Failed home sale leaves property owner unable to evict occupants

“It’s just a nightmare,” Vankoll said. “It’s been an absolute nightmare.”

Vankoll says there could be 10-to-15 people living at the mobile home at any given time and she fears the home has been damaged.

“My property is a mess,” she said. “The cars are parked illegally, they’ve been asked numerous times to have them moved, they refuse to follow the rules.”

According to Vankoll, it appeared someone had been moving into the home in mid-May, which prompted her to change the locks, secure the windows and put up a no-trespassing sign. A few days later, Vankoll discovered there were people living inside the home.

“I approached the lady in the house and I asked her why she was living there, what she was doing there, and she said she had rented it and that she had a legal rental contract and it turns out it was from this lady that was going to purchase it that didn’t.”

The woman who rented the home was unwilling to speak with CFJC Today.

Tanya Porter, who also lives at Mamette Lake Mobile Home Park, doesn’t feel comfortable with her new neighbours.

“They have all sorts of people staying in cars and stuff and I have a young daughter,” Porter said. “There’s men all over, they’re doing drugs, they’re drinking, it’s scary. And now we don’t know if we want to stay, because we don’t know when they’re going to leave.”

When Vankoll provided the occupants with a letter asking them to leave the property, the matter was brought to the Residential Tenancy Branch.

“The tenancy branch, of course, ruled the conclusion was that there is no tenancy in place for her,” Vankoll said. “So, in other words, they have no jurisdiction over her complaint or me — I can’t give her notice or anything like that because there is no tenancy.”

Meantime, Vankoll is paying the new owner’s rent until he can take possession of the mobile home.

“I think that the rules, the laws need to be changed,” she said. “I don’t think that the police did a thorough investigation or I wouldn’t be standing here today talking to you. And I want people to know that we should have some rights, we should have some rights to make sure that this doesn’t happen.”

Vankoll has taken her issue to the Supreme Court and is hoping a court order will be issued to remove the current occupants of the home.

The woman who had allegedly rented out the home to the disputed occupants has not responded to a request for an interview.

by Jill Sperling

Failed home sale leaves property owner unable to evict occupants

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