Tenant says drug, security concerns are being ignored

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This article was published 08/01/2018 (2296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon man is taking his property manager to task for not addressing what he says are unsafe living conditions at the downtown apartment he lives in.

Nathan Enns has filed a claim with the Residential Tenancies Branch seeking more than $2,000 for rent, his security deposit, hydro and moving costs, after finding needles and drugs littered around the hallways of his apartment.

Enns said he brought his concerns to the property manager, Multiplex Property Management, on several occasions but nothing was done.

“Everything that’s been going on has fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

Enns has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects his connective tissue, and lives on $970 a month through disability.

When he moved into the apartment in August, Enns said it was fairly quiet to begin with until he started noticing people who did not live in the building coming in and out, sometimes at late hours of the night.

Enns said he also found pieces of methamphetamine around the building.

“I’m a prisoner in my home. I can’t leave and go out because they’re constantly coming and going.”

At one point, Enns was given a security camera from a friend and placed it at the top of his door frame.

But within a month, someone had torn out the camera and written “RAT” on the wall beside his door.

Enns was told in a text message from a Multiplex representative that if he did not feel safe living in the apartment then he should explore other avenues, and that the property manager did not have the ability to employ an on-site caretaker.

“It’s sad. They’re a property management company. That’s what they’re hired to do.”

However, Enns said he plans on using the footage he has gathered as evidence when his hearing comes up later this month.

The owner of the building, Winnipeg realtor Al Gagliardi, declined to comment and instead deferred questions to Multiplex.

A representative from Multiplex declined to comment, but said she would direct questions to the company’s human resources department.

While speaking to a Sun reporter, Enns received a call from the Residential Tenancies Branch asking if he would be willing to mediate for $125 to cover his hydro bill.

Enns declined and said he would be willing to reduce his initial claim for $2,587 down to $2,042 — $865 in rent, his $432 security deposit, $545 in hydro and $200 in moving costs.

“Whether I win or lose now isn’t even the biggest issue,” he said. “It’s bringing awareness to the other low-incomers in the city.”

Enns is actively searching for a new place to live. A city councillor has put him in touch with the program Brandon Housing First, but Enns is also appealing to anyone in Brandon who can provide him with a safe, two-bedroom unit.

“I would be at the grace of God to find something to get into,” he said.

Finding safe housing is all too important for Enns, who is currently trying to gain custody of his two children.

“The goal and my sole concern is having a safe and healthy environment to eventually bring my kids home to,” he said.

“A judge wouldn’t let my kids come here, I can guarantee that. I wouldn’t bring my kids here. It’s too much of a risk.”

» mlee@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @mtaylorlee