A Vancouver branch of the Royal Canadian Legion says it is facing a vacation eviction notice: from a building on land it originally bought, from a building it helped pay to build.
Shalom Branch 178 was formed 75 years ago and has been active in the community ever since, raising money for numerous causes and supporting veterans.
In 1973 he purchased land at Maple Street and West 6th Avenue, which he gifted to a new housing company along with $ 1 million to help build a 106-unit low-income housing development.
Read more:
RCMP Searches Man Charged With BC Legion Trespassing On Remembrance Day
Robert Underhill, second vice chairman of the Legion BC-Yukon Command, said the initiative is based on a key agreement.
“Never, never was a lease created. It was in a handshake that the Legion, due to their donation to obtain the building, could occupy the room here at no cost, ”he said.
Nearly 50 years later, Underhill said the society began demanding a rent from the Legion. When the organization refused to pay, it said they received a notice to vacate the property before December 31.
“Based on what we know about the settlement, the branch did not pay the rent,” he said. “They have been looking to try to get some kind of agreement or go back to the original agreement, better yet, and the housing society is not even discussing it.”
The company that manages the housing project it was originally called Shalom Branch # 178 Building Society. Its original board members have long since moved, and the partnership has been renamed the “Maple Crest Housing Society.”
Global News attempted to contact the company through Jeff Simons, who is listed as its business contact in its legal documentation filed in the province.
Read more:
Canadians were asked to mask themselves at Remembrance Day ceremonies, says Royal Canadian Legion
No phone number was listed with the organization, and Simons was not home when a reporter visited his home in Richmond, nor did he respond to a request for comment.
Vancouver real estate attorney Ashley Syer said the dispute highlights the risks of handshake agreements.
“An oral contract is still a contract, it is more difficult to prove,” he said.
He added that the Legion can point to its five-decade history of not paying rent for space, but would still face challenges.
“It’s an interesting situation where you have a gift of property and a gift of money to get something going, with some understanding,” he said.
“But one of the dangers of not coming up with an agreement like that is that, in the future, you might have this change, perhaps in board membership or perhaps in the priorities of an organization. If you don’t have the paperwork to back it up, you risk this handshake agreement not being as significant anymore. “
Katherine Jardine, who has lived in the housing development for the past eight years, said she was heartbroken by the eviction order.
“I’ve been so distraught over the past few weeks about the situation,” she said.
“Especially when you know that the legion built this place and provides a place for people like me who are low-income or disabled, people who really need a place that they can afford. Sorry, this is a shame. “
For its part, the Legion affiliate does not plan to meet the eviction deadline.
Underhill said the branch has written to Attorney General David Eby, who is also the district’s MLA, asking him to intervene.
“I don’t think it’s very correct when you kick out a tenant who is trying to help the community,” he said.
“That’s wrong”.
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Reference-globalnews.ca