Arbitrator rules landlord was wrong trying to evict Janice Williams

Gibsons artist hopes her story is an inspiration to other tenants dealing with landlords who are acting in bad faith

(By News Desk)

After almost a year of doing battle with her landlord, Janice Williams has learned she can stay in her apartment above the Gibsons cinema, paying $1050 a month. 

Arbitrator T. Wellman of the Residential Tenancy Branch ruled this week that landlord Mario Laudisio acted in bad faith when he tried to evict her, and that he had tried to deceive her. He cancelled the eviction notice.

Laudisio told Williams he was ending her tenancy after she complained about water pouring in from the roof, and large patches of mold in two rooms. The ceiling in the dining room had partly caved in and she could not use the overhead lights or the baseboard heaters because of the water. 

The roof in Williams’ apartment had been leaking since she moved in in 2013 but in October last year, the situation grew much worse. Williams complained and Laudisio had the drains cleaned, but it did not solve the problem. 

At the end of January, after more complaints by Williams, Laudisio called a roofer who found seven inches of standing water on the dilapidated roof and advised that a mold remediation company was required immediately.

A contractor examined the damage and told Williams there was a high likelihood the drywall contained asbestos. Williams, who lost half of one lung to cancer, was concerned and called the Environmental Health officer of Vancouver Coastal Health, who referred the case to WorkSafe BC. 

On February 4, Laudisio sent a handyman to fix up the apartment. When Williams asked him if he was trained or certified to deal with asbestos or mold, he said he was not but he could Google it. Williams told him she would not let him do the work, for both her and his health. 

After WorkSafe BC had become involved, Laudisio hired a contractor who took samples of the drywall and found asbestos.

Laudisio then told Williams he was ending her tenancy “given the possible extent of the asbestos removal and renovation costs required.” 

On February 27, he had a four-month notice posted on her door, with a move-out date of June 30, 2021. 

Laudisio said he was going to completely renovate and update the apartment so a caretaker could move in. 

Williams found a lawyer who was willing to take the case without payment. He asked that The Coast Clarion not mention his name. 

Laudisio said he was ending Williams’ tenancy because his daughter, her realtor husband and their three small children, who live in North Vancouver, were moving into the one-bedroom apartment. 

After the daughter admitted to the arbitrator that she had never been to the apartment and that she had not discussed the move “in great detail” with her father, Wellman found Laudisio’s story “unconvincing”. 

“I find these actions demonstrate the Landlord’s lack of good faith and [he] has established an intention to deceive the Tenant,” he wrote. 

He ordered the eviction notice cancelled; Laudisio also has to pay Williams the $100 filing fee. 

The roof has been patched, not repaired. Two new leaks have developed since the dispute was filed with the Residential Tenancy Branch. The walls have new drywall. 

Williams did not go out and celebrate when she learned she can stay in her home. “I was exhausted. When I heard I had won, I went to bed and for the first time in a long time, I slept like a baby,” she told The Coast Clarion. 

“This has been so hard. I felt harassed and intimidated for almost a year. People were walking in without my permission and banged on the doors and walls, I received a number of unpleasant emails, the landlord gave instructions not to accept my rent, I received letters from lawyers, it never seemed to stop.”

She is happy she stuck it out, though. She hopes her story is an inspiration to other tenants facing landlords who act in bad faith.