A group of Vancouver renters are fighting back after being threatened with eviction over their participation in a private tenants’ Facebook group.
Group members living in The Yarrow apartment building on Kootenay Street in East Vancouver say someone from Realstar Group, the company that owns and manages the building, taped a letter to their unit doors last month.
The bolded and all-caps first line reads: “WARNING BREACH OF TENANCY AGREEMENT.”
“You are receiving this letter because of your involvement in the Facebook group Yarrow Residential Hub,” it reads.
The letter states: “Sharing details of private conversations and publicly encouraging other tenants to get involved and make complaints is a serious interference with management and a violation of your Tenancy Agreement and Residential Tenancy Act.”
The letter suggests some comments in the group constitute “libel” and concludes: “…should you repeat any of these actions or breach your Tenancy Agreement, your tenancy will be ended.”
Realstar is a privately owned, Toronto-based real estate investment and management company with over $9 billion in assets, according to its website.
CBC News spoke to three tenants who expressed concerns but declined recorded interviews.
One tenant described being “shaken” by the letter, and said administrators of the Facebook group were “deeply concerned” over how the company gained access and learned the identities of group members who use a pseudonym or post anonymously.
CBC News requested an interview with a Realstar representative but was told no one from the company was available. In an emailed statement, Realstar said it takes resident concerns seriously and was “carefully reviewing the matter.”
“We recognize that a letter was issued to certain residents on September 19 and understand that it may have caused concern for some,” says the statement. “Our goal is to foster respectful, open dialogue with residents, while also ensuring that our staff can work in a safe and respectful environment.”
However, in a later statement, sent to CBC News on Wednesday, the company said it had apologized to residents for the letters.
“We also want to be clear that tenants have not breached the Residential Tenancy Act. Residents are fully entitled to communicate with each other, share their experiences, and discuss matters related to their homes,” it reads.
Vancouver renters threatened with eviction after making posts in private Facebook group
Last week, prior to the company’s apology, a group of ten tenants calling themselves Concerned Tenants of The Yarrow, signed a response to Realstar calling the accusations in the Sept. 19 letter “unfounded.”
“Such threats are distressing and undermine the trust and security that tenants should feel in their homes,” the group wrote.
The tenants requested that Realstar “stop sending emails that are perceived as threatening or harassing in response to tenant service requests,” and stop “…surveilling tenant communication, whether online or in person…”
Mariah Javadi with the Vancouver Tenants Union said the Realstar letter feels like an intimidation tactic.
“It’s pretty wild. We’ve heard of landlords making all kinds of threats, but this one is very explicit,” she said. “In this case, the landlord has explicitly said that they’re looking to retaliate against the tenants just for talking to each other.”
Robert Patterson, a lawyer with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre (TRAC), said he was skeptical the company had a case for eviction under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA).
He said that contrary to statements in Realstar’s initial letter, the RTA does not consider tenancy agreements to be private and confidential. He also said there is nothing in the tenancy act that restricts tenants from encouraging others to make requests of a landlord.
“Generally, [the letter] smacks to me of a landlord attempting to crack down on tenants who are talking with each other about the problems they’re facing in their tenancy,” he said.
“I think oftentimes landlords get concerned when tenants in their buildings start to work together to collaboratively solve problems within the building. Sometimes that results in landlords trying to prevent that collaboration.”
The Yarrow Residential Hub Facebook group has about 100 members and predates Realstar’s purchase of The Yarrow this past May.
One tenant described the group as a forum to meet neighbours, share concerns and building news, and post items for sale. This description aligns with what CBC News observed when granted access to the group.
Prior to the company’s apology, CBC News requested specific details from Realstar to back up its allegations that the Yarrow tenants had breached tenancy agreements and the Residential Tenancy Act, or committed libel. Those questions went unanswered.
Javadi and Patterson both say instances of landlords accusing tenants of libel are increasing.
Last year, a different Vancouver landlord launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court accusing six tenants of a West End low-rise of defamation. The lawsuit was filed after tenants started a WhatsApp group and organized a protest and poster campaign against the landlord.
According to Patterson, the tenants in that case found a pro bono lawyer to file a response. In June of this year, the landlord withdrew the lawsuit.
To protect themselves from potential libel lawsuits, Patterson said it’s important for tenants to ensure everything they’re saying is factual.
“The goal and benefit of working together is that you can all get on the same page, figure out what’s actually going on and build strategies for how to hold a landlord to account,” he said.
Javadi said tenants have more power when they stick together.
“What the tenants in this building have been doing is what we recommend to every tenant,” she said. “The landlord can’t bring them to the RTB and try to evict them just for talking to each other, just for having this Facebook group. That’s not something that they should be worried about.”
