Landlords fail to pay for roof collapse

Former residents of a Vancouver apartment building who were forced to leave when the roof collapsed say they have yet to see any money from the building's owners.

The Residential Tenancy Branch has ordered the Sahota family to pay more than $220,000 in damages to two separate groups of tenants after the roof collapsed, flooding their apartments.

The building, located at 2131 Pandora St. in East Vancouver, had to be permanently evacuated after the city ordered it closed in October of 2007.

However, residents say they have yet to see any money from the Sahota family.

Lawyer Sarah Khan, who represents 36 of the tenants, has now filed foreclosure proceedings against a different property the family owns to try to get the money.

"We'll have a hearing, hopefully soon, where we ask the court to order that the property be foreclosed," she said.

"If they don't pay up, then hopefully the court will grant us an order for sale so that we can sell the property and have the proceeds distributed towards the tenants' damage awards."

The lawyer for the Sahota family could not be reached for comment, but has previously argued the owners are not responsible for the flood and therefore should not have to pay for the damages.