B.C. court upholds $26,500 penalty in Surrey landlord-use eviction case

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has dismissed a Surrey landlord’s bid to overturn an order requiring him to pay $26,500 to tenants he evicted for landlord use of their rental home.

Nirmal Singh Sandhu gave the tenants a two-month notice in 2022, saying he or his spouse would move into the unit. At the time, landlords using that ground for eviction had to occupy the home for at least six months; the requirement has since been extended to 12 months.

The tenants complained to the Residential Tenancy Branch that Sandhu did not carry out the stated purpose of the eviction. In such cases, landlords must show it is more likely than not that they moved in and remained for the required period, or they can be ordered to pay compensation equal to 12 months’ rent.

Sandhu submitted 97 pages of evidence, including affidavits, family photographs and Amazon delivery records. The arbitrator found the evidence insufficient, noting the people who supplied affidavits had visited after the required six-month period and giving little weight to the photos and delivery records.

Justice Tina Dion found the arbitrator was entitled to assess the evidence that way. The court said its role was not to reweigh the record and concluded the decision was not clearly irrational or unreasonable, leaving the penalty in place.