Collapse of balcony in East Vancouver sparks safety concerns

The City of Vancouver has ordered an East Vancouver property owner to submit a full engineering report following the collapse of a balcony early Sunday morning.

A rotten, collapsed balcony was still seen on the E.5th Avenue building on Monday evening, leaning on another deteriorating deck one floor below.

Rodrigo Martinez said he was outside with four friends when the deck gave way Sunday morning.

"Everyone was scared [because] we were just having a party supposed to be good time," he said.

Two men were injured after the collapse. One was rushed to hospital, suffering a concussion.

Martinezsaid since the accident no one from the building has come to inspect the damage or repair it.

The only response so far was a written warning asking residents to stay off their decks, added Martinez, who doesn't feel safe in his apartment anymore.

The property owner has 30 days to submit the engineering report.

CBC News asked a certified independent building inspector to check the structure. Hugh Poole said there are signs of rot and severe damage everywhere.

"This is a building that is pretty well done," Poole said. "These people should not be living in most of these units."

Currently, there's no law to require regular inspections or repairs of rental units and it's up to the residents to report problems, according to the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre, a Vancouver-based non-profit organization working on behalf of B.C.'s one million tenants.

"Where tenants feel there may be a problem, if they call the city and ask for an inspector to look at a property, the city will do that right away," said Martha Lewis, the centre's executive director.