The owners of a local bubble tea business drew attention this week with a Facebook post accusing their landlord of shutting off their utilities and locking them out.
However, the building’s owner says he revoked their lease after the owners of Chaà Tayo failed to meet their financial obligations to him.
The post, which was shared in Facebook groups such as Hell Yeah PG and What’s Up PG, states that on March 2, the utilities in the shop were turned off and that the following day, the locks were changed, barring the owners from entering.
The owners allege in the post that their lease was not in default, that they had paid their rent and, despite this, were given no chance to remedy the situation.
The landlord, Mark McVey, denies this.
“We opened and then someone came, changed the lock, and then a few minutes later, when the co-owner left and came back, she saw an envelope taped to the door,” said co-owner Clarice Clement. “It's been over a month now. We are just so emotional because of how we were treated.”
Clement told The Citizen that the business initially wanted to remain silent, but they decided to speak out after conversations with supporters who were concerned about the closure.
“A lot of people messaged us. They kept asking, 'What’s happening to you guys? What’s happening to you guys?' We tried to cover it up. We said, ‘Well, we’re just having a minor renovation, we’re closed and we will open,’ because we thought we could work things out and remedy the situation. But it’s going to be almost two months now since that happened.”
Clement added that their business was given no warning and had no knowledge the locks would be changed on March 2.
“When the lock was changed, there was nothing — we didn’t even communicate with him. He never said, even in a text message, ‘Oh, tomorrow I’m going to change your lock.’ Nothing. There was nothing. That’s why we were like, what’s going on? So when the lock was changed, and then other co-owners saw the termination letter, we were shocked.”
The Citizen spoke with McVey, the owner and managing broker of Powerhouse Realty, about the situation and the reasons behind the closure of Chaà Tayo.
“The former tenant had numerous breaches of their tenancy agreement that we had for approximately three years, and it just became untenable,” said McVey.
When asked about the alleged shutoff of utilities, McVey said he had no knowledge of it occurring.
“The power has never been turned off to my knowledge,” he said. “The power has always been on. I had to transfer it into my name as a landlord after they were evicted — had to transfer it into our company name around the middle of March. That’s part of my responsibility as landlord, to mitigate their loss so they’re not still paying for power.”
McVey also responded to claims that the owners didn't know the lease was about to be terminated.
“I think it’s important to note that this wasn’t just a snap decision," he said. "Various communications — in writing, by email, by text, verbally — had been made to the tenants, advising them of the different breaches of the tenancy agreement throughout the last couple of years. Numerous attempts were made to communicate the importance of staying within the lease agreement that we both agreed to in good faith.”
In BC, a commercial lease can include conditions that supersede existing tenancy laws, giving landlords the legal right to cancel the agreement early if those conditions aren't met.
Clement told The Citizen she intends to pursue legal remedies in the matter.
