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
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.