Wall v. The Kettle Friendship Society, 2024 BCSC 1417
Counsel for disabled tenant on successful petition for judicial review of Residential Tenancy Branch decision granting order of possession to landlord over rent arrears of $45. Supreme Court of British Columbia found RTB’s decision was patently unreasonable and set it aside.
The tenant lives in a subsidized building for low-income individuals which is owned and operated by the respondent landlord. The landlord served the tenant with a one-month notice to end tenancy for cause on the basis that the tenant had repeatedly paid rent late, among other things.
The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction paid the tenant’s rent directly to the landlord, such that he had no control over what amount was paid or when. Due to an administrative error, the Ministry mistakenly paid $45 less than was owed for one of the tenant’s monthly rent payments. The tenant said he promptly made up the $45 arrears.
An RTB arbitrator found that the tenant had repeatedly paid his rent late and granted the landlord an order of possession for his unit. On judicial review, the court found that the RTB’s decision was patently unreasonable because the arbitrator failed to coherently analyze the meaning of “repeatedly late” and how it applied to the actual circumstances of the case. Additionally, the arbitrator misapprehended the evidence in finding that the tenant had ignored the landlord’s letters. The court set aside the RTB’s decision and awarded costs to the tenant. View the reported decision.
The case was argued by Jared G. Cummings, who was assisted by Ryan W. Parsons and Sophie Baker. View the published story by CBC News.
