The provincial government says it’s “outraged” by recent evictions at a Winnipeg apartment it says were illegal, which saw dozens of tenants given cash and told they had to immediately vacate the building after a notice was posted at the front entrance saying it was being shut down.
“From the moment we heard about the actions, our government began taking action both in terms of how we hold this landlord accountable for their actions [and] how we acted immediately to ensure that all of the tenants got rehoused,” Bernadette Smith, minister for housing, addictions and homelessness, said at a Wednesday news conference.
“These events are unacceptable and they’re roadblocks to our efforts to end homelessness here in our province.”
She added it’s illegal in Manitoba to evict a tenant without cause, enter their suite without due notice, dispose of their belongings and change the locks of their apartment without due process.
On Tuesday, a mattress, bags of clothes and furniture were piled near a garbage bin outside Stratford Hall, a three-storey apartment building located on 285 College Ave. People could be seen loading belongings into a moving truck or vehicle, while others sat outside holding a few suitcases, with nowhere to go.
Tenant Megan Levasseur said she saw signs indicating the building was shutting down when she came home around 10 p.m. Friday, to find people blocking the entrance to keep residents from going inside to collect their belongings.
A spokesperson from the City of Winnipeg said the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service attended the site on Friday and found that some fire safety systems were not operational. The fire department ordered that the exits must remain clear and that a “fire watch” be put in place over the weekend, the city said in an email on Tuesday.
“The WFPS did not order a vacate of the building at any time. It is our understanding that the owner made the decision to vacate the property,” the city said.
Smith said the investigation into the evictions by Manitoba’s Residential Tenancies Branch is ongoing, and the province is working “non-stop” to identify displaced tenants.
Once the investigation into the incident is complete, the Residential Tenancies Branch can issue a number of orders depending on the outcome, said Lisa Naylor, minister for consumer protection and government services.
Tenants who suffered financial loss, like if their belongings were thrown out, can also file a claim against the landlord, Naylor said.
“Make no mistake: what happened should never have happened,” she said, adding tenants kicked out of the building are encouraged to contact the Residential Tenancies Branch.