How court, tenancies board mistakes cost a young Nova Scotia family their home

Hayley Carr is about to be homeless, along with her partner and her two young children.

Just over four months ago, a small claims court sided with their landlord and ordered the family out of their duplex in Lower Sackville.

They were given to the end of September to find another place. They’re trying to find something affordable but have had no luck. The couple pays just over $1,000 a month for their three-bedroom home, a third of what landlords in Halifax now demand.

They’d be staying put except for a bewildering mistake by the small claims court adjudicator. The case should have been open and shut. The landlord wanted to evict the family so he could move his sister into the duplex.

The Residential Tenancies Act allows landlords to turn out a tenant so a member of the owner’s family can move in. But a brother or sister doesn’t qualify. Under the act, “family” is defined only as the landlord’s spouse, child or parent.

The problem for Carr is that this didn’t come up at the tenancy board hearing last winter. Instead, the landlord’s bid was tossed out because he didn’t provide enough evidence.

He appealed and it eventually landed in small claims court where he showed that he bought the duplex last fall to move his sister in. The court accepted it, even though the law only allows evictions to make room for a spouse, child or parent.

Tammy Wohler, a Nova Scotia Legal Aid lawyer, says she’s concerned. Wohler, who specializes in residential tenancy matters, says that it ignores clearly written limits on when a landlord can evict.

“Security of tenancy is so important, especially given the much-discussed and unending housing crisis,” said Wohler. “Ensuring that landlords and tenants are held to the limits, and the rights and responsibilities imposed by the act, is crucial, especially now.”

Neither the tenancies board nor small claims court did that.

That leaves Carr’s family with five weeks to find a home. Her partner also has a six-year-old boy who spends half the time living at the duplex.

The 30-day window they had to appeal the small claims court decision has passed. Carr is speaking with Legal Aid about her options.

Carr has been looking as far as Windsor for a place, following up on as many as half a dozen apartment ads a day. All run two to three times the rent the couple is paying now, she says.

Even if they find a place, they’re worried about being able to afford rent and all the other costs of raising three young children. The couple both work full time, Carr as a disability support worker and her partner a bricklayer.

“There is no affordable housing left so we’re really stressed,” said Carr. “It might be okay if it was just the two of us, but we have children to worry about.”

The youngest is 18 months, the oldest six. With school starting soon, Carr fears they’ll be out on the streets.

“That’s what scares us the most.”