Zoe Nagler is relieved to be able to stay in her one-bedroom suite at a seniorssa国际传媒� home in Comox after receiving an eviction notice in January.

The 46-year-old who has cerebral palsy has been living in dsa国际传媒橢sterre Gardens, a low-income housing facility managed by dsa国际传媒橢sterre Seniors Citizens Society, for the past six years. The facilitysa国际传媒檚 minimum age requirement is 65, or 55 for people with disabilities, but Nagler was originally allowed tenancy because of her disability.

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But in January, the society tried to evict her because of her age.

She contested the eviction in mid-March. An arbitrator ruled the society had no grounds to evict her, saying sa国际传媒渢he tenancy agreement does not authorize the landlord to end the tenancy if the tenant ceases to meet the age requirement.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a great relief because there is nothing for someone on my budget,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 only get the shelter allowance for rent sa国际传媒� $375 a month and thatsa国际传媒檚 not a rent that exists anymore.sa国际传媒�

Nagler said she would have had to move in with her mother if the decision had not been in her favour.

The Residential Tenancy Branch later determined that the basis for the eviction sa国际传媒� section 49.1 of the Residential Tenancy Act sa国际传媒� did not apply in Naglersa国际传媒檚 case, as she was not living in a subsidized rental unit. While dsa国际传媒橢sterre Gardens has been affiliated with BC Housing previously, their agreement expired two years ago.

The decision also detailed that she had never been required to demonstrate that she met the age requirement, and it would be unfair to evict her after she had already been allowed to live in the unit for six years.

Her lawyer, Joe Marrie, had taken the case pro bono after the was published in The Comox Valley Record.

sa国际传媒淔rom the start, something seemed wrong about it, and people donsa国际传媒檛 always know how to argue their rights in these situations,sa国际传媒� said Marrie. sa国际传媒淚 thought it would be really, really crummy to read about Zoe Nagler being put out on the street over something that seemed like it was totally unfair to do.

sa国际传媒淢y impression is that the society is doing its best to protect what it perceives as its interests.sa国际传媒�

Dsa国际传媒橢sterre Senior Citizens Society denied a request for comment.

Teona Sparkes, a second underage resident who received an eviction notice, did not pursue arbitration and has decided to move on from the housing complex.

jolene.rudisuela@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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