Several residents living in a building located in the West Broadway area of Winnipeg have voiced concerns about their privacy, rights, and safety being compromised due to unauthorized construction activities that took place over the summer. This situation has led some tenants to vacate the premises. The new property owner has defended the need for upgrades to the aging complex but tenants have contested the management’s actions.
Mira Koop, who moved out in mid-October, is one of the tenants who have raised objections. She emphasized that there are proper legal procedures to follow for such renovations and criticized the approach taken by the management as being inappropriate.
The issues began when a new owner acquired the adjacent buildings at 640 and 644 Westminster Ave. in July. Following the transition, Koop returned from a trip to find her appliances replaced without prior notice and encountered internet connectivity problems, which were unsettling for her.
The subsequent continuous renovation work conducted in August and September had a detrimental impact on Koop’s living conditions. She reported disturbances such as construction activities affecting fire exits, resulting in unsafe conditions, and space reduction in her unit to accommodate HVAC system installation preparations.
Koop expressed frustration over the disruptive noises from construction both inside and outside her unit, along with instances of contractors entering her suite without the required 24-hour written notice as mandated by the Residential Tenancies Branch.
Other tenants echoed similar sentiments, with one individual recounting an incident where contractors entered their unit while they were asleep to take measurements. Madlen Bowen and Liam Simpson, who had recently signed a lease with the previous owner before the property was sold, highlighted the new landlord’s proposal to increase rent by almost 16% from January onwards and introduce charges for heat and water.
The tenants’ grievances reflect a broader issue of communication gaps and disruptions caused by the renovation work, raising concerns about tenant rights and safety within the building.
