West End tenant’s patio threatened amidst ongoing dispute with landlord

Donna Irwin has lived in the penthouse suite of an old West End apartment building for over a decade. Walking into Irwin’s suite, the most noticeable feature – apart from the immaculately clean white and pink furnishings – is a large rooftop patio, full of plants and outdoor furniture, surrounded by wooden fencing.

“It's just my little sanctuary,” Irwin, a senior, told Vancity Lookout, describing how, especially during the summer, she gardens and reads on her patio, and hosts get-togethers and parties with family and friends. 

“This is our home. Maybe we don't own it, but it's our home, and we've made it our home all these years,” Irwin said, referring to her and her neighbours.

However, in late spring this year, Irwin got some unexpected news. Despite being included in her original 2014 lease, and in the building’s sale listing when it was purchased by the current owners in 2022, the patio that Irwin had been using and upgrading for over 10 years was not permitted by the city, falling foul of two local bylaws. 

After receiving an anonymous complaint, the city inspected the property and ordered the building owner, Fan-Frazer Holdings Ltd., to “immediately restrict access” to the patio and “obtain the required permits to either remove or retain the structure,” within thirty days of the city’s June 5 order. 

“Ongoing use [of the patio] raised concerns about weight loads and structural safety. In addition, the rooftop patio is enclosed by wood fences, but [part of the roof] lacks guardrails, creating a significant fall hazard for the occupants,” the city said in response to questions from Vancity Lookout.

A representative for the building owner did not respond to Vancity Lookout’s questions about whether they planned to obtain the permits required to make the structure compliant; however the city said the “property owner is actively working to comply” with the order, as of late August. 

If the owner decides to remove the patio, Irwin would be eligible for a reduction in rent. The Residential Tenancy Act requires that if a landlord terminates or restricts a service or facility included in the tenancy agreement, they must also reduce the tenant’s rent “equivalent to the reduction in value.”  

Irwin’s patio is accessible through a door in the living room, and, after careful consideration, “temporarily sealing the door to restrict access was deemed necessary to support safety,” the city said.

But the owner and its property management company, Vancouver Management Ltd. (VML), didn’t act immediately, waiting over a month to inform Irwin they would be sealing the door shut. 

Irwin, who’s 72, described her distress when she was waiting for the contractor to arrive to seal the door with members of the Vancouver Tenants Union (VTU), who she had invited to come support her.

“I was an absolute mess. At one point, we thought I'd have to go to St Paul's because I was having a heart attack. That's how stressful it was, and not eating, not sleeping,” Irwin said. 

“At a very basic level, we understood that it's an unfair situation for a tenant to be alone when facing a situation like that, and Donna was particularly feeling really overwhelmed and stressed about the prospect of having her door sealed,” Jon Petrov, who was there that day as a member of the West End chapter of the VTU, told Vancity Lookout. 

When the contractor showed up to seal the door – with a hammer and nails, Petrov and Irwin said – Petrov and Irwin pushed back, saying Irwin needed to be able to open the door for cooling purposes, to water the plants, and to escape the unit in an emergency. 

The rooftop patio “is not a viable emergency exit,” the city said, while declining to answer Vancity Lookout’s questions about balancing the use of the door for cooling and plant watering purposes.

Petrov and Irwin described how the contractor eventually refused to seal the door, calling VML’s property manager in front of them and informing VML he would not complete the assigned work. 

“I don’t want to do this at all,” the contractor told Irwin, based on evidence reviewed by Vancity Lookout. 

Due to Irwin and Petrov’s advocacy, and the contractor’s decision not to complete the work, the patio door still remains functional, despite the city’s order. This means that, despite the stress caused to Irwin, she can still water her plants from inside through the open door, and keep it open for airflow on hot summer days. 

But not being able to use the patio all summer has been a significant challenge for Irwin.

“I've missed out on all the summer parties that I have. I had to cancel two of my Pride parties. My grandkids [visit], and they're going to wonder why they can't sit on the patio and have a marshmallow roast like we always do. They've taken my whole summer away from me,” Irwin said tearfully.

“I don't know when the next shoe is going to drop,” Irwin said.  

Representatives for the owners and for VML did not respond to an interview request and, prior to the time of publication, did not answer written questions from Vancity Lookout. 

The patio issue is part of a series of disputes between building tenants, including Irwin, the owner, and the property management company. 

After Irwin had been without heat in her unit for several years, an arbitrator with the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB), a provincial body that rules on disputes between landlords and tenants, ruled that she didn’t have to pay rent until her heat was fixed.

“Donna was very fortunate in a really rare instance where she [as a tenant] had success… with an arbitration decision at the RTB,” Petrov with the VTU said. 

That decision came in mid-February 2025. However, according to Irwin, VML continued to withdraw rent in March 2025, contrary to the RTB decision, and have not repaid just over $2,700 owed to Irwin for about six weeks of rent. Even when Irwin got Seniors First BC, a non-profit seniors’ advocacy group, involved on the issue in June there was no response from building ownership. 

However, after repairs to the radiators in her unit in early June, Irwin didn’t pay her rent that month, disputing that they were “fully and permanently restored,” as required by the RTB decision.  

In a response that highlights the uneven power dynamics of landlord-tenant relationships, VML served her with a 10-day eviction notice for unpaid rent, despite owing Irwin repayment for more than a month of rent. 

“It just hurts that they think they have the right to treat me this way, with no respect, after the life I've lived… now I just want peace and quiet, and I don't have it,” Irwin said.

After receiving the eviction notice, Irwin has been paying her rent under objection while seeking legal advice. 

“I'm not gonna stop fighting,” Irwin said. “It’s not just for me, it's for a lot of people… for other seniors… because it's rampant in this city right now.”