B.C. tenant faces legal and financial hurdles to reclaim rental suite after landlord locked her out

A B.C. woman is fighting to reclaim her rental suite at a Lumby, B.C., motel after being locked out by her landlord in August, despite a court order and a ruling from the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) in her favour.

Megan Wood, who had been living at the Ramshorn Motel, now faces both financial and legal challenges in enforcing the orders and regaining access to her home and belongings in Lumby, which is around 55 km northeast of Kelowna as the crow flies.

Wood’s case exposes gaps in tenancy regulations and enforcement in B.C. that leave vulnerable tenants without adequate protection, according to a lawyer advocating for her. 

Wood moved into the motel in February. However, when she returned from visiting family in late August, Wood said the door to her rental room was locked.

“I was scared. I was in stress, panic mode. I was like, ‘Why is my key not working?'” Wood said.

Unable to reach the motel manager, Wood said she called the RCMP and eventually learned from an officer the motel owners would not allow her back into the room.

In an email to CBC News, Vernon RCMP Const. Chris Terleski confirmed officers were called to the business to keep the peace.

“The matter was determined to not be criminal, and parties were referred to the Residential Tenancy Branch to pursue resolution,” Terleski said.

This began a more than two-and-a-half-month struggle for Wood, navigating tenancy and court systems in an attempt to reclaim her home and her belongings.

Despite a tenancy branch decision in her favour, a Writ of Possession from the B.C. Supreme Court and appeals to the RCMP, court sheriffs and bailiffs to enforce the orders, Wood has not been able to gain access to her room at the motel. 

The Ramshorn Motel is owned by Hardial Singh Chahal and Jasbinder Singh, according to court and tenancy branch documents. 

When reached by phone Singh Chahal cited overdue rent, damage to the room and communication issues as reasons for evicting Wood.

“She [did] not pay rent. If we tried to talk to her, she [would] not talk to us,” he said. “And the room is ruined. We opened last June, and she ruined the room.”

Wood denies the allegations and said part of her rent is paid directly as a housing supplement from a North Okanagan housing society, with the remainder of her rent coming from her disability benefits. 

Motel ordered to restore tenancy

Procedures for evicting tenants are laid out in B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act.

Landlords cannot change locks without an order from the RTB or take a tenant’s personal property without a court order, according to information on the province’s website.

The website states, “A landlord who illegally evicts a tenant may be fined up to $5,000 and may be required to repay costs incurred by the tenant as a result.”

There is no indication the motel owners sought an eviction order in Wood’s case. 

On Oct. 1, Wood, Singh Chahal and an agent for the motel attended an RTB hearing before an adjudicator. 

During the hearing, the owner argued there was no tenancy agreement with Wood and claimed she signed an agreement to stay for 28 days.

However, an adjudicator ruled the motel had accepted rent payments from February through to August, confirming Wood’s stay as a long-term tenancy and granted her an order of possession.

Writ of Possession from B.C. Supreme Court

On Aug. 8, a B.C. Supreme Court justice granted Wood a Writ of Possession, a court order allowing her back into the rental room, and waived her court fees.

Wood has tried to get into her room by showing up on two occasions but said despite these orders, the motel staff have refused to give her the keys.

“[The owners] don’t care. They don’t have any sense of shame or remorse or honour or integrity,” Wood said.  

‘If you like her, you put her [in] your home’

When reached by phone last week,  Ramshorn Motel co-owner Singh Chahal refused to answer why he and his partner have not obeyed the RTB and court orders.

“Why [did] you call? Are you a judge?” Singh Chahal replied.

“It’s none of your business. If you like her, you can put her [in] your home.” 

After the eviction, Wood stayed on a friend’s couch, in her car at a campsite and is now living at a hostel in Kelowna and says she has run out of money.  

“I’ve felt shame. I felt embarrassment to have to talk to people and tell them my situation,” Wood said.

“It’s taken an emotional toll. I have had nights where I have cried. I have had nights where I have prayed to God, saying, ‘Please help me. I don’t understand why this can be allowed to happen.'”

Wood said she has asked the RCMP and court sheriffs to enforce the court order but was referred to bailiffs, which would only take action if she paid up front, money Wood said she doesn’t have. 

Inaccessible enforcement mechanism

Kelowna lawyer Paul Hergot, who has been advocating for Wood, said the situation shows the gaps in tenancy regulations in B.C. that can leave vulnerable tenants unprotected. 

“The Residential Tenancy Branch is wonderfully accessible to unrepresented parties like Megan, which is excellent. But the enforcement mechanism moves to B.C. Supreme Court, which is horribly inaccessible,” Hergot said. 

He argues for enforcement under the authority of the RTB so tenants like Wood are not presented with so many legal hurdles in order to have an RTB ruling enforced.

On Monday, Wood attended B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna in hopes of asking a judge to direct a sheriff or bailiff to attend the motel with her to enforce the court order.

Upon arriving, she learned her matter had been taken off the court docket, as last week Wood did not provide a binder with the physical court documents, according to staff at the courthouse.

Wood said she was not informed of this requirement.

“I’m not sure why that is necessary when all those documents are already on file,” Wood told CBC News outside the courthouse.

Adding to her legal challenges, Wood is not able to access legal advice from duty council at the courthouse as her case is not a criminal or family law matter. 

“It’s just another week’s delay. I still don’t understand that since October 1st it has taken this long to get anybody to help me just get the key and get in and get out with my belongings. It’s frustrating,” she said.