A strange situation is unfolding inside a Wolseley apartment block after tenants found eviction notices taped to their door, only to find out more than a week later that they were phony. It all happened at the Westmoreland apartment block located at 768/770 Preston Avenue. A tenant who spoke with CTV News says around 9:30 pm on Sept. 9, notices were taped onto the unit doors. The notice, a Form 11C, says the residents’ tenancy is terminated because the landlord intends to conduct extensive renovations. It goes on to say residents must move out by Dec. 15. The notices don’t identify the tenants by name, just by their unit number. The notices list the numbered company 768P Holdings Ltd. as the landlord and are signed with the initials ‘Y.R.’ CTV News confirmed the director of that company is real estate lawyer Neil Sullivan, and sent him a copy of the notice. “I can confirm there is nobody with those initials associated with 768P Holdings Ltd. and the building managers advise they didn’t issue such a notice,” Sullivan wrote in an email. “As such, that is not a valid notice.” He added later that he spoke with the Residential Tenancies Branch on behalf of the building’s owners and was advised tenants would be receiving a new notice confirming the original notices are, “not legitimate.” He said residents are receiving an updated notice from the owners and the property management company Pillar Property Management. The updated notice reads in part, “To be clear, Pillar and the current owner are not asking tenants to vacate the property. You should continue to occupy your unit as usual, and you do not need to vacate based on the notices you may have received.” Residents with concerns are being asked to contact the property management company directly. In a statement to CTV News, a provincial spokesperson said the Residential Tenancies Branch is aware of this situation. “The property manager has advised tenants this notice will not be enforced and that all tenants may continue to occupy their homes as usual,” the spokesperson said in an email. At this point it is unknown who taped these illegitimate notices to residents’ doors. One tenant who spoke with CTV News said the notices were convincing enough for multiple tenants to begin the process of moving out already.
