A Burnaby landlord wanted $17,000 and his tenant wanted $10,000 as they both blamed each other for a devastating fire in a basement suite.
And so they took their claims to B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Branch, which issued a dispute resolution ruling that made neither side happy.
According to the ruling, both the landlord and tenant agreed that the tenancy ended due to a kitchen fire, and both submitted a Burnaby Fire Department incident report as their evidence.
“Fire appears to have started in air space around built-in oven,” said the report. “Rags, towels and paper towels appeared to have been stored in airspace around oven. Burn patterns indicate fire started by arcing electrical service to open, igniting wood behind oven. Oven was in use at the time. Smoke was visible during cooking.”
The landlord claimed that the fire was due to the tenant’s negligence because of the rags and towels blocking the airspace around the oven and not following warnings on the oven instruction manual.
The tenant said the fire was a result of a negligent installation of the oven.
The landlord’s $17,000 claim including $9,000 for repairs to the kitchen and the flooring, plus the loss of rental income. The landlord also wanted $5,000 for pain and suffering.
The tenant, meanwhile, wanted $10,000 after being left without a home due to the fire, including thousands of dollars for meals while having to eat out, hotel rooms and more. The tenant also wanted $5,000 for pain and suffering.
According to the ruling, the burden of proof is on each party making a claim.
Both parties relied on the fire department’s incident report, which the ruling says shows the cause of the fire was “undetermined.”
“Neither party has provided any clear indication on what caused the arcing electricity or provided sufficient evident of any negligence caused by the other party,” said the ruling.
As a result, the RTB dismissed both claims.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
