How one couple racked up nearly $100K in unpaid rent for 4 years and got away with it
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ม.ค. 2025
- Four different landlords in an Ottawa suburb say they’ve fallen victim to the same 'professional' tenants who have been living mostly rent free in their properties for years. The latest landlord says she’s out about $100,000 in rent arrears, unpaid utilities, legal fees and damages. Robyn Miller and Ryan Garland went to find out more.
»»» Subscribe to CBC News to watch more videos: bit.ly/1RreYWS
Connect with CBC News Online:
For breaking news, video, audio and in-depth coverage: bit.ly/1Z0m6iX
Follow CBC News on TikTok: bit.ly/3TnHioe
Follow CBC News on Twitter: bit.ly/1sA5P9H
Find CBC News on Facebook: bit.ly/1WjG36m
Follow CBC News on Instagram: bit.ly/1Z0iE7O
Subscribe to CBC News on Snapchat: bit.ly/3leaWsr
Download the CBC News app for iOS: apple.co/25mpsUz
Download the CBC News app for Android: bit.ly/1XxuozZ
»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
For more than 80 years, CBC News has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians.
Why hide pictures of the criminals? As usual, protecting criminals so they can re-offend.
It's a civil matter. But should be criminalized to protect landlords
they did provide names through a loop hole. Look up Taylor and Janie Bastien in Openrooms and you'll see the info
They are not criminals according to Canadian law. They are professionals who know how to use the law to their advantage.
@@joshnadler4429I saw that. I wondered if it was a real name. Interesting Easter egg lol
@@jimrudolph2864 In what world are they professionals? Doctors and lawyers, as much as their status has fallen, are professionals. They have to qualify through a rigorous educational process, and they are members of professional organizations. I'm neither, so I suppose it shouldn't bug me, but calling everyone who makes a buck a professional is stolen valour, and just one of the steps to the garbage society we live in.
Identify them so someone else doesn't get taken advantage of.
Justin Wolfe Bard and Megan Davey
@@REALMAURUZO Trailer trash
This!! After the second time their faces should have been plastered all over everything. Every single rental website. Posters outside and inside complexes. Name and shame!
Yasss Kween THIS. So much THIS! And stop calling them "tenants" CBC.
They are squatters, thieves, vandals and frauds
And stop letting them hide behind their kids.
@@REALMAURUZOI think her name is spelt Meghan, but likely goes by Meg now because of this news segment.
People that do this are truly despicable … not paying rent is already bad enough, but why do you have to destroy someone’s home?
Agreed
and than its difficult for others to rent or. rent goes up because they have to repair the damages and filth these free loaders leave behind these people need a red flag on there file or credit history
There you go. Megan Davey and Justin Wolfe Bard.
Trailer trash
Thanks 🙏
Thank you everyone should know them Two
Hello: If that information is factual, then thank you! -Renee K. Taylor, Kamloops, BC (Jan. 7/25.)
👍🙌👋thank u.
As a teen, I used to help a friend repair his mother's rental properties. I swore I'd never be a landlord.
I've been a renter and a landlord, and I cannot believe how people treat the property of others. I think Canada needs a bad tenant watchlist!! These "tenants" are going to go elsewhere and con someone else, when it could be avoided if their faces were made public.
Small landlords are now banding together in Ontario. Also, thecwebsitesite called Open Room is now a game changer. Landlords are now downloading their LTB decisions, making it easier to identify scammers.
Good idea and landlords should be licenced .
Hey CBC, how about showing photos of Megan and Justin to warn other landlords and shame them in the news for their insane behaviour?
Google Megan full name which is in the comments and you can see a picture of her and her kids. You’re welcome!
Found them both on Facebook. Both are using their real names.
Agree 100% This is Canada!!
Four times indicates criminal intent.
"In the Criminal Code of Canada, fraud is defined as deliberately depriving someone of their belongings (property, money, services, etc.) through deceit or misrepresentation of their true intention. It is technically theft, but in a fraud case, the theft occurs because the victim gave their money, property, or services up willingly."
Sure sounds like it.
