THE BATTLEFORDS — More claims by tenants of Valleyview Towers II against the Battlefords Housing Authority have been filed with the Office of Residential Tenancies and a hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 22.
Five present or previous tenants have recently filed claims against the Battlefords Housing Authority for breach of quiet enjoyment, as included in their tenant leases. The claims address the circumstances of the last two years.
Tenants, all seniors, are citing circumstances including: loud parties, drinking, drug abuse and intimidating behaviour among tenants allowed in over the last two years, as well as their non-tenant visitors; fire alarms set off due to smoking in the non-smoking building; frequent need to call the police; health hazards due to second hand smoke, insects and stress, attempts at eviction based on anonymous complaints, the removal of tenant association-owned chairs from the main door area.
One tenant has moved out after his doctor said it was too stressful for him to continue to live there. His claim summary reads: “By the spring of 2019 it was party central. Free-flowing drugs, used syringes found inside and out, fights, screaming, knife slashings, guns coming into the building, human waste in the elevators, the smell of cigarette and marijuana smoke everywhere, young girls coming in and out all hours of the night, drunks pounding on tenant's doors – looking for their friends.”
Another tenant's summary reads: “When I moved into the building everything was great. Everyone on the fifth floor was great. We all got along very well. At Christmas, three of the ladies made Christmas dinner for everyone on our floor. We had the dinner in the fifth floor common room. I will always remember those wonderful times we had on our floor and even in the main floor common room.
“But all that changed...”
Last week, the new chair of Battlefords Housing Authority board said it is requesting the public’s patience as they deal with issues at BHA properties in the city.
“The main thing I would like people to know is we are aware and we are working on it, and really digging into some things to get to the bottom of everything,” said Amber Stewart.
Stewart was appointed to the BHA board in June — one of a number of changes to its directors.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to establish a legal defence fund for tenants of Valleyview Towers II since the housing authority appealed a judgment that awarded a rebate on rent to the tenant who has since set up the fund.
She won her claim against the Battlefords Housing Authority after a hearing by the Office of Residential Tenancies in August. The claim included experiences of sexual assault and harassment by a fellow tenant, and the hearing officer awarded the claimant a refund of 40 per cent of the rent paid over two years, stating “the terror and trauma that the tenant endured during two of the years of her tenancy does constitute a breach to her right to quiet enjoyment.”
The Battlefords Housing Authority has appealed that decision to the Court of Queen's Bench and date set for Nov. 4 at has been adjourned to Dec. 16 by consent. The appeal affadavit maintains the hearing officer denied the housing authority the right to procedural fairness.
Valleyview Towers continue to be listed on the BHA websites as senior housing units. However, a 2019 email from the provincial government to the News-Optimist stated, “excluding Saskatoon and Regina, we have provided some further flexibility to housing authorities regarding these units.”
“It’s important that people in North Battleford in housing need have access to social housing,” the government email stated.
