halifax tenant evicted after court finds repeated racist comments, disruptive behaviour breached lease
3 minute read
the nova scotia small claims court has reversed a decision by residential tenancies that ruled against an apartment building owner, and has instead decided to evict the tenant at the vida living building at 451 herring cove road in halifax.
ryan taplin
/
the chronicle herald
a 52-year-old halifax man has been ordered to vacate his apartment after nova scotia small claims court found that his repeated racist comments and disruptive behaviour toward other residents were a breach of his lease.
on thursday, nova scotia small claims court released the decision to terminate the man’s tenancy at a vida communities building on herring cove road, ordering him to leave by sept. 30.
previous complaint
the ruling reverses a residential tenancies decision made last year dismissing vida’s application to evict the tenant.
in may 2025, vida applied to nova scotia residential tenancies to terminate the tenant’s residency, citing that the man had violated conditions of his lease surrounding the condition of the unit and his own behaviour.
according to court documents, the application was dismissed in march 2026 by residential tenancy officer shelia briand, saying there had not been enough evidence provided by the landlord to support the claim.
the document says the decision to dismiss the application “contains no summary of the evidence or further explanation for that conclusion.”
vida appealed the decision later in march, resulting in the july 24 and 29 hearing where seven witnesses came forward to speak on behalf of the landlord.
witness testimony
one witness identified in the document as ms. ritika, lived above the tenant with her husband and brother.
according to her testimony, the tenant would often bang on the walls and ceiling as well as frequently be screaming over the course of about two years.
she also testified that on about 15 to 20 occasions, the tenant directed racist comments toward herself and her family.
the documents said comments included “go back to your country” and “you indians are idiots.” they also highlighted one incident where the tenant threatened ritika and her husband, saying he would punch them in the face.
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ritika said that not only did the noise interfere with sleep and work, but the comments also left her feeling unsafe at home.
multiple employees from vida also testified to their experiences with the tenant, saying that the man had complained to them about “foreigners” and “illegal immigrants” moving into the building. they added that they found him intimidating to the point that the company required employees who needed to go to his unit to go in pairs.
in addition to witness testimony, the landlord also presented photographs depicting “extensive clutter, multiple large holes in the bedroom wall, and damage to the ceiling,” some of which was consistent with being hit with a mop handle repeatedly.
tenant defense
the tenant denied causing disruptions or making racist comments, maintaining that the other tenants and the landlord were harassing him.
in the decision, the tenant referred to himself as the “best tenant in the building,” and that he is “probably” the cleanest.
he testified that he has a traumatic brain injury that led to sensitivity to loud noises in addition to a number of other health-related issues. the tenant added that he would become homeless if evicted.
counsel for the tenant told the court she had a letter from the tenant’s doctor that supported his testimony about his health but declined to enter it into evidence for “privacy reasons.”
court’s findings
the court found ritika’s testimony credible, consistent and well supported by employees’ accounts, ruling that the tenant’s conduct was in fact a breach of the residential tenancies act “good behaviour” condition.
the court did acknowledge that the eviction risked leaving the tenant homeless; however, with his denial of wrongdoing and blaming others, it was determined a lesser punishment was unlikely to remedy his behaviour.
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