@@B-... Fraud - promising to pay rent and take reasonable care, and never having intentions to do this.
This should be criminal, jail time , restitution and permanent criminal record!
Yes, it should!
Absolutely! This is theft and harassment!
What you have to do is lock up.The government lock up that snake justin trudeau
This happened to me in Ontario. The tenants name is Adam Miline Aka Josie Ethereal
Thx!! Call them out!!!!
Post their pictures on the website. Let people know who these people are.
I love this !!!
My parents had tenants lkie this. It took about 2 years to evict them. It was a single mother and 2 teenagers. They destroyed everything,... walls, ceilings, floors, doors, appliances destroyed all the electrical wires, broke all the plumbing fixtures and even removed the wall and ceiling insulation. She also flooded the finished basement on purpose .. The mother owned her own hair salon so my dad thought she would pay her bills. she owed him about $30K in rent. It cost about $200K to fix it up . Everything had to be brought down to the wall studs and subfloor. My father never had rental property again. This was in Ottawa's East end. He had it repaired and sold it.
I just don't feel sorry for landlords who own second properties and expect tenants to pay thousands of dollars a month to make them richer. Boohoo. You're contributing to the housing crisis and homelessness. Your greed doesn't impress me.
@@margaretlemmon1143 Ridiculous comment. And shameful.
@@angelawood2978 i`m sure that reply was from a "professional tenant"
@@margaretlemmon1143 So in your little mind this single mom dirtbag would be able to save up a down payment and carry a mortgage? If not, the landlord is providing a service.
What’s your tenants name
The system needs to change.
Here in Arizona🌵USA. we don’t put up with it. Can get them out in 6 weeks. Naive landlords don’t understand
how evil these thieves can be.😈
@@ScottsdaleSushiit's not the landlords. It's the liberal judges who allow this.
Tenants have oodles of resources at their disposal when their landlords are scum, landlords need better resources when it comes to nightmare tenants. The only resource landlords have is court of law, which can cost the landlord thousands above what they've already lost in unpaid rent and isn't guaranteed to go their way.
This has happened to me in Vancouver. Apparently, I rented out my basement to a pig. Didn't pay rent for months and one night just vanished leaving the place like a dump. We stopped renting the place for years.
Exactly the same happened to me. The brother and sister paid rent in beginning and then stopped so i was stuck paying mortgage by myself. Then they took off leaving the place like a dumpster with months old pizza and food left on the floor. I mean who loves like this?!
This makes me mad because I’ve been treated very badly by one landlord and pretty bad by another who are afraid of things like this happening, despite how I’ve always paid my rent and left the places much cleaner than they were when I moved in. I’m sick of being mistreated because of psychopaths like this
Landlords are at fault. See how the landlords mistreated you despite you having no connection to previous tenants.
@@saifchowdhury3581No landlord is in a position to mistreat a tenant.
if you are really sick. then save and work hard to buy yourself a one bedroom or more for yourself
Amen
@@saifchowdhury3581landlords are not at fault. I was ripped off by 2 tenants in a row. I'm a lot more strict and have a lot less "empathy" now. This is what tenants wanted.
Those damages look intentional too. That person is wicked 😥
this is part of the reason why the rents are high , once a landlord goes through this they will not rent their home out again
This couple should be ashamed of themselves. They will reap what they’ve sown.
It's the LTB that needs to be sued. Class action. If they stopped evictions during covid then they should compensate landlords. This is disgusting. And it will result in anger and violence.
So true. How easy for the government to put their responsibility on home owners. The government should compensate all landlords for their losses due to no eviction.
@@MyTH-cam-yb7xc Why? Landlord's problem. It is business they are running. Not my responsibiilty.
@@robopalo8041 it is when the government gets involved in telling you how to run your business. They gave Loblaws millions for new fridges.
They need to go to prison
Give them more free housing
and stay in prison until they work off the compensation payments.
THis is sub-human behaviour.
Yeah why is a guy from Sudan waiting for his parents to arrive?
When you import the 3rd world, you become the 4th world.
