B.C. court upholds $31K award to tenants after new owner evicted them, then demolished home

A Coquitlam homeowner who was ordered to pay close to $31,000 to tenants who were evicted from her new home has lost a court challenge of the ruling.

The case is one example of a growing number of large awards that have been issued following changes to B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act, designed to compensate tenants who are evicted in bad faith by landlords.

William David McMaster and Cynthia-Lee Wohlford had been renting a house on Ivy Avenue in Coquitlam for $2,559 a month.

They were given two months’ notice to vacate by July 1, 2021, by the previous owners after Aesuk Kim bought the house, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court judgment.

The eviction notice stated the new owner would be moving into the property and if “your landlord does not take steps toward (that) purpose,” they could apply for compensation of 12 months’ rent.