|
The Astoria Hotel was also part
of "Project Haven." It has 70 rooms.
The main concern is about
the way the City did the eviction. While the tenants
had only one to two hours' notice, the public relations
official from the fire department said that they had
had problems with this building for the past three years
and nothing had been done to deal with the issues in
that time.
Since the Burns Block building
was emptied by the City, the owner Nick Bahrami has
put it up for sale and appears to have no intention
of remedying the fire violations so that the tenants
may return home.
Pivot is representing clients
from the Burns Block hotel in a claim under the Residential
Tenancies Act against the landlord. The tenants
are seeking damages of $5,000 plus $1,000 in moving
expenses from the landlord, as well as an order that
the Burns Block building be repaired so that it is available
again as housing.
|
The
tenants are also considering action against the City
for the very short notice given to vacate the hotel,
given that the fire hazards that existed had been in
the building for years, were minor in nature and easily
remedied.
Pender Hotel closes
In another case of fire inspections
going out of control, the Pender Hotel small claims
court cases against the City's fire inspection that
resulted in every tenant's door being kicked in despite
keys being available and the tenants being detained
for seven hours in a parking lot beside the building
without access to water or washrooms, are scheduled
for settlement conferences in September.
A settlement conference is
where the defendant and the claimant sit down with the
judge and explain what evidence they have and the judge
makes recommendations about an appropriate settlement.
In the meantime, Pivot has
represented the Pender Hotel tenants in a residential
tenancy claim against the administrator of the hotel
for failing to maintain the building and repair the
doors, as required by the City. The landlord settled
the claim with the tenants and the tenants agreed to
vacate the building, which had become dangerous due
to maintenance issues, lack of security, and lack of
management. The Pender Hotel closed in April.
Continued...
| 1
|
2
| 3
| 4 | 5
| next
|
