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The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed a landlord’s appeal in a high-profile “renoviction” case in Vancouver, but advocates say the decision should be a cause for concern for tenants.

In November, landlord Aarti Investments Ltd. appealed a decision made last April by the B.C. Supreme Court that set aside the eviction of tenant Vivian Baumann, who had offered to temporarily vacate her West End suite during renovations and return afterwards.

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Baumann won the case when the court found that a Residential Tenancy Branch arbitrator had failed to consider her proposal to move out temporarily, and had erroneously put the onus on her to prove her landlord was acting in bad faith, rather than have the landlord prove they were not. Evidence also showed the landlord did not have all the necessary permits for the renovations.

On Tuesday, Baumann won again, when Aarti Investments’ appeal was dismissed. The B.C. Court of Appeal determined that “the arbitrator erred in his approach to whether the landlord had a good faith intention to repair or renovate the unit and whether the landlord had all the necessary permits,” according to the judgement’s summary.