Vancouver Island homeowners say renter used house to sell dogs, caused $30K damage
Comox Valley landlords are searching for a former renter – along with some answers.
The homeowners say when their tenant moved out they found their property had been trashed, and even used to house and sell dozens of large dogs.
The owner of the property, Leanne Jones, says she gets emotional when she sees the condition her home was left in.
“It’s a beautiful property and to just have somebody come in and be able to just abuse it and then just waltz right out is just ridiculous,” she said Tuesday.
The rural Courtenay property was only rented for five and a half months, but the damage is estimated at around $30,000.
“This is over the top," she said. "It’s not like, 'Oops I forgot to clean behind the stove,' right?”
According to Jones, the renters had more than 30 dogs in the house. One of those dogs allegedly chewed through a heat pump.
When a contractor came to fix it, he called the owner saying something no homeowner wants to hear: "Oh my God. You should see your house."
As Jones and her husband Shane Murdoch investigated further, the couple found posts online showing the property was being used to house and sell Belgian Malinois, herding dogs similar to German shepherds.
Attempts to get access to their home were deflected with COVID-19 protocols, and the locks were changed. The couple then tried going through the rental tenancy branch.
“They literally did nothing,” says Murdoch. “We repeatedly phoned them."
CTV News contacted the former tenant for comment. She says none of the allegations made by the homeowners are true.
B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says he empathizes with the family and the difficulties they are having as landlords.
He says the branch is adding resources to strengthen the ability to respond to cases like this.
The ministry says it is doubling the size of its compliance and enforcement unit, and has so far hired 80 per cent of the positions promised by the minister in December.
“They should have field operators," said Murdoch. "A problem can be solved in 10 minutes, yet you’ve got to go through a month’s process."
Jones says she now knows why people leave their homes empty, risking the government’s vacancy tax.
“This place can sit empty and I’ll pay a ridiculous amount for my insurance because it’s empty before I’ll rent it again.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.