Hamilton homebuyers finally move in after tenant holdout since May

In a story our viewers have been following closely for months, Lorrie and Don McKibbon have finally moved into their new home. But the road to homeownership has been rocky, revealing shortcomings in government support.

The McKibbons got the keys to their house and started moving in on Thursday. This meant clearing out the stuff left behind by the previous owner. However, their journey was far from easy.

The McKibbons were ready to close the house deal on May 8th.

It all started on May 8th when they were supposed to close the deal on their house. But a tenant, who hadn’t paid rent, refused to leave, saying he couldn’t afford to go anywhere else.

The McKibbons put up a sign saying “squatters your time is up, leave now,’ and tried parking their trailer in the driveway. And they asked for help. They say there was none from the police, who called it a civil matter and went further.

Don McKibbon worried he could be charged with trespassing if he tried to enter his own property. They reached out to politicians like Doug Ford and Neil Lumsden, but their pleas went unanswered. Even the courts, specifically the landlord and tenant board, didn’t help much.

They say a lot of people saw and heard about the story through CHCH and other media and were appalled.

READ MORE: Hamilton homebuyers struggle as tenants refuse to vacate property

CHCH News talked to a real estate lawyer who says she sees other cases like this, tenants who won’t leave, and says the law needs a better balance between the rights of tenants and buyers.

“There’s certainly an imbalance in favour of tenants and there needs to be protection for tenants and that’s important. But the way its set up now its just not practical. They need to do some kind of overhaul,” said real estate lawyer, Crys Masterson.

In this case, the renter told CHCH News he left for health reasons and because the new owners wanted him out.

While the McKibbons are preparing to move in, they hope to be able to live in the house by the end of the month.

Lorrie and Don say complete strangers have been coming up to them saying “you’re the people who own the house.” And they’ve gotten a lot of support from them and the media.

They also say the federal MP for Hamilton Centre, former city councillor Matthew Green, was a help. Apart from that that they were on their own.