Vacate order issued for Manwin Hotel

Jeff Keele reports on why the city issued a vacate order for the Manwin Hotel, and why its owner maintains the building is safe.

The City of Winnipeg has issued a vacate order for a notorious Main Street hotel.

Following a fire in December, Community Services Committee Chair Vivian Santos, said the city issued the order for the building to be vacated.

“With the recent fire that we heard. There are safety concerns, now it’s just inhabitable,” said Santos.

A city spokesperson said city departments have been in contact with the property owner for several years about multiple compliance orders connected to safety and proper permitting.

“As a necessary step to encourage the property owner to comply with multiple outstanding permit requirements and compliance orders on the building, the city issued the property owner an order to vacate earlier this month,” the spokesperson said.

In October 2023, a group rallied in front of the hotel, calling for it to close over concerns about the building’s condition. In February 2021, the province temporarily shut it down, citing no heat or water.

But owner Akim Kambamba maintains the building is safe, saying the WFPS did its annual inspection and everything checked out.

“The health department has been here. There’s no issues concerning health,” said Kambamba.

Kambamba said the fire is not the real issue. He said the city has concerns with some fire escape stairs that are not up to code, which he is working on upgrading for $80,000.

He said he needs time to get that done. Plus, there are ongoing issues with the rooms. He needs to do constant repairs to suites damaged by tenants who struggle with addiction and other social issues.

“They damage the rooms, the walls, they put holes in the walls, they break their doors.”

Kambamba said some tenants have lived here for 20 years and he has appealed the order, set to be heard Feb. 10.

The city said no enforcement will take place pending that appeal hearing.

But Kambamba said many tenants did leave once the order was issued and some came back.

“This is their home, they have nowhere else to go,” said Kambamba.

The city said before the vacate order was issued, it was in contact with the Residential Tenancies Branch and Employment & Income Assistance at the province to offer assistance to tenants.