche to charge new renters what they want for rent.
But the tenants have drawn a line in the sand and say they’re not going to be driven out of their homes by what they call unscrupulous and corrupt landlords.
West End landlords looking to increase rents by hundreds
Donald Ransom (left) and David Bronstein are facing potentially hundreds of dollars in rent increases from their new landlords in Vancouver's West End. Photograph by: Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun
By Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun
January 20, 2009
METRO VANCOUVER — Several West End renters, including an elderly brother and sister who’ve occupied their apartment for nearly half a century, are facing potentially hundreds of dollars in rent increases from their new landlords Gordon Nelson Investments.
Another couple, Donald Ransom and David Bronstein, who rent a one-bedroom apartment in Seafield Apartments at 1436 Pendrell, recently received notice that their landlords are trying to increase their rent from $1,067 to $1,849 per month.
They’re not sure what they’ll do if the landlords’ request is okayed by the residential tenancy branch in March.
“I live on a fixed income. I’m retired. I’m a senior citizen,” Ransom said. “And there’s just no way that we could afford to pay an additional $800 per month.”
The couple has resided in the building for three and half years and say they pay yearly rent increases.
Twelve of their neighbours in the 14-unit building have faced similar rent increase notices. They say their neighbours, brother and sister Rolland and Mary McFall, have lived in their suite for nearly 50 years.
Now, the McFalls may face a rent increase to $2,277 per month from $1,325, according to the notice given by landlords.
Chris Nelson of Gordon Nelson Investments, the company that bought the Seafield last summer, said he’s only trying to bring the rents up to market rate for the coveted neighbourhood. “We’re business people and we currently have tenants that pay about 50 per cent of market,” he said.
Among the documents presented to Seafield tenants is a pile of Craigslist ad printouts for nearby apartments going for higher rates than tenants are paying.
Permitted rent increases vary from year to year in accordance with the province’s inflation rate, and this year are restricted to 3.7 per cent.
But the B.C. Residential Tenancy Act says landlords can apply for additional rent increases in several circumstances, including if the rent paid is “significantly lower than the rent payable for other rental units that are similar to, and in the same geographic area as, the rental unit.”
Spencer Herbert, NDP MLA for Vancouver-Burrard, said he wants to see this clause removed from the act.
“It’s putting undue hardship on residents for no real benefit,” Herbert said at a press conference Tuesday. “The only benefit is to the large landlords’ pocketbooks.”
The company filed a request for rent increases to the province’s residential tenancy office along with supporting evidence earlier this month, a representative of the Ministry of Housing and Social Development said in an e-mailed statement. A hearing is scheduled for March 8, 2009.
In such cases, the onus is on the landlord to demonstrate that the increase is representative of rental rates for comparable units in the area, the ministry statement said. The residential tenancy branch will consider factors such as market rent in the neighbourhood and whether the increase is reasonable.
The branch can decide to deny the increase, approve it, approve it at a different amount, or approve a phased-in increase. If an increase were approved, tenants would have three months notice and the right to dispute the increase with the branch, the statement said.
Ransom and Bernstein said if the residential tenancy branch allows the proposed rent increase, they will appeal the decision and fight to stay in their home.
“We’re a very close community and plan to stick together,” Ransom said.
crolfsen@vancouversun.com
with a file from Tara Carman
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Contact these landlords and let them know what you think of their actions
604-688-4264 or 604-688-5246
Tenants hit with massive rent increase
Roland McFall, 83, might be forced out of the Vancouver apartment he has called home since 1961 because Gordon Nelson Investments wants to increase his monthly rent from $1,300 to $2,200
ctvbc.ca Updated: Tue Jan. 20 2009 17:29:54
Tenants of an apartment block in the city’s West End say they are being squeezed out by Gordon Nelson Investments who are increasing their rents by between 50 and 70 per cent.
In a case that could set a precedent for tenant rights in Vancouver, landlords sent a letter advising the tenants of the increase.
In September, the tenants of the Seafield Apartments on Pendrell had received notices of eviction when the buildings owners Jason Gordon and Chris Nelson said they wanted to renovate.
The owners backed off from this plan, but are now taking advantage of a 2004 change to the Residential Tenancy Act by the sitting Liberal government allowing landlords to increase rents based on the rental rates of other properties in the same area.
At the age of 83, Roland McFall might be forced out of the two-bedroom apartment he has called home since 1961 because the landlord wants to increase his monthly rent from $1,300 to $2,200.
“It’s on your mind all the time. It’s [very] stressful,” said McFall.
Landlords can apply for a rent increase more than what is normally allowed annually if they can prove rents in the same geographical area are higher.
MLA Spencer Herbert is trying to have that section of the Act repealed.
“We need to take that provision out of the Act, because it’s putting undue hardship on residents. They don’t see benefit, the only benefit is to enlarge landlord’s pocketbooks,” said Herbert.
David Bloxham and Don Ransom have lived in the building for nearly four years. Their rent hike would add up to an extra $700 a month.
“They want to have everyone leave the building, they want everyone to disappear and they want just so they can rent out apartment at a higher rate,” said Ransom.
If his rent is increased, McFall says he will have no choice but to go to a seniors home.
A hearing with the residential tenancy board is schedule for March.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Jina You.
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Source – http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090120/bc_tenant_rents_090120/20090120/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
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Contact these landlords and let them know what you think of their actions > 604-688-4264 or 604-688-5246
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Seafield Tenants Face 73% Rent Increase
GREEDY GORDON NELSON ATTEMPTS COLOSSAL RENT HIKE
Last Wednesday evening, January 14,residents of the West End’s Seafield Apartments at 1436 Pendrell Street received thick envelopes from their new landlords Jason Gordon and Chris Nelson of Gordon Nelson Investments (GNI) detailing the landlords’ application to the B.C. Residential Tenancy Branch for rent increases of up to 73%.
The Seafield residents, a tight-knit group of neighbours who have been working together for months to save their community and their building from renoviction now face a new battle–“rent-o-viction”–- with their greedy landlords.
The tenants facing one of the largest rent increase of 72% are brother and sister Roland and Mary McFall, who are 83 and 92 years of age respectively, have lived in the building for 47 years, and are on a fixed income.
Since GNI took possession of the Seafield on August 1, 2008 and handed an eviction notice to Kevin and Trina, the building’s former live-in caretakers (subsequently rescinded as their duties were completely unconnected to their tenancy), maintenance standards have declined precipitously. Residents, who take pride in the meticulous maintenance of the building, have frequently been forced to assume the cleaning of common areas, clearing of clogged downspouts, snow shovelling, groundskeeping, and garbage removal.
On December 30, 2008 the Seafield’s laundry machines were removed without notice and only recently replaced – with half the number of machines at nearly double the price (from $1.50 per load per machine to $2.75 per load per machine). Despite this neglect of the building, GNI has still applied for astronomical average rent increases of 63%.
The current residents have paid the maximum allowable rent increase every year of their tenancies. There is clearly no justification for this additional rent increase aside from the greed of the new landlords hoping to take advantage of their tenants.
Seafield residents plan to challenge Gordon Nelson Investments cash grab and are calling on other tenants in the West End to email them (or post a comment here) with their rents, as they need this information to prove that their rents are in line with what many long time West End renters are paying.
WATCH VIDEO – Global TV Report
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Contact these landlords and let them know what you think of their actions
604-688-4264 or 604-688-5246
Source – http://seafieldapartments.com/seafield-tenants-face-73-rent-increase/805
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Renters At Risk 