Tenant decries eviction

Photo: Colton Davies

UPDATE 1:20 p.m.

One of the tenants living at 377 Winnipeg fears she will end up back on the streets if evicted, and says she’s been unfairly vilified by the community due to the actions of a roommate.

Jennifer Anderson says she and her boyfriend moved into the notorious Penticton home about a year ago, joining another older man that’s been there for years.

She claims she’s been unfairly lumped in with the actions of her roommate and unwanted visitors to the home, and has been working to clean up the property since it was thrust into the spotlight last year due to complaints from neighbours.

“All our business is posted all over the internet and in the news, when nobody actually knows a thing about us. Nobody has even tried to give us five minutes,” she told Castanet News Monday.

Neighbours have complained about people coming and going from the home at all hours, something Anderson wishes she could stop.

“I don’t know them, I ask them to leave and get out of my yard, but then they show up the next day,” she said, explaining they are invited back by someone else in the house. She claims RCMP and bylaw have also been little help removing unwanted visitors.

The City of Penticton cut power to the home in March because utilities were not paid. Anderson claims she paid her roommate for the power bill, but the money was never passed on to the city.

She said the infamy of the home, and its debate at city hall on two occasions, has prevented her from gaining employment or finding a new place to live. Beyond marijuana, she doesn’t use drugs.

She said she plans on fighting the eviction order, which she just saw Monday morning.

“The city wants to talk about how they are helping the homeless, well they are about to create three new homeless people with this,” Anderson said.

ORIGINAL 5:00 a.m.

Tenants of a notorious property on Winnipeg Avenue in Penticton could be facing a court-ordered eviction if they don't vacate the premises by the end of Monday. 

The owner of 377 Winnipeg said he had no choice but to go along with serving an order of possession, which gives the tenants 48 hours to leave before further action is taken, after ongoing complaints from neighbours about the tenants stretching back over a year. 

"The bottom line is you try to help people and it backfires on you," owner Raj Singh said. "We're trying to take them out of there nicely."

The location was raided by police recently and had power and water cut off by the City of Penticton months ago.

If the tenants choose not to leave, further legal action will be taken, including involving a court bailiff to officially remove the tenants' possessions. 

Singh said the process has been many months in the making. He also expressed some disappointment with the neighbours of the property's very public complaints. 

"What's going to happen now? Do I have to ask permission now from the neighbours of who I can rent to?" Singh said. 

As of Sunday night, all seemed quiet at 377 Winnipeg, and there were still possessions in the yard and front step area that seemed to indicate tenants had not left the premises yet.

Neighbours of the home have been before city council on two occasions to demand something be done about the situation.