Couple speaks out about bad experience renting in Yukon's Ibex Valley
Two residents of Yukon's Ibex Valley are speaking out about their experience renting a home in the area, saying it was not fit to live in and that their landlord unfairly tried to hike their rent.
Kurt Doerfling and his wife Holly Doerfling moved to the Yukon last summer. They thought they'd found a deal near the Old Alaska Highway in Ibex Valley. For only $400, they could rent a cabin home in the area.
They were in for a surprise when they moved in.
"There were dead baby chicks in the floor that were rotting and we had to scrape them up," Kurt told CBC News.
Kurt Doerfling says this was the state of the cabin when the couple moved in last summer. (Kurt Doerfling)
He says the cabin had no running water, proper insulation, functional toilet access, or electricity.
He provided CBC News with photos of the property. They show garbage strewn across the property and inside buildings.
The Doerflings say they cleaned up the place at their own expense.
The Doerflings say there was garbage all over the property when they moved in. (Kurt Doerfling)
The Yukon Residential Tenancies Office confirmed that it is the responsibility of landlords to ensure rental units meet minimum rental standards.
Karyn Leslie, director of the Yukon Residential Tenancies Office, said Yukon's rental standards allow for the rental of dry cabins, which have no running water or plumbing
"But even then, they contain specific requirements related to supplying adequate drinking water and toilet facilities that meet health and safety standards," Leslie said.
Rent hike
Kurt Doerfling says he was about to go on social assistance this past winter, but that meant his landlord wanted to increase his rent.
"Doubling our rent, like, you know, going from $400 to $900 — and you don't get a lot of money on social assistance," said Holly. "He [the landlord] kind of just saw it as a way to make extra money, I guess."
This was the state of the toilet when the couple moved in. (Kurt Doerfling)
Rental regulation in the Yukon currently limits rent increases to five per cent annually.
In an email exchange with CBC News, the Yukon Residential Tenancies Office confirmed that only certain housing agencies would be exempt from those rules. For example, the rent-geared-to-income program through the Yukon Housing Corporation would be exempt.
Rentals through the private market must abide by Yukon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
Micheal Kolaritsch, who owns the cabin the Doerflings were renting, was contacted by CBC News and was adamant that his actions were consistent with local housing legislation.
"I have nothing to hide, sir," Kolaritsch said.
"If they're on welfare, they have to pay more because of all the problems they cause. And if you contact the welfare office, they're aware of that as well."
The Doerflings, who did not have a written rental agreement, moved out of the property at the start of April, and they are now living in a trailer.
The Yukon Residential Tenancies Office advises tenants to reach out to the Human Rights Commission if they feel landlords are discriminating based on social assistance.