Omg they use to live in front of my house, I remember her yelling from the window at the gentleman saying that what he was doing was illegal an that she knew the law and there was nothing he could do.
He was just asking for the rent .
Well if justin trudeau is not a held accountable look what the people on the street are doing gutless government
Forget the landlord and tenant board. What happened to the children’s aid Society? They need to be reported.
@Lah_Fah_Moi CAS has been called. Everyone in the neighborhood knows them and how they scam most people they come into contact with. They cheat, lie, scam, abuse, and steal. The worst kind of person on earth.
As someone who's been through the CAS system, you're not really doing them any favours these days. It's just as bad in foster homes as it is in regular homes, but only looks better on paper. They'll shove a kid into any family that accepts them, no research or effort to see if it's a good/healthy fit. I got several families with histories of violence because I guess they believed I was damaged goods and could take the hits.
My mother was a foster child and she stated that it was horrible in every home she went too besides one home she said the dad's in the home would try to molest her she also stated that she was made to eat animal food while the biological children and parents ate good home cooked meals
we re renters and are shocked and disgusted. how can people be so aweful. we treat our house like its Our home. because it Is our home!!!!
You can’t even speak English lol Canada is run by third worlders now
Unless they decide that you pay not enough, and will kick you out.
@@kexmachineNo one kicks you out. The law does not allow that. Also, landlords highly value the regularly paying honest tenants.
Try that in government owned rentals and see how fast the law works
I always wondered about that. Not paying bank for mortgage, not paying public housing. Do they wait for a year to evict you?
That's the thing, Mike. There's definitely a fast track for tenants like this
That’s the problem. Landlords have allowed this to happen because of the abuse and forced the government to give tenants more power.if government provided rent only, they wouldn’t be able to abuse it and they would have full power to kick out bad tenants.
And people wonder why there aren’t rental spaces available. This is the risk landlords take. The LTB does little or nothing. Landlords pay tenants to leave, even when owed huge amounts of back rent. Why would anyone get into the rental market when the LTB is so one-sided and ineffective.
This. These people should be in jail or pay the outstanding rent. That's stealing money.
If landlords would not be so greedy and bought only one home for themselves, there would be no biting wars and house prices would be lower.
@@robopalo8041 you blame the landlord but did you forget the government?
@@robopalo8041 I actually don't think you are correct. I will not argue with your about landlords' being greedy (i.e. some landlords) but you need to take into consideration that not everybody actually wants or can buy a house. Some people either do not have the money and some people prefer to rent (because, for example, their job requires them to move fairly often. There is a number of other reasons, some people do not want to deal with the maintenance, etc., you name it. Rental properties are in demand as well.
fr you guys gotta pull your head outta your asses. Accept that the government is grifting you to grave to extract your wealth no matter what you do. The exploiters got exploited lol Change ur zoning policys and take the equity loss. chances are it'll recover over time anyway
Many of these landlords let people move in on a personal check, or allowing a security deposit to be prorated. Then the check bounces, and the deposit never comes. Our tenants don't move in until the first month and deposit is paid in full by cash or other certified funds. This weeds out the dirtbags because their goal is to not pay anything, and yours is not the only place they are looking at. They will just move on to a landlord that falls for their sob story.
Exactly, being a landlord should not be a side hustle it is a business. Property managers have education in finance, insurance, legal, maintenance, repairs, etc.. because it is a complex business in order to make money and avoid being a victim.
this time I am on the landlords side. it is shameful how anyone can live in these conditions. In this case the tenants should pay for all the damage they have done to these properties. Pig sties are cleaner than these homes. The system is allowing these parasites to get away with this
I don't think you have any idea how common this scenario is.
@@henryb5215Very common.
Trash..pure trash. There are obviously children living in this filthy condition. If you are stealing from people, why also trash the house? Do you have to be such a horrible person?
This fills me with rage, our property management company has experienced many situations but this would push us to the edge i think
This happened to my cousin in Brampton. She rented out her place, and the tenant lied about the size of her family (she had 4 kids instead of the 2 she put on the rental application). This leech finally left because the furnace stopped working. Now, my cousin is trying to fix the house because the former tenant destroyed it.
