Tenant eviction rulings head to court as B.C.’s tougher rules and higher fines take hold

A young couple who bought a house in February last year and moved in four months later, after renovating the former rental, were shocked to learn they had to pay $27,000 to former tenants under the residential tenancy branch’s new stricter laws designed to curb illegal evictions.

Chingnga Fung and Boris Pak-Ho Cheung never even met the former tenants, evicted by the former landlord as part of the sale to the couple.

The couple was paying utilities on their new house, spending some time there and having the occasional meal delivered, but were not yet getting mail and ignored the notices for registered mail.

A residential tenancy branch hearing was held without them.

It wasn’t until they got a notice from the branch on March 2 of this year that they learned they are ordered to pay former tenants Gabriel Rudner and Berit Berting. The former tenants applied for a  hearing because they didn’t see anyone move into the house after they left.