B.C. families battle retirement home over security deposits: ‘It’s just not right’

Family members of erstwhile residents successful a B.C. status location are calling for amended renter protections for seniors amid a ineligible conflict complete information deposits.

Greg Stewart is 1 of respective group who allege a Langford independent surviving installation has wrongly withheld their family members’ harm deposits erstwhile they moved out.

“All of nan stories are precisely nan same. They cod nan information deposit. They garbage to salary immoderate of it backmost – and successful galore cases they are billing group for flooring, cabinets, and expected harm – and nary of it has been proven,” he said.

When Stewart’s mother moved retired of Cherish astatine Central Park successful 2022, he says nan institution claimed nan carpets needed replacing and went up pinch nan work. It past billed her and only returned a information of nan deposit.

While he maintains location was minimal deterioration connected nan carpets, he said that shouldn’t moreover matter — nether nan law, nan landlord is required to beryllium their lawsuit if they want to support nan deposit.

Stewart refused to rate nan cheque and took his lawsuit to nan Residential Tenancy Branch, which arbitrates disputes betwixt renters and landlords.

The process took astir 18 months, and he said he yet won a default judgement — amounting to double his mother’s deposit — erstwhile nan institution grounded to attend.

But he alleges Cherish refused to pay, starring him to return nan matter to mini claims court, wherever he again won — but has yet to spot a cheque.

“They declare that they don’t person to salary backmost nan information deposits because they are not governed by nan Residential Tenancy Branch, they declare they are a attraction facility,” he said.

“But they are not licensed nether nan Ministry of Health Community Care and Assisted Living Act. By default, they are governed by nan Residential Tenancy Branch.”

In a statement, cherish did not reside its reasons for forgoing nan RTB process.

“We ever return harm deposits wrong 15 days,” it said.

“In nan lawsuit wherever location has been damage, we person to clasp immoderate aliases each of nan harm deposit to repair nan damage, arsenic agreed successful our contract.”

Andrew Jackson, who alleges his mother besides had a information of her deposit withheld, said he felt for illustration seniors surviving successful nan location were being bullied.

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“You’ve sewage a organization who is vulnerable, they don’t want to origin a fuss,” he said.

“It’s a operation of group taking advantage of not having overmuch acquisition successful nan rental crippled and being astatine a very susceptible clip successful their life. It’s sad.”

B.C’s seniors’ advocator raised nan rumor of tenants’ authorities successful a caller report, calling connected nan state to amended backing to make judge British Columbians successful independent surviving accommodation aren’t falling done nan cracks.

The study noted that galore seniors find nan conflict solution process onerous and intimidating and that it requires machine skills that whitethorn beryllium beyond them. Seniors are besides near to correspond themselves, while their landlords whitethorn person ineligible counsel.

“Many times erstwhile we get these complaints we’re seeing it’s not conscionable 1 personification successful these communities that is impacted, it whitethorn beryllium dozens, aliases possibly successful immoderate cases each of nan tenants,” Seniors’ Advocate Dan Levitt told Global News.

The Residential Tenancy Branch told Global News that Cherish has been ordered to salary astir $34,000 successful claims related to information deposits since July 2023.

It said its compliance and enforcement portion was alert of nan matter.

Stewart’s mother passed distant successful April, 2023, but he said he plans to support up nan conflict which has already costs him a important magnitude of clip and money.

“It’s conscionable not right,” he said.

“It’s nan rule of nan truth that personification is telling group that laws don’t use to them and conscionable hoping they’ll spell away, and I americium not consenting to do that.”