Good journalism. Thank you CBC!
No it is not. It would have been good journalism if they get comments on every such situation from all levels of government and forced them to change the ridiculous laws. This way they only help this criminal behavior to spread as they show there is no consequences for these scams
Stop protecting irresponsible people.
What is the justice here? Landlord cannot late a day for mortgage or bills, and tenants are like squatter. Tenants owe lots of money and police or court can't do anything. They are absolutely robbery as they steal landlord's money
yall got a houseing crisis like no other. im on the tenants side. get your municipality to pass those new zoning policy's. Before yall are forced to sell properties that will ultimately be bought up by a bigger fish...Oh wait you wont because that would lower your property value in the first place. Its all by design remember that.
This is why we didn’t get into rentals, bc of scumbags like this. Hope you guys can clean this up. Good luck
Because why not? ... Everything else is beyond broken in this country and serves only criminals.
The system is obviously not set up to help. This kind of thing happens often. This is messed up!
Poor kids. I can only imagine the living conditions they are in.
Unpopular opinion: don't use your family home for "extra" income. Live in it or sell it.
Some people may be taking a job somewhere else and are not sure if it is short term (1 to a couple years) or long term. Selling would not make sense in such a situation.
after my experiences ... never rent your house in BC, the laws are not on your side.
Not a chance I’d enter into renting anything I own out. Not worth the risk anymore. Financially crippling and insurance won’t cover bad actors.
They don't own anything, they wanted an " investment property" without understanding the risks of investment. This is why landlords need to be licenced.
For those wondering who the tenants are, go to open room and search for the landlord's name from this interview.
The government should dissolve the landlord and tenant board if it doesn’t function properly or doesn’t serve its purpose.
Wonder why people don’t want to rent their vacant homes? Here’s one good reason. Wonder why they would rather air bnb?
As a recovering small time landlord myself - I own and live in one side of a duplex and in the past rented out the other side - I can tell you I was always frustrated by the TV show touting turning basements into rental units. I always said, ya - talk to the landlords 6 months after they did this. See how glad they that they did this.
These renters need to be exposed, please don't hide criminals faces especially when landlords need to know who these people are.
Watched the same thing happen accross the the street from me. For two years, we got the Meth station friends coming and going.
Sociopaths.
These scammers should be exposed
I have learned one thing: "Never open a toilet when you find it covered" Always flush first before you open it. Even in the most cleanest house, I always pretend someone may have left without flushing.
What if it overflows on yer shoes cause you can't see it rising? Doh!
I AM A TENANT AND HAVE A HORRIBLE LANDLORD. I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HAVE THESE WONDERFUL LANDLORDS!!! I AM VERY SORRY THESE TENANTS WERE HORRIBLE!!! I HOPE YOU CAN PROSECUTE THEM!!!
I think your caps lock is on
Thank the landlord and tenant board for this! Does it seem surprising that enterprising individuals aren’t building developments to reduce the housing shortage in Canada? Maybe the landlord and tenant act needs to be reformed? Seems like the alarm bells have been ringing for some time. Let’s work for change for this archaic system.
There is plenty of new apt and condos going up, its a goldmine since rents are so high and anything built after 2018 does not have rent control. This will not effect the housiing shortage because rents are too high for those who are already underhoused, the working poor and soon to be non existant middle class. The problem with these folks thought they could just rent to get their morgage paid and did not put the work into properly screening their tenants.
You show the victims but not the criminals then what is the point of this story
For a good time, watch Slumlords and Tenants in the UK, they have Bailiffs that bust down the door and remove the squatters.
Yeah , seen it, one lady lived free for 16 months before the " bailiff" showed up, its no better.
Yeah , seen it, one lady lived free for 16 months before the " bailiff" showed up, its no better.
Filthy people. Poor kids who will grow-up like their irresponsible parents.
Tenant said, her relative works at LTB, and then government pays taxpayers money to landlord as compensation? I like to know who that relative is, to be fired.
You think thats true lol yeah pretty sure it isnt.
