A North Vancouver landlord says he can’t understand why B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Office refused to let him formally evict his tenant after the man trashed his basement suite during a standoff with police last month and ended up in jail.
Jason Rivero says the decision makes even less sense now that his tenant, Alexander Dinu Tanasescu, 37, is banned by conditions of his bail from contacting Rivero or setting foot on the block where he lives.
Rivero said he was also outraged after reading in a newspaper article that lawyers at one of his tenant’s prior court appearances were careful to make sure Rivero wouldn’t catch wind of Tanasescu’s legal issues, including a conviction for manslaughter in 2013 after he killed a fellow inmate in jail.
“I don’t know what world they live in,” he said of authorities. “The public needs to be protected from him.”
Rivero said his family’s experience began in November when Tanasescu answered an ad for the basement suite in Rivero’s home on Lynn Valley Road.
A call to a reference – which he now suspects was a friend or relative of his tenant – appeared to check out.
But Rivero said the situation deteriorated quickly after his tenant began to show signs of paranoia, claiming he was being spied on with hidden cameras.
On Jan. 10 Rivero came home from work in the afternoon and heard strange noises coming from the basement suite.
“It sounded like someone was destroying my house,” he said.
He knocked at the door of the suite. Eventually his tenant came out and “He started getting very agitated saying he wouldn’t be taken alive ... I had no idea what he was talking about,” said Rivero.
When Tanasescu raised his hands over his head, Rivero said he saw what appeared to be a pistol in his hand. At that point, Rivero backed away and called 911.
What followed was a six-hour standoff between police and Tanasescu.
North Vancouver RCMP later confirmed the suspect had a BB gun that looked like a real pistol.
Following the standoff, Tanasescu was arrested and charges of uttering threats and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose were sworn against him.
But Rivero said his ordeal was just beginning. The furnished suite was mostly destroyed and his family had to spend three weeks in a hotel while their home was cleaned of teargas residue, he said.
But when Rivero tried to evict Tanasescu, he was told by the Residential Tenancy Office that the eviction was invalid because the tenant – who was in jail at the time – had not been served personally with papers.
According to information filed with the Residential Tenancy Branch, Rivero posted an eviction notice on the door of the suite and said he tried to text and email his tenant’s girlfriend.
But those efforts weren’t good enough.
“I acknowledge the landlord made efforts to serve the tenant in person and that the landlord was unable to do so given the circumstances. However, this does not change the service requirements,” wrote the tenancy branch arbitrator.
According to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the in-person requirement for serving a tenant with eviction only applies when a landlord is making an “expedited” request. If that’s not possible, a landlord still can request a hearing through the regular process, which allows a landlord to send documents through the mail.
Since that hearing, Tanasescu has been released on bail, with conditions that he live under a curfew at his girlfriend’s home in Vancouver and stay away from Rivero and his house.
Rivero said at this point it makes even less sense that he can’t end quickly the tenancy but adds he’s given up trying and will likely just let the tenancy expire at the end of its term in April.
Rivero added he’s angry that lawyers at a previous court hearing specifically discussed whether the tenant’s landlord would have to be involved as part of an ankle bracelet assessment for Tanasescu during a sentencing hearing.
“I don’t know why people think releasing this person is a good idea,” he said. “If they’re so concerned about criminals they should house them at their houses.”
