Urgent repairs went undone at a 21-room rental in Canada — landlords now owe $90,000

Landlords who turned a Vancouver single-family house into 21 rental rooms and left urgent repairs unfinished were fined $90,000.

Inspectors found at least 17 tenants living in the house, which is near Commercial Drive.

Here's what to know

Vancouver officials ordered the home vacated in August 2025 after a July inspection found that multiple bathrooms and plumbing fixtures had been installed without permits, according to Global News.

British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Branch imposed an $85,000 penalty after an investigation found that the landlords had not kept the property up to the health, safety, and housing standards required by law.

An additional $5,000 penalty covered the landlords' failure to complete emergency electrical and plumbing repairs.

More background

When Global News spoke to neighbors, they pointed to the difficulty of finding rental housing as they expressed shock at what was going on in the house. 

Neighborhood resident Dane Lawrence linked renters' housing options to the property's conditions, which he considered excessive.

"It's pretty grim," Lawrence told Global News about the rental market. "If that's sort of the state they're going to in order to rent out a room in a building like this."

No one answered when Global News visited the rental property and the owner's Richmond home for comment.

What's being done?

The City of Vancouver considered further enforcement unnecessary after a property use inspector found the house vacant.

Additionally, Vancouver Mayor Pete Fry emphasized the new council's commitment to protecting tenants.

"This is great work by our city inspectors to ensure that the standards of maintenance and occupancy are upheld," Fry said, per Global News. 

Where can I learn more?

Renters in other cities have also dealt with unsafe homes and long waits for essential repairs. These stories cover tenant settlements, water shutoffs, rent restrictions, and unresolved water damage.

• Missouri tenants won nearly $4 million in a settlement including debt relief and repairs.

• Kentucky tenants delayed a water shutoff but said mold-filled homes still needed repairs.

• Asheville bars landlords from collecting rent on housing units deemed unsafe.

• Atlanta residents said spreading growth and water lingered for months without proper repairs.

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