I do believe in the benefit of having the LTB being more on the tenants side. But our landlords absolutely do need significantly more support. I feel they should make legislation to make it criminal for repeat offenders
Yeah at least by the 3rd time come on !
And the landlord who suffers something like this is usually small landlord, these criminals are driving them out of the rental business and now only big corp can afford all the risk, and when big corp owns all residential rental place, that's when the rental market start to lose control.
@cathyyu459 really makes you wonder what’s really going on huh? It continues to be a problem because they don’t want to fix it. Well… why don’t they want to fix it? 🤔
Corruption in Canada?! Never heard of that…
@@cathyyu459 small landlords, You meant to say, they pay no taxes, al cash?
Another Government failure. For both landlords and tenants who are victims.
This is why you never rent a property expecting it to be livable later. It is a business property.
NEVER agree to sell your home on rent-to-own contract .After my Century 21 agent convinced me to accept this contract with a "wonderful female pastor with great credit'. She made ONE payment, called my parents home & used language that would shock a gangster & never paid another dime. I was advised by my lawyer, the legal costs of 'going after her' would cost me more than she owed me & she'd still refuse to pay & get away with it. The financial results were devastating. I was ruined. Trusting anyone in your home is not advisable.
Government can get so many temporary workers but can’t hire couple of hundred people to solve LTB delays
Yeah I'm sure outsourcing the LTB would be wonderful.
Some leeches know how to work the system.
leeches on both sides. Dog eat dog
0ut their names out there please
It’s bad enough they don’t pay rent but to destroy the property is EVIL! These people need to do jail time!!
5:50 It's not "your home" when you rent it then it becomes the tenant's home. You are running a business at that point. Make sure you pay your taxes on the rental income.
Hey CBC! Please do a series in BC. Many professional tenants in Chilliwak abusing the system, we have had many personal experiences that has costed us a lot of money and we don’t get the money back!
You want to say, your business model does not work and you want CBC to do for you what exactly?
@@robopalo8041I mean it " costed" them a lot of money ! 😂
This is EXACTLY WHY I'M NOT A LANDLORD. I have been in a position to be a multi unit building owner for a long time and never will consider helping out tenants because of the LTB. Discusting organization.
Lol I'm sure the buildiing already has an owner and the tenants are fine without you.
Plain and simple this is theft and vandalism and anyone who uses the system this way should be criminally charged. The laws need to reflect these crimes. I too was taken advantage of for over a year at a cost to me of $18,000. I have a fourplex and I have taken three units off the market. I will not rent again.
Why is there no repercussions for such criminal behavior? The landlord is penalized instead. What's wrong with the system?
My 1st tenant was on a work visa from India, super nice. Then in our small 1 bedroom suitable for 1 person as the lease said, possibly a couple, he moved his whole family in. I put up cameras around the house and lucky I got him out within 4 months. But I had to repaint the whole suite and hire cleaners. But the smell lingered a long time.
Hello fellow Henderson.
Your problem. Should have not rented it to him.
@@robopalo8041 Yes, it will never happen again. I got lucky in getting him out. But he paid and I took him to the rental board & he paid damages, but not all the damages.
Wait... CBC turned on comments?
Yeah because it has nothing to do with their precious liberal government getting attacked on the regular by pissed off voters. That’s where you’ll see them always turned off. 🤣🤣
Thats when you gotta pay someone 5k to kick them out for you, ya know?
never goes as planned... plus the "professional renter" has kids
...my thoughts exactly!!! That's why I still keep good relations in my old hood!! lol
Why weren’t some sort of background checks done by the landlords? Why are these scammer’s children being forced to live in such filth without some sort governmental intervention??
Exactly! In the US they usually do background checks
cps in canada, again, another "backlog" instead of people doing their jobs.
If they didn't take away the lev tahor cult children they aren't going to remove these ones.
They are professional scammers and it is extortion when the scammer demands money to leave. The system enable the scammers, and make things far worse for victims.
The couple is Megan and Justin 😡😡😡
Last name?
