The growing tension over a bedbug infestation at 4105 Albert St. is spinning out of control, and the rift between tenants and the building manager is worsening.
"A lot of people are afraid," said tenant Gerry Cole. "Now I am being victimized by the landlord, and they are seeing that."
Many of the residents in the building are living on limited income, they are elderly or dealing with mental illness issues, Cole added. It's not easy for them to find another apartment.
William Yen, the building owner who has 13 properties in the Lower Mainland, attributed the conflict to one or two troublemakers.
According to Yen, the issue is there's one tenant who refuses to have her suite sprayed, so she's been served with an eviction notice.
"She has a couple of kids, she wanted to stay in a hotel, we agreed to pay," Yen said, referring the NOW to Local Pest Control company for more details on the bugs.
Erick De Carvalho, sales manager with Local Pest Control confirmed the infestation has been ongoing for a couple of years, but his company was only hired a couple of weeks ago.
It's unclear how many suites are infested, but De Carvalho was told there are only three units in the building with bedbugs, and they are coming from one apartment and a noncompliant tenant.
"The issue is resulting most likely from one individual suite and tenant," he said, adding that tenant is not cooperating with steps to prepare the place for treatment.
"When we came in to treat last time, he hadn't followed a single step, and the infestation is quite widespread in that unit," De Carvalho said. De Carvalho has proposed to inspect every single suite and is waiting for Yen's response.
The building manager, Nader Pourbazyar, however said the tenant in question has been cooperating, but he was evicting another noncompliant tenant who wouldn't leave her suite so it could be treated. He's also evicting Cole for allegedly running a marijuana grow-op out of his suite. Cole maintains his marijuana grow-op is licenced for personal medical use.
The other tenant and Cole are fighting the eviction, and Cole is extremely frustrated.
"I'm way past that," he said. "Nobody is helping me."
UPDATE: May 27, the other non-compliant tenant, who is believed to be the source of the bedbugs, has also been served with an eviction notice.
