Problem tenants finally leave P.E.I. rental property, but landlord's issues continue

Thamara DeVries is yet opening the process of reclaiming her imagination home, aft months of watching the spot crook into a nightmare. 

The landlord rented retired the afloat furnished location successful Wheatley River, P.E.I., backmost successful February to tenants she initially believed to beryllium a parent with 3 daughters. 

But soon aft they moved in, DeVries discovered it was really 2 adults and 10 children, on with aggregate animals  — and said they were destroying her home. 

Her conflict to evict the occupation tenants stretched up until this week, erstwhile the household obeyed a July 11 order to vacate from the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, packed their belongings into a moving truck, and left. 

"I don't ever privation this connected anyone. I don't recognize wherefore everything takes truthful long," DeVries told CBC News connected Wednesday. 

"There's entreaty aft entreaty aft appeal, which is extending the time, which is extending the damages to the property."

After discovering however galore radical were surviving successful the residence, DeVries instantly contacted the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), which handles disputes betwixt landlords and tenants connected P.E.I. She argued that the tenants had fixed mendacious information, that the location had an unreasonable fig of occupants, and that unreasonable harm was being done.

The commission initially recovered that determination were nary valid grounds for eviction. The monthly rent of $2,900 was being paid, astatine that point.

As a bid of accusations and counter-accusations from some parties dragged on, DeVries watched the information of the location deteriorate. 

'It seems similar a fearfulness movie'

Eventually the tenants allowed her to locomotion done the property, wherever she discovered knives jammed into doorway frames to support radical from entering, on with a foul odour passim the house. 

She said the downstairs of the spot had been turned into a greenhouse for increasing plants and each the furnishings had been tossed outside, exposed to wintertime conditions. She besides recovered kittens successful the bathtub, and alleged the household was breeding cats successful her home.

Outside, she said the tenants had turned the gait into farmland and dumped respective truckloads of manure connected apical of wherever her good sits. Despite repeated requests to person it moved, she said the heap remains there.

During a proceeding astatine the extremity of May, DeVries presented documents showing nary rent had been paid since April and photos of the damages.

Ruling connected the non-payment issue, IRAC eventually said the tenants had 7 days to vacate, though a document viewed by CBC News noted: "We marque nary uncovering with respect to the merits of the landlords' claims respecting eviction connected the ground of harm to property, for example."

WATCH: 'That process has been painful': P.E.I. location proprietor has spent months trying to evict her tenants:

But the tenants appealed that eviction notice, arguing they couldn't find lodging wrong a week and alleging determination was favoritism successful the P.E.I. rental marketplace against ample families.

The tenants besides applied for a instrumentality of rent totalling $14,500, on with "compensation for affectional distress" successful the magnitude of $12 million, according to IRAC documents. 

"The tenants accidental that they withheld rent due to the fact that of the landlord's behaviour, [which] they qualify arsenic harassment which breached their quiescent enjoyment of the rental unit," 1 papers says.

On July 11, IRAC denied the tenants' entreaty for much clip and terminated the rental agreement, effectual Tuesday, July 15. The committee besides ordered the tenants to wage DeVries outstanding rent successful the magnitude of $7,203.23, minus the $2,000 harm deposit that volition enactment with the landlord. 

The tenants near Tuesday evening, DeVries said, with the RCMP contiguous to marque definite the determination went without incident. 

She's since been done the location again, and was "beyond devastated" by its state. 

When a CBC News squad visited connected Wednesday, determination was a pervasive odor of feline urine. The backmost doorway had been taken wholly disconnected of its framework and near outside, astir of the furnishings and decor items were either gone oregon severely damaged, and the driveway was covered successful manure. 

A formerly achromatic sofa with a floral pattern was a dingy brown, and determination were a fewer cats inactive surviving nether the floor. 

"It conscionable seems similar a nightmare. It seems similar a fearfulness movie," DeVries said. "It looks similar idiosyncratic was successful present purposely damaging the property. It doesn't consciousness similar it was… a wear-and-tear benignant of situation." 

She isn't definite however overmuch it volition outgo to hole up the home, but expects the pricetag to beryllium successful the thousands of dollars. 

On the brighter side, DeVries said she is touched by Islanders offering their enactment to assistance her overgarment and cleanable up the property. 

She plans to determination backmost into the location erstwhile it's acceptable — and said she'll ne'er rent it retired to anyone again. 

She hopes her concern results successful landlords having much rights successful the future, and urged IRAC to velocity up the eviction process successful utmost cases similar hers. 

"I recognize that determination are atrocious landlords, and I recognize determination are atrocious tenants, but what I find is that tenants bash get distant with a batch of damage," she said. "The process is truthful agelong that, unfortunately, it's inflicting other damages that should beryllium avoidable."