A Central Lonsdale woman accused of running a 14-bed hostel out of her three-bedroom townhouse is being taken back to court.
The strata council of The Beeches townhouse complex, at 13th Street and Chesterfield Avenue, is applying to have Emily Yu found in contempt of court for failing to comply with the Civil Resolution Tribunal’s 2017 ruling against her, ordering her to cease using her unit for short-term rentals and dog sitting.
The North Vancouver townhouse at the centre of a short-term rental dispute. Photo by Mike Wakefield, North Shore News
Yu petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court to have the tribunal’s ruling tossed out on the grounds of hardship, discrimination and that her short-term rental business should be grandfathered as she had been running it for upwards of 10 years before the strata rewrote its bylaws to prevent short-term rentals. The court rejected her claim in May.
Since then, Yu has continued operating a short-term rental business, the strata’s court documents state, and she has not paid any of the nearly $6,000 in fines the tribunal ordered her to pay.
Now the strata is also asking the court to punish Yu with an additional $10,000 fine for disobeying a court order, as well as a new order forcing her to pay $18,400 in fines to the strata for continued violation of its bylaws.
Alternatively, the strata is seeking an even harsher order – “permanently removing” Yu from her townhouse.
If Yu still fails to comply with any future court order, the strata is seeking the power to force the sale of her home.
In support of their application, the strata has submitted a 530-page affidavit detailing the history of attempting to get Yu to comply with the strata’s bylaws as well as hundreds of screengrabs of her advertising the hostel on short-term rental websites like Airbnb.
The Beeches’ residents have also filed affidavits claiming Yu continues to violate the tribunal’s ruling.
“Since 2016, I have seen over a hundred different people come and go from Unit 12 at all hours of the day, often carrying backpacks or suitcases with them. I see these strangers at Unit 12 for a few days or a few weeks, then I never see them again after that. The conversation I heard emanating from Unit 12 was in different languages and accents and I overheard people talking about their travels or how they found their stay at the ‘Oasis Hostel,’” Maeve Chamberlaine wrote. “I have been awoken or kept awake by noise from Unit 12 because of shouting, arguments or boisterous behaviour. I have told some visitors to Unit 12 to be quiet, but this feels futile to me because they are replaced by new visitors a short while later.”
Chamberlain’s affidavit includes a 20-page log she and her husband compiled of incidents related to Yu’s hostel.
Yu has not yet made a legal response to her strata’s application. Reached on Monday, Yu’s lawyer declined to comment on the latest legal action.
Yu is also facing legal action from the City of North Vancouver, which is seeking an injunction to shut her down for violating the city’s zoning and fire bylaws. In response, Yu is arguing short-term rentals like hers are permitted.
