After more than a decade living in an apartment on Imperial Street, a Burnaby couple is facing life on the streets following eviction by B.C. Housing.
Raymond and Doris Gajjar were notified earlier this month they have until the end of February to vacate their B.C. Housing-subsidized apartment on Imperial Street after an alleged incident involving their adult son on New Year’s Eve.
According to the Gajjar’s daughter-in-law, Sheryn, the 44-year-old son got into a verbal argument with his parents’ upstairs neighbours on Dec. 31, 2014. The son, who has anger management problems, yelled at the neighbours, who then called the complex’s manager. The neighbour lodged an official complaint, which allegedly caused the eviction.
“We were very shocked and upset because they’re 87 and 85 (years old), and it’s due to the alleged actions of their adult son,” Sheryn said.
On Jan. 26, Sheryn sat in on a dispute resolution conference call between her in-laws, a representative from B.C. Housing and an arbitrator. During the call, Sheryn said the Gajjar’s were told they were being evicted.
According to Sheryn, even though her in-laws offered to sign a legal document agreeing that their son would never be allowed on the premises again, the final decision was to evict the couple.
“My parents were just stunned, they couldn’t say anything,” she added.
Sheryn feels the parents shouldn’t be punished for their son’s behaviour especially considering the lease is in their names and they’ve never had any complaints up until now.
“There’s no problem with the rent payment or anything like that,” she said. “It’s not fair. The whole family is being affected – their children, grandchildren, everybody is worried.”
With less than a week before the Gajjars need to vacate their residence, the family is scrambling to find somewhere for them to stay. So far they haven’t had any luck, Sheryn said.
On top of the housing concerns, Sheryn is worried how the stress of eviction will affect her in-laws’ health. Raymond Gajjar, 87, suffered a stroke four years ago and is partially paralyzed. While 85-year-old Doris Gajjar has severe arthritis throughout her entire body and requires regular doctors appointments every five to six weeks for treatment.
Sheryn is also concerned the eviction will be a black mark on her in-laws’ record and prevent them from finding another place to live subsidized by B.C. Housing.
The NOW contacted B.C. Housing for a comment and received an emailed statement regarding the Gajjar’s situation.
According to B.C. Housing, the couple will not be able to reapply for housing through B.C. Housing until after they’ve lived for a period of time in an apartment in the private market.
“This couple may be eligible to apply for rental assistance through the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER), which will assist with the portion of their rent that is more than 30 per cent of their income. They would need to locate a rental unit in the private market and complete a SAFER application,” B.C. Housing wrote in the email. “Subsidized housing tenants whose tenancies were ended for cause and wish to reapply for subsidized housing in the future, need to reside in the private market for a period of time and be able to demonstrate that the behaviours resulting in the termination of the tenancy have not reoccurred.”
The NOW also asked B.C. Housing to confirm the reason for eviction was the alleged New Year’s Eve incident, but the organization said it could not provide any details regarding what led to the Gajjar’s eviction, citing privacy concerns. An eviction is only pursued as a last resort, B.C. Housing added.
In the meantime, Raj Chouhan, MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds, contacted B.C. Housing and Rich Coleman, minister responsible for housing, about this issue, hoping an alternative resolution can be reached before the Gajjars are left homeless.
“It’s just a terrible situation,” Chouhan said.
