Police, fire and bylaws at 235 Nickel Road for an “inspection” on Thursday. The owner of a notoriously troubled house in Kelowna has tried, and failed, to evict his tenants three times in the past three months. Amit Chopra, a Surrey-based realtor, says he’s frustrated with BC’s Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) and feels terrible for the neighbors at 235 Nickel Road. “It’s incredible how silly RTB can get,” Chopra said in an interview with Castanet. “They always take the tenant’s side.” Chopra provided Castanet with three recent RTB decisions. The first was issued on May 31 after a hearing the previous day. Chopra attempted to evict the occupants of the property following a violent baseball bat attack outside the home on April 30. Someone was also bear sprayed inside the house. The decision notes that Chopra relied primarily on complaints from neighbors as evidence, while a non-tenant resident of the home testified that the incident was a non-drug-related break and enter and assault against him. The tenant testified that he was under house arrest and that “it is unlikely that a judge would place him under house arrest in a location known for drug distribution.” Arbitrator A. Gingrich sided with the tenants and ruled that there was “insufficient evidence” for an immediate eviction. An application for a review of this decision was subsequently rejected on 16 June because it was not filed within the required two-day period. A third decision, on July 8, was also rejected by the RTB with an arbitrator ruling that Chopra did not provide sufficient documentation to support his claims. Chopra took ownership of the home in late March, inheriting the tenants with the purchase. He says they have never paid the agreed upon monthly rent of $2,300. An eviction hearing has been scheduled for the tenants for unpaid rent, but not until Oct. 4. An expedited hearing was denied because the RTB ruled that he did not properly prove ownership of the house, despite appearing as the owner of the house before the board a month earlier. Chopra’s frustration with RTB became clear by the third audition. “Throughout this hearing, the owner was upset and argumentative. He repeatedly interrupted me, spoke at the same time as me and argued with me,” referee A. Martin noted in the decision. “The owner repeatedly claimed he was ‘frustrated’ and complained about the RTB process, stating ‘I know you don’t care.’ Chopra tells Castanet News that he likes the people who live around 235 Nickel Road and hears from them often. He also owns the house next door. “I feel bad for them, because this neighborhood that is calm and quiet has become unsafe for everyone,” he said. On Thursday, the city’s property standards compliance team — made up of the RCMP, bylaw and fire department — descended on the home for what police called an inspection. An inspection in June declared the home a fire hazard due to the home’s lack of electricity and reliance on generators. The RCMP has 37 records connected to the property as of November 2021, including overdoses, noise complaints, assaults, domestic disputes, thefts and suspicious activity. “Kelowna RCMP have identified this property as a problem residence due to its ongoing activity involving drug and property crime, as well as known offenders who frequent the location,” said Cpl. Guillaume Tanguay in an email to Chopra this week. Neighbors told Castanet they are outraged by the situation. One says they will move at the end of the month for the safety of their family. Chopra says he’s trying to get back to RTB before his scheduled October date, but so far he hasn’t been able to and has been told he has to wait in line. “RTB is a lazy organization full of people who… the people who work there don’t apply their brains.” The full police history of the property, dating back to November 2021, is below:
2021-11-26 Report of a possible drug 2021-11-30 Drug activity report 2021-12-04 Report of possible drug house 2021-12-05 Curfew check 2022-01-21 Traffic stop of a known offender 2022-03-17 Suspicious activity as invalid 2022-04-30 Assault causing bodily harm 2022-05-01 Seizure of suspected stolen bicycles 2022-05-09 Internal dispute 2022-05-10 Assist Fortis BC 2022-05-10 Match 2022-05-25 Noise complaint 2022-05-25 Drug seizure 2022-05-31 Noise complaint 2022-06-02 Disturbance / Arrests on warrants 2022-06-05 EHS Help Request 2022-06-05 Noise complaint / Suspicious vehicle 2022-06-10 Known offender at residence 2022-06-13 Stolen vehicle discovered 2022-06-13 Suspicious vehicles 2022-06-15 Lease Law 2022-06-15 Fire department assistance 2022-06-18 Disruption 2022-06-25 Noise complaint 2022-07-11 Lease Law 2022-07-13 Suspicious activity 2022-07-14 Lease Law 2022-07-27 Fire department assistance 2022-08-05 Suspicious activity 2022-08-05 Stolen property 2022-08-05 Overdose 2022-08-05 Overdose 2022-08-05 Suspicious person 2022-08-08 Property found 2022-08-09 Sataria 2022-08-09 Suspicious vehicle 2022-08-11 Property found / bike recovered
