Neighbourhood Tensions

Tensions between neighbours in Oliver have reached a boiling point.

A group of residents have joined together in order to bring attention to a neighbourhood family, who they say, is making them feel unsafe in their own homes.

Resident Margie Mathieson says over a dozen residents have signed a letter to the couple that is renting the home to the current tenants.

The letter states many residents have witnessed drugs being sold out of the garage.

Mathieson says the home renters have piles of garbage in the back yard, let their dogs run wild, and are suspected of stealing power from a neighbour.

She says the police came to the property in March to disconnect a power cord which had been plugged into a home belonging to an elderly woman. She had been too afraid of the neighbours to tell them to remove it.

Mathieson says since then, she and other residents have been going over to the woman’s home to make sure the power cord hasn’t been reconnected.

RCMP say no theft charges have been brought against the neighbour. They say officers have gone to the residence for calls of property damage and breach of the peace, but not for theft of power.

They say one of the home’s tenants has admitted to plugging a power cord into a neighbour’s home, but claims she had permission to do so.

According to RCMP, the tenants have said they are planning to move in the next few weeks, but it’s not known if they were evicted or are leaving willingly.

Under the Residential Tenancy Act, being disliked by neighbours doesn’t qualify a tenant for eviction. A landlord must have a valid reason for evicting a tenant and must have proof of illegal activities.