How a West Kelowna couple prolonged eviction from $4,500 a month rental home

A West Kelowna couple have lost an appeal after they managed to stave off eviction from their $4,500 a month rental home for months on end.

According to an April 24 BC Court of Appeal decision, rental tenants Joshua Percival and Cassandra Fisher filed numerous appeals and applications delaying the process significantly since their landlord began trying to evict them in the spring of 2025 for unpaid rent.

“Their conduct has included repeated and unnecessary applications and disregard of court orders,” Justice Nitya Iyer said in the decision, calling the couple’s appeal “weak.”

“The (landlords) provided some evidence that FortisBC has repossessed a gas line at the property, into which (the couple) were allegedly physically breaking to obtain without payment,” the Justice said. “This and other ongoing conflicts about payment of rent. It is clear their relationship remains fraught.” 

The decision said Percival and Fisher began renting the $1.2-million West Kelowna home from Ian Harris and the company Ti Developments in October 2023, paying $4,500 a month rent.

However, by the spring of 2025, the landlord began trying to evict the couple for non-payment of rent. 

In June that year, the landlord issued a 10-day notice to end the tenancy as the couple had $4,300 of outstanding rent. 

Percival and Fisher disputed the notice, but a Residential Tenancy Branch arbitrator sided with the landlord and ordered them to pay $4,400 and gave them seven days to leave.

They left, and briefly moved into an Airbnb and then filed for a judicial review of the Residential Tenancy Branch’s decision at the BC Supreme Court.

A judge granted them a 30-day reprieve from the eviction notice.

“On or about August 22, (Percival and Fisher) moved back into the property and have resided there since,” Justice Iyer said.

Since then, the couple have filed numerous applications to the court, mainly about overturning the eviction notice. As the paperwork passed through the courts, judges allowed the looming eviction notices to be extended.

The couple filed a second appeal at the BC Supreme Court, accusing the Residential Tenancy Branch of “procedural unfairness, bias, and lack of jurisdiction.”

In December last year, roughly six months after the attempt to evict them began, Justice Richard Hewson ordered the couple to pay $2,000 into the court for security costs, extended the eviction notice until Jan. 30, and prohibited them from filing anymore applications in court without his permission.

Percival and Fisher paid the money and hired a lawyer.

They then filed more paperwork in court without getting Justice Hewson’s permission.

In March, Justice Hewson sided with the landlord and gave the couple until midnight March 31 to move out.

The couple then took the case to the BC Court of Appeal.

Percival and Fisher argued they and their children would suffer irreparable harm if they were evicted. They also rent out part of the home and said their tenants would also be harmed.

“(Percival and Fisher) also say they use the property for business activities. They have provided no evidence about why having to move would harm their businesses,” Justice Iyer said.

However, Justice Iyer ruled that they would not suffer irreparable harm by having to move and dismissed their appeal.