@@CanadianSpeedster Justin Wolfe Bard and Megan Davey
all I can say is that giving your home on rent is like selecting a spouse. I have gone through about 100 application for basement rental and the minute it seemed like something was off, like the slightest issue, I moved on to the next applicant. Few months of lost rent is better than the damage they leave.
Dirt bags like this make it hard for everyone else
There should be a website where a landlord can post pictures and names of tenants and their adult children so that other landlords are protected from this family if they ever rent again. Landlord and tenant board is useless. Bad tenants know they are protected and abuse the system. Both sides should be protected!
In 2025 why is it that tenancies aren't required to be registered into a central database so that bad actors on both sides can be held accountable for their misbehaviour?
This should be a crime.
This is criminal.
Ontario and its Tenancy Board (or any province) created this mess for small-time landlords… They should also be liable…
How is this not theft????
The fact that 4 years of rent is 100k. Housing should be a social asset not a business.
This kinds of bad tenants should get 2 years jail time i am sure after that they will not do it again and other tenants should be careful as well this is a big scam they are doing if they don't have Rent money just move out
Criminals like this just drive up rental costs as well as making it much more difficult to find a rental as landlords are motivated to be highly diligent. A sniff of suspicion and renters are turned down. The US and Canada need to make severe changes to their laws, as these two belong in prison. It should also be allowed to attach and liquify any assets the tenants have. After one month of not paying they should be process for eviction. Backed up eviction courts should be a big wake up to the government.
The Landlord Tenant needs to be reviewed. This is ridiculous . This should be deducted from their taxes with interest . Then jail time .
Weak laws give criminals boldness to abuse the system. Truly, we need strong leaders who will change the existing impotent laws.
It's one thing to not pay rent but to also trash the homes??? Despicable.
It shouldnt take so long to evict a renter, the court system needs to be revamped .
What if you sell the house? Won't that mean automatic eviction?
Unfortunately no. The new buyer has to honor the existing lease. If the lease has expired and the buyer is moving in or a close relative it can speed up the process but if the tenants don't want to move it can be a long and costly process.
Thank you so much for sharing their names.
And this raises rents for everyone else as they try to keep their heads water. All the money in the world couldn’t convince me to be a landlord in Ontario.
Not 100% sure if it’s them but based on previously public posts I was able to find on google where a Megan Davey tagged a Justin Bard, the female’s insta account pic shows a seemingly well-off white blonde female, has a bunch of degrees in her bio, and has posted going to concerts, etc. at the timelines in this video when she was renting and not paying…. Can never judge a book by its cover… disgusting humans! Hope these landlords recover!!!
You understand social medias not real right? Just because someone shows the world they are " Well-off" in glamorous pictures of vacations and concerts, that can be easily faked.Landlords need to screen tenants properly because people lie.
I know some "professionals" that would vacate these tenants off this plane of existence if you get my drift.....
a lot cheaper than waiting them out.
😂😂😂 me toooo…. These guys would be running for the hills not even leaving with any of their stuff! If my house was trashed like that, they might be leaving this earth. Scumbag fucks.
That landlord worked so hard to buy that home, made nice memories and then these scumbags left chaos! Tenants have too many rights. Hope the landlord gets justice 🙏🏼
Not paying rent should be a direct eviction
She kept saying her family was supposed to live there ,then why was she renting it out?
I’ve subleted my apartment twice and let me tell you , I’ll never do it again . Came back twice with my place trashed unclean my door left open and my things stolen . Never again and if one day I get enough money to buy an investment property I’ll never rent it ! People are so disgusting and have no respect for other people hard earned goods !
Seems like the tenant moves around because they don’t like to clean up. Dirty nomadic people.
High rents + Slow courts = more problems for Ontario
I don't agree with what the tenants are doing but it's such a complex issue and this video didn't go into proper depth.
I see a pattern of these people taking advantage of people renting out their homes, not corporations, which is worse as most of the rentals in Ontario are owned by corporations. They're basically going small business to small business stealing.
howmever again the rents are so high in Ontario a big part of me can sympathize with it. Most people can't afford food, let alone rent.
It’s the same in Montreal, very hard and long to evict a tenant who does not pay rent
Maybe they shouldnt charge so much for rent.