Our Corporate Landlord is Trying to Evict us

Tham Properties Inc., is in the business of owning and managing properties, including our strata building constructed in 1975. Realtor Robert Tham is the sole director of Tham Properties and a principal with Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services, whose current online listings total almost $20 million. Robert trades in multi-million-dollar properties and his current online listing is $3.5 million.

Why would a presumably successful realtor with millions in listings want to live in a half-century old building that he has not kept clean inside and out for over a year and where residents’ health was put at risk after a major flood?

We have each lived in our homes for over a decade, long before Tham Properties Inc. purchased all the strata units in this older building. Tham asked us to pay higher rents for our units, we said no, then they filed to evict us. Please share our story and donate if you can.

We are Matt and Jay, working-class renters. Jay lives with Parkinson’s Disease so his affordable home is essential over the long term. Losing it would be life-altering.

For the last two and a half years, we’ve battled through the Residential Tenancy Branch and the BC Supreme Court. Jay is now headed to the BC Court of Appeal. This is about more than just us now – it is about protecting every renter in the province from a dangerous new eviction precedent.

Our Landlord’s Ever-Changing Story

Tham Properties owns every single unit in our 50 year old strata building – a four storey building with no elevator.

In 2022, Tham Properties asked us to agree to rent hikes far above legal limits over the next ten years, claiming our rent was “below today’s market”.

In 2023, Tham Properties issued an eviction notice, claiming Robert’s elderly relatives with health issues were moving in.

Now, Robert Tham claims that he and his wife want to downsize and move into one of our units themselves.

A New Standard that Threatens All Tenants

Tham Properties is arguing in Court that a corporate landlord can use “unnamed family members” to evict tenants – and even swap who’s moving in after the fact.

This corporate smokescreen gives landlords a free pass to invent or swap relatives, kick tenants out, and profit. If this stands, no renter in BC is safe.

We continue to fight our evictions to stand up for ourselves and every tenant.

Why We Need Help

Legal costs for this David-vs-Goliath fight are staggering with court filings, transcripts, legal counsel, and responding to what feels like endless court proceedings with Tham Properties. We’ve already gone to the limits of what two working folks can afford.

Every donation helps fight for housing rights. If we win, landlords won’t get to hide behind corporate smokescreens. Even a small donation will go a long way.

Every dollar beyond our legal fees will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

Please help us stay in the fight. Stand with us. Protect renters’ rights.

Thank you.