For a few years, the lifestyle and community brought a satisfying combination of social occasions, peaceful relaxation and relative affordability, while house prices continued to rise dramatically in the Lower Mainland. “I just fell in love with this place,” said MacLeod, who added that he didn’t even bother to set up his TV for about a year after moving in — he was content to look out the window and watch the Fraser River flow by with. Barges were being towed past his yard and sometimes a large sturgeon would appear in the water. He could fish right outside his door. Ross MacLeod, 74, says the houseboat lifestyle was great and relatively affordable compared to land-based housing. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) But the peaceful life was disrupted in late May when one of Grants Landing’s new owners knocked on his door and handed him an eviction notice. His annual lease would not be renewed and he had 30 days to move his home off the ballot, where he was paying $1,100 a month in rent. “I was in shock for the first two weeks. I couldn’t function. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening,” MacLeod said.
Not covered by provincial legislation
Houseboat owners do not have the protections afforded by the provincial Residential Tenancies Act or Manufactured Tenancies Act that residential renters have. The eviction notice can be given without cause if the annual tenancy has been completed. The Housing Minister’s office sent CBC News a statement saying the only recourse in a dispute over a houseboat owner renting space in a marina would be the Civil Consolidation court or the BC Supreme Court. “I just felt so vulnerable, so powerless,” MacLeod said. “There was a period where if I didn’t cry at some point during the day, it was a good day,” Ross MacLeod said. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) He said that after the period of confusion, he got busy trying to find a new place to live. MacLeod said he started driving at marinas throughout the Lower Mainland. None had room for their 25 by 50 foot house. He said he started calling every marina he could in the Gulf Islands and on the Sunshine Coast. “There was nothing,” he said. Grants Landing is a residential marina for floating homes on the Fraser River near Fort Langley. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) MacLeod even enlisted the real estate agent he worked with when he bought the house — an expert in the housing market. She told CBC News she also couldn’t find a place for MacLeod to go. According to MacLeod, he had no choice but to blow the eviction deadline. He said the marina owner then threatened to cut off services — water, sewer and electricity — a threat that came true in early September. Ross MacLeod says he woke up to find his water, electricity and sewer services had been cut off in early September. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) “When I woke up and all the power went out, I really lost some faith in humanity. I honestly did,” said MacLeod, who now lives in a friend’s RV in Aldergrove. CBC News has reached out to the owner of Grants Landing for comment on the situation, but no one has been forthcoming. MacLeod posted a $1,000 reward on Facebook for anyone who can find him a place to move his house, but so far no tips have come in. He said the search for an anchor for his dream home will continue, and although he has hired a lawyer to deal with the situation in Grants Landing, he’ll be happy to leave as soon as possible. Ross MacLeod’s home cost him $325,000 in 2015. He pays a monthly rent of $1,100 in Grant’s Landing in Langley. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)
