Regina landlord says there's 'no help' after tenant wrecks rental unit

The housing crisis has been top of mind in Regina since the recent tent encampment was removed near city hall. Now, landlords are adding their voices to the growing lists of concerns.

Colleen Smith is a landlord in Regina who says she took a big hit after renting to a social assistance recipient.

The rent didn’t get paid and the property is a mess.

“The wall inside, they did the inside wall too behind the door so somebody must have been trying to get in there,” she said – while inspecting the damage to her unit.

Smith says social services paid the rent directly to the tenant who didn’t forward the money.

“I believe they paid rent in March and then they stopped paying rent so I had to go to the rentalsman to try and get them to evict them and it took me until last month to evict them.”

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Smith is out three months rent and has been cleaning up for days since evicting the tenant.

“So I went to social services and asked them and they said no,” she explained.

“They gave them [the tenant] the money and it’s up to them to look after it. So there’s no help for me from social services and I can’t reach the tenant and if they didn’t have money before I kicked them out, they’re not going to have money now.”

In a written statement, the government explained how it helps tenants.

“Direct pay is available for Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) clients who need it," Gene Makowsky – Minister of Social Services – said in the statement.

Makowsky’s response made no mention of help for landlords left with unpaid rent.

Smith says her losses aren’t done yet.

She says it will take more time to get the home ready for the next tenant and that means more lost revenue.