Dartmouth mother of two felt “bullied” into signing fixed-term lease in Ocean Breeze

DARTMOUTH, N.S. — When Destiny Beals moved into her apartment in Ocean Breeze, she expected to be able to stay and live with her family for a few years.

According to Beals, Universal Property Management, a realty group managing leasing agreements in Ocean Breeze, told her and other residents not to worry about the details of their fixed-term leases, and that construction would not impact them for years to come.

“It felt like I was being bullied and pressured,” Beals said in an interview. “We are literally just being thrown to the wolves right now. We have no recourse.”

Additionally, Beals claims that she was not permitted to view her unit in person before accepting the offer from Universal. Then, once she had accepted the offer, she followed up with Universal about her deposit. This was met with an email informing her that the damage deposit was already late and that she had 24 hours to pay, or the unit would be given to someone else.

Ocean Breeze Village in Dartmouth has been a source of affordable housing for years, providing townhouses and apartment suites to families on low or moderate incomes. The community is soon undergoing redevelopment.

Residents currently on fixed-term leases are soon to leave in order to create vacancies for long-term residents displaced by demolition within the community, representatives of Ocean Breeze owners Basin Heights Community Limited Partnership, said in an email. Basin Heights is a partnership between Fares Real Estate Inc. and Cresco.

Long-term residents of Ocean Breeze are being offered the choice of either staying in the soon-to-be vacant units occupied by residents on fixed-term leases, or financial compensation.

Beals says no residents on fixed-term leases have been offered any compensation.

At the end of September, Beals’ lease is up, and she doesn’t get the opportunity to renew. This came as a shock to her. She received a letter early in July, providing a reminder that she was to vacate her suite before September 30. Prior to the reminder, she claims there was no notice about needing to vacate.

“I was gone for a day trip … I come back home and this letter in my mailbox … I was just floored,” she said. “The amount of mental stress and anxiety … it’s debilitating. Just an utter surprise. There was nothing to lead me to believe that my lease would not be renewed.”

Usually, she works as a case manager, but is currently on maternity leave, caring for her youngest child. Beals said she would never have signed the lease if she had known that she would have to leave within a year, as finding a new apartment poses many challenges.

As of writing, Beals is paying $1,400 a month for her suite in Ocean Breeze. Most three-bedroom apartments will nearly double that cost, with a monthly median of $2,641 for household rental costs across HRM according to Rentals.ca’s latest rent report. This number represents existing rent numbers; vacant three-bedroom units fetch an even higher cost, averaging between $2,800 and $3,200 across various rental platforms.

She added that her maternity leave isn’t helping her ability to get approved for a new apartment. So far, she has been turned down on two separate applications.

“It’s like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel now,” she said. “It’s extremely difficult to deal with day in and day out. Some days I can’t even speak. I’m so overwhelmed and I’m so stressed out.”