A former tenant of the landlord who suddenly evicted residents of a North End apartment block earlier this month claims he was forced to leave his West Broadway residence after the same individual subjected him to harassment and bullying.
Christopher Reed says he filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission against 211 Furby Ltd., alleging its sole director, Kelly Vasas, threatened him with illegal eviction, shut off his power and removed his door during his time living at the property from 2016 to 2021.
Vasas took ownership of 285 College Ave. the day before dozens of tenants were evicted without notice July 12. Days later, the province stepped in, providing 24-hour security and “helping tenants return to their units immediately.”
TYLER SEARLE / FREE PRESS FILES
A former tenant of the same landlord is speaking out after hearing about the sudden eviction of residents at 285 College Ave. on July 12.
Reed said he’s speaking out because watching the news about the residents at 285 College “brought back painful memories” of Vasas and his time living at 211 Furby St.
“I had that God-awful feeling of being displaced when I saw those other tenants,” he said.
Reed, a member of Rolling River First Nation, has a disability as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. He said Vasas used racial slurs, threatened him and, on one occasion, removed his suite’s front door while he was away.
By December 2021, the aggression escalated to the point Reed alleges the power to his suite was turned off on more than one occasion, including Christmas Eve.
“I slept with my winter jacket on and several layers for warmth,” he said. “I was unable to use the washroom facilities in my suite or use the kitchen sink.”
Vasas’s lawyer Gary Sinnock said his client had no comment.
Reed said he believes Vasas was attempting a “renoviction” — where a landlord evicts tenants, renovates suites and hikes the rent — and he got help through Legal Aid Manitoba.
Reed’s lawyer at the time, James Beddome, called the situation “easily the worst tenancy dispute” he had dealt with and said learning recently that Vasas was the landlord at 285 College Ave. wasn’t a shock.
“It’s sad to say, but it wasn’t surprising,” he said.
Beddome said Reed is filing a human rights complaint, in part, because the Residential Tenancies Branch claims process is “paper-intensive” and doesn’t account for many tenant issues — it’s difficult to prove how much a person may have lost financially if they haven’t kept records of furniture that was illegally thrown out, for example, or tabulate the impact an abusive landlord can have on a tenant.
“This (case) definitely stands out as particularly bad that way, because there were so many issues… it also stands out in terms of lack of remedies,” he said.
“Part of the challenge is, the Residential Tenancies Branch cannot give awards for pain, suffering emotional distress.”
A provincial spokesperson said the Residential Tenancies Branch’s investigation is currently underway.
Reed has since moved to a new home, where he feels safer. He’d like to see a more accessible avenue for tenants seeking support, such as a 24-7 phone line. He’d also like to see Vasas penalized for the evictions at 285 College Ave.
“It is the inhumanity and the psychopathy of someone to put profit ahead of people, with no regard for legislation, which I find really shocking and hypocritical,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was quiet at the College Avenue building Wednesday morning. The fire escape doors had been propped open as renovations continued, and security vans remained parked along the street.
A sign on the building warned tenants authorities had “master key access to building” and would be patrolling when necessary.
“Govern yourself accordingly,” the sign read.
One tenant, who asked to not be named, was scrambling outside the building. She said she was never told who her new landlord was, and doesn’t know where or to whom the rent should be paid.
“(Employment and Income Assistance) wants that information before my rent is paid, and tomorrow’s (Aug. 1),” she said.
The woman was one of the tenants recently evicted. She stayed in a hotel on an emergency basis covered by the Jordan’s Principle program and, briefly, with family in Sagkeeng First Nation, before moving back in with her three-year-old child.
“I had no choice but to move back here, because it’s hard finding a place… I’m still looking for a new place, but for now, it’s within my budget,” she said.
“I have to stay here. I have no choice.”
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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