Manitoba Housing tenant sleeping in van after suite floods

A 60-year-old man says he is homeless for the first time in his life because his Manitoba Housing suite is unfit to live in.

AbdMiriAlTaaiis sleeping in a van he borrowed from a friend, after hissuite flooded last Thursday. He said his upstairs neighbour left a tap running all night.

"I come in [to the bathroom]and I wash my teeth, I wash my face, I see the water and it fall on my head, I ran," said Al Taai.

He said water also came rushing down the stairs of his basement suite, leaving around about 2.5 cms of water onthe floor.

A spokesperson from Manitoba Housing said it paid for him to stay in a hotel for five nights. He said he wasasked to check out Tuesday morning.

He said when he returned to his suite he founddrywall removed from thewalls, all of his furniture in the middle of the rooms and there was a strong smell ofchemicals.

"I opened the window;it was closed.I opened it because it's smelly,cannot breathe," he said.

Manitoba Housing responds

A Manitoba Housing spokespersonsaid in situations like these tenants may have to move during repairs. The spokesperson said Al Taaiwasofferedthe choice of two different suites in nearby buildings he could move into.

"While we understand that an individual might prefer to stay in the same building, our properties are often full and we cannot keep a unit vacant in each one on an ongoing-basis as emergency accommodations," said the spokesperson."If there are no suitable units in the property, then we will work with the tenant to make alternate arrangements."

AlTaai he said turned down both suites because he claimsthe buildings haveproblems with bedbugs.

He said he was told he can stay in his apartment if he wants, but it wouldn't be fixed for two months because it needs to dry completely first.

For now, he plans on sleeping in a his friend's van because he has no where else to go.

"If I didn't have this friend help me, where do I go?I am a poor man. I get $550 a month," he said, explaining he is on disability for post traumatic stress disorder.

AlTaaisaid hecame to Canada in 1997 as a refugee from Iraq.

Manitoba Housing said it will continue to work with Al Taai.

Jill Taylor reports on man's struggles after his suite flooded

8 years ago

Duration 1:47

Abd Miri Al Taai is sleeping in a van he borrowed from a friend, after his Manitoba Housing suite flooded last Thursday.