Residents shocked to receive eviction notices

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (464 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kerri Clearsky got the shock of her life Wednesday after learning she was being evicted from her home of 11 years.

"Last night I cried," said Clearsky, who rents a trailer in Brentwood Village with her two daughters and grandson.

Owners and renters of all 41 mobile homes, on three rows just off the service road near Highway 10, were informed this week they have seven months to move out.

In the notice, they were told the landlord, Rick Golletz, intends to "convert your rental unit within six months to a non-residential use."

Holding her two-year-old grandson, Kailem, in her arms Thursday, the 42-year-old daycare worker said she’s now searching for somewhere else to live.

"It’s really hard," Clearsky said.

While there are other rental units available in the city, she said many are too expensive while others aren’t large enough to accommodate her family.

Devaughn Luce can relate.

He and his wife, three children under 10, two dogs and a rabbit, have also been told they have to leave the home they have lived in for the past six months.

"I’m just trying to figure out what to do now," said Luce, 25, who is currently between jobs.

That could include renting somewhere else or finding a home to purchase, he said.

Many of the mobile homes on the property, in Brandon’s southwest end, are older and in desperate need of repair.

Golletz, who owns the property on which the mobile homes are rented, said Thursday a zoning change will be required, but he has not applied for that yet.

"I’ve had talks with the city," said Golletz, who declined further comment on Thursday.

Golletz owns Western Concrete Products and is a former Keystone Centre board member.

In letters sent out with the notices of termination, the Residential Tenancies Branch said Golletz has voluntarily agreed to pay each tenant $5,000 once the trailer has been moved off the property and the lot is left in a clean condition.

The $5,000, which includes initial legal compensation of $500, is 10 times the amount the landlord is legally obliged to pay, the letter states.

All the trailers must be moved by June 30.

One mobile-home owner, who asked that her name not be used, said she was not completely surprised by the notice.

"I knew, obviously, that (Golletz) owned the first three rows, so it kind of made sense me being between Thunderbird Bowl and new land that they’ve been developing that eventually it was going to happen," she said.

"I was hoping it was wouldn’t happen this quickly."

Another owner, who also did not wish to be named, said some of the trailers are so old they would likely not survive being moved.

And even if they can be moved, she said, some parks only allow newer mobile homes.

A private information meeting involving Golletz, representatives from the Residential Tenancies branch and affected tenants is scheduled for next week at the Keystone Centre.

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