Two sisters who faced eviction without notice decided to take their situation to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal.
Devon and Morgan Doucett are the sisters in the tribunal dispute. In April 2023, they signed a roommate agreement with Arlene Chamulak to share a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo.
They told the tribunal that in July, just months after signing the agreement, Chamulak evicted them without notice. They claimed damages of $2,000 for the security deposit and $1,850 in rent, for a total of $3,850.
Chamulak told the tribunal that the Doucetts didn’t give notice that they were moving out, so she didn’t owe them anything.
Chamulak had a lease agreement with her landlord for the condo between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. After that, the lease was to continue on a month-by-month basis. Under the agreement, Chamulak was to pay for utilities, heat, WiFi, cable, and a cleaning service.
The Doucetts were to live in the apartment as Chamulak’s roommates between May 1, 2023, and October 31, 2023. If all parties agreed, their rental would also be carried forward month by month after the agreement was up.
For the monthly rent, the Doucetts would pay $3,700 per month, which included the use of the condo, building facilities, utilities, a parking spot, and access to bike storage lockers.
The sisters paid the rent for May and June without issue. In early June, the landlord came for an inspection relating to a plumbing issue. After that, the landlord emailed the Doucetts, asking about their arrangement with Chamulak. They told the landlord they believed that Chamulak was subletting the condo to them.
Apparently, the landlord wasn’t a fan of the agreement. On July 4, they gave Chamulak a one-month notice to end the tenancy for cause because she allowed an unreasonable number of occupants in the unit and assigned a sublet without permission.
Trying to reassure the Doucetts, Chamulak said she would dispute the notice to end the tenancy and said that if there were an eviction, it would occur in September or October at the earliest.
Things got a bit testy after that. On July 6, Chamulak told the Doucetts that the $3,700 rent cheque for July had been returned, so she asked them to e-transfer it instead. They e-transferred half of the money because of the transfer limit. On the same date, Chamulak asked the Doucetts to leave one of their two sets of keys with the building’s concierge because she had a meeting with the landlord.
That day, the Doucetts told Chamulak they felt uneasy about the living situation because of the tensions with the landlord.
Chamulak told the tribunal that on July 7, the landlord entered the condo without permission, which resulted in her calling the police. The police met the landlord in the lobby.
The next day, Chamulak asked the Doucetts to pay the remainder of the rent but to reduce the amount by $100. She didn’t say why there was a reduction. They said they would not pay the rent until Chamulak returned the second set of keys and confirmed in writing that they would have the condo for the rest of July.
They also said they would be moving out because of the strain of the landlord dispute, adding that they’d stay until July 31 and help Chamulak find a new roommate. They also discussed buying her furniture if she agreed to return the security deposit. Otherwise, they told her they’d move by July 15 without paying the July rent.
On July 9, Chamulak texted the sisters, saying, “Move out now. I will have your things removed.” One sister responded, “Okay.”
“Then Ms. Chamulak texted that if the Doucetts paid the $1,850 owing for July rent as soon as possible, she would leave the condo that day for the remainder of the month, but she would not return the second set of keys,” the tribunal decision states.
Chamulak said that when she returned to the condo on the afternoon of July 9, she realized the Doucetts had already moved out. The sisters disputed this, saying that after the police incident on July 7, they took some of their belongings and stayed somewhere else until the dispute was resolved. They also said some of their belongings were still in the condo.
On October 26, the landlord was granted possession of the condo, effective October 31, 2023.
The BC tribunal agreed that the Doucetts faced an eviction without notice on July 9. The tribunal ordered Chamulak to pay the Doucetts $3,228.60, including $2,835.48 as a refund for the security deposit, pro-rated rent, and the rest in tribunal fees.