A St. John’s landlord is gaining support in her calls for changes to the Landlord Tenancies Act after encountering problems with a nightmare tenant.
Connie Kelloway claims her property was trashed by a tenant she had trouble evicting after encountering a litany of serious problems.
Kelloway says there has to be accountability and consequences “when people intentionally or repeatedly damage rental properties” without which, she claims, the cycle will only continue.
Kelloway told VOCM Open Line that she showed compassion for the renter, only to see the situation spiral out of control.
A toilet broken and left on the deck. Kelloway says the tenants started using a bucket and disposed of waste in the backyard. (via Connie Kelloway on Facebook)
She was assured that the woman was making changes in her life, but within a short period of time her boyfriend moved in, and then a group of people were squatting there.
Kelloway says neighbours started complaining about damage and noise. She brought the issues up with the tenant several times before finally issuing an eviction notice, but they wouldn’t leave.
Connie Kelloway says every door was kicked in and every wall damaged (via Connie Kelloway on Facebook)
“The police were called several times, Landlord Tenancy neglected to get back to me in a timely fashion. When they did, it was after two expired notices, and then they gave me a hearing for three months out.”
“I can’t afford to wait three months for a hearing,” says Kelloway. She wrote the board a letter seeking to have the process sped up. “Sadly…a week after my hearing (the Landlord Tenancies Board) got back to me by email and told me my application failed. So that was really disheartening to me.”
Kelloway, who’s encouraged by the support she’s received since bringing the issue to the public’s attention, is calling on other landlords to speak out and advocate for change.
