Over a year with no heat and water leaks for West End tenants

What happened: Tenants in a West End apartment building are speaking out about a lack of timely and effective maintenance in their units and building common areas—in violation of the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), a tenancy agreement, and city by-laws—which they say is negatively affecting their living situations and mental health. 

What we heard: Donna Irwin said her unit has not had heat for the past two winters, while Sara Cardona, another tenant in the same building, said she and her roommate could not use their kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom for prolonged periods of time due to water leaks and associated work on their unit over a nearly two-year period.  

• “We are aware of the concerns regarding the heating and leaking in our property and we are actively working to resolve all the issues as quickly and efficiently as possible,” the property manager, Vancouver Management Ltd. (VML), said in a statement to Vancity Lookout. 

Both Irwin and Cardona were successful in cases they brought to the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) against VML, with the building’s property manager being found to be in breach of the tenancy agreement with Irwin and breaching the RTA in Cardona’s case.

Cold winters: “My whole way of life has been disrupted and turned upside down… my mental health is just a mess,” Irwin, who has been living in her apartment for 11 years, told Vancity Lookout. 

Without heat in the winter of 2024-25, ice formed on the windows of the top-floor unit, with temperatures below 13°C, according to evidence referenced in a Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) decision on the matter. 

“It's fine during the day, but at night time it gets down to two or three degrees,” Irwin said.

• “Heat is, during these cold winter months, quite probably one of the important services provided by a landlord to a tenant,” RTB arbitrator Adrian Denegar said.

Irwin’s unit was not the only one with heating issues. In November 2024, “several corner units” reported heat issues, with tenants having insufficient or no heat, according to VML. 

The property manager provided or reimbursed tenants for portable heaters they said, while hiring several plumbers to assess and provide a long-term fix for the problem, which they were unable to do for various reasons. 

• “I find it difficult to believe that the Landlord has called in 5 to 6 plumbers none of whom were able to ascertain, let alone fix, the problem,” Denegar said in the February 2025 decision. 

The building, built in 1930, is heated by a boiler and hot water pipes. Two heating pipe leaks were discovered in February, and pipe replacement has been completed as of April 10, VML said. 

• As of April 10, Irwin said she still does not have heat in her unit. 

No heat, no rent: Denegar ruled that – beginning in mid-Februrary 2025 – Irwin does not have to pay rent until the heat is fixed, and awarded her just under $1,350 in compensation for the lack of heat this past winter. 

“I am not confident that the Landlord will take necessary or urgent steps in resolving the lack of heat issue in a timely manner. That it has taken the Tenant multiple attempts to have the Landlord fix this issue over a period of almost 5 months is, quite frankly, wholly unacceptable,” Denegar said, noting that the landlord had agreed to fix the heating problem a year prior in a separate RTB case brought by Irwin. 

VML said that “due to the ongoing heating issues… and the uncertainty around resolution timelines,” they offered Irwin the opportunity to relocate to a “larger unit with reliable heating.” 

• Irwin declined, saying she doesn’t want to move. While the third-floor unit has heat and a small second bedroom, it doesn’t have any outdoor space, she said. 

Irwin told Vancity Lookout that a total of ten plumbers had come to assess her heat issue. She has been frustrated by communication problems around the timing and nature of repairs, and a lack of notice in visits from the landlord and their representatives. “My stress level is through the roof,” she said.

Denegar was also critical of the landlord’s communication, saying there was “no particular urgency in the Landlord’s actions or decision-making that might reflect the importance of a lack of heat,” based on email conservations between Irwin and VML. 

Nearly two years of leaks: Sara Cardona said she and her roommate couldn’t use their kitchen for six months in 2023 – while the ceiling was opened up, cabinets removed, and new pipes installed by multiple different contractors – without voluntary compensation or a reduction in rent from the landlord. 

• “We're basically either ordering out [or] I would prepare things that didn't require cooking, like salads. We did that for a very long time,” Cardona said. 

“The Tenant has suffered many, many months of what appears to be an unfixed water leak. The leaking… affects important parts of the rental unit, namely, the bathroom, kitchen, and more recently, the bedroom,” Denegar, the same RTB arbitrator, wrote in a January 2025 decision. 

• Denegar awarded Cardona $300 per month or $2,700 in total compensation. However, that was only applied to future rent and the previous nine months of the tenancy since VML was hired to manage the property in April 2024 – despite Cardona and her roommate dealing with leaks in their unit for nearly two years.   

Those leaks, including a chunk of the bedroom ceiling falling off, led Cardona to ask to be moved into a different unit, with the understanding they could move back once the unit was fixed. “Whatever is happening here is obviously a bigger job,” Cardona said. 

• Initially, Cardona said VML offered to move her and her roommate into another similar-sized unit on a higher floor for $650 more than their current rent, or into a one-bedroom for the same price. 

Eventually – shortly after the RTB decision – Cardona and VML came to an agreement that they would move to a one-bedroom in the building with a $300 reduction in rent. 

The new setup means Cardona’s roommate has their bed in the living room. “It's not ideal, but we'd rather have less privacy than worrying that our ceilings were gonna collapse on us,” Cardona said. 

Common areas: In addition to the problems in the units, in February, Vancity Lookout was shown evidence of cut-open ceilings and walls, exposed pipe, and visible mold in common areas throughout the building – particularly on the ground floor.

VML said they hired a restoration company that month to “dry, treat for mold, and sterilize the attic using ozone.” 

VML said there are “no major ongoing leaks” currently, but they have observed occasional leaks on the main floor. They plan to replace the pipes next week, and said they have initiated a building-wide re-piping project. 

Building ownership: The building in question, the 1930-built Macdonald Apartments, was bought for $11.45 million in April 2022. 

According to public records, the building’s current owner is Fan-Frazer Holdings Ltd., which listed Yu Duo Ding and Jing Ding as its corporate directors when the company incorporated in March 2021. 

• In addition to its West End building, the company owns three other rental apartment buildings in Vancouver, two in Kitsilano and one in Fairview.

By-law issues: Fan-Frazer Holdings Ltd, is currently the subject of formal enforcement by the City of Vancouver for by-law violations at Macdonald Apartments. 

• The city is investigating seven current by-law violations at the building, including issues with heat, maintenance, walls and ceilings, and fire safety. 

The city said they are “not aware of any life safety issues” in the building, but said they will continue to investigate and work with the property owner to ensure compliance with city by-laws.

VML said they are cooperating fully with the city inspector and coordinating inspections of the property.