‘I’m fighting it’: Vernon’s Tiki Village motel resident wins reprieve at tenancy branch

Almost a week after residents at the Tiki Village Motor Inn were issued immediate eviction notices, some guests are staying put, arguing the motel had no right to kick them out in the first place.

Faced with impending homelessness, Tiki Village resident Brenda Rutherford filed an appeal with the BC Residential Tenancy Branch and won a short-term reprieve, granting her the right to stay put until a hearing in mid-December.

“I’m fighting it, I’m getting tired of being pushed around by these landlords,” Rutherford told iNFOnews.ca. “If we have to leave in seven days, what am I going to do?”

Rutherford has lived at the well-known Vernon motel since August and pays $1,050 a month for a room, which has an ensuite bathroom and a kitchenette. She’s got a freezer and a small washing machine that drains into the sink. The room has a decent-sized balcony that overlooks the pool, which appears to have been devoid of water for years.

The 57-year-old shares the room with her cat and dog, and says she’s been happy there and hasn’t had any issues with her room.

Until Nov. 19 when Rutherford and dozens of other tenants were issued an “emergency notice to evacuate.”

The notice says that a fire inspection “officially deemed” the motel “unsafe/uninhabitable” due to hazardous electrical conditions.

“The inspector’s findings indicate that the unit currently presents a serious and immediate risk to health and safety, and therefore cannot be lawfully occupied,” the notice reads. “You are required to vacate the unit immediately for your own safety and to comply with the inspector’s order.”

The notice appears to point the blame at the “inspector’s order,” however, the City of Vernon says it didn’t issue orders to evict residents or close the building.

“Our directives have focused solely on ensuring that fire code violations and safety concerns are properly addressed and corrected,” City of Vernon spokesperson Jessica Hewitt said in an emailed statement last week. “Due to inaction by the property management representative, our Fire Prevention Officer issued fines in late October and early November 2026 in accordance with municipal bylaws.”

The City wasn’t the only one to fine the motel over its conditions. A recent WorkSafeBC penalty notice highlighted violence, mould and rodent feces, while issuing a $1,250 fine.

When iNFOnews.ca stopped by on Nov. 25, there appeared to be very few people still living at the Tiki Village. The office was locked, and most rooms appeared empty.

Rutherford says she thinks most people didn’t realize they could appeal through the Residential Tenancy Branch and left. She estimates maybe half a dozen refused to budge.

Whether Rutherford is successful at the Tenancy Branch remains to be seen, but it does appear she has some rights.

“The Residential Tenancy Branch does not apply to vacation or travel accommodation being used for vacation or travel purposes. However, if the accommodation is rented under a tenancy agreement, the Residential Tenancy Branch applies,” reads a Residential Tenancy policy guideline booklet.

Rutherford paid a month’s damage deposit and a pet deposit and had been paying her rent monthly. Her situation appears to fit into the definition of a tenant under the legislation.

Under normal circumstances, a landlord wanting to evict a tenant to demolish or convert a rental unit has to give a tenant four months’ notice and pay them one month’s compensation.

According to Rutherford, the company that owns the Tiki Village, Vermex Investments, did neither of those things.

When reached, Tiki Village manager Regina Warkentin said she couldn’t say anything and referred iNFOnews.ca to “head office” before hanging up. She didn’t reply when asked for a number for “head office.”

Calls to another phone number weren’t answered.

The motel and six nearby homes are currently up for sale as part of a land assembly for $6-million. It’s being pitched as the site for a multifamily development with 180 apartment units.

A few doors down from Rutherford, resident Sherry Campbell has also stayed put.

She says she felt hopeless when she got the eviction notice.

“It’s not easy being in this kind of position,” she said.

Luckily, Campbell has a lead on a place to move into in December and has borrowed her son’s car to enable the move.

She worries about some of the others who have stayed put, but don’t have any support. They are isolated in their rooms with a very uncertain future.

People also scrambled to move their stuff quickly.

Campbell said in one room, the tenant put a note on the dresser saying not to throw it away, and that they would be back to get it.

“It’s so sad,” she said.

She also says there is no security, and some of the empty rooms have now been broken into.

While Rutherford has won a temporary stay until her Residential Tenancy Branch hearing she doesn’t know where she will go if it’s not successful.

Prices are high, and it’s very difficult to find anything affordable.

“As soon as you tell them you’re on disability… the chances of getting a place here are nil,” she says.

“I’m fighting for my rights, and I don’t care. I believe I have the right to do that.”