A disagreement between an 84-year-old Halifax woman and her landlord has her wondering whether she'll have to leave her home of nearly 30 years — while her landlord said he's acting out of concern for her safety.

Doreen Brown spent three weeks in hospital for heart and lung issues in March. She came home to her downtown Halifax apartment with an oxygen tank, which she has to use on a permanent basis. The next day, she got a notice from her landlord that he was taking her to the tenancy board because he believed the tank is a fire safety issue.

"He said it was supposed to be bad for me, dangerous for me, and dangerous for the tenants. But I don't see why," she said, "I've been here for a month now with it."

Her son Dennis Brown says his mother does not smoke. He lives nearby, visits her regularly, and also does not smoke.

"I think it's utter nonsense, something would have to ignite it. There's nothing in the apartment that could possibly ignite an oxygen tank. Nothing."

Tenant since 1988

Brown has lived in the bachelor apartment in downtown Halifax since 1988. She says she has always been prompt with her rent and hasn't caused any disturbances. She said the dispute has affected her life deeply.

"Not knowing what's going to happen, you know. I don't want to lose my apartment. Because it would be too hard to get something else that I like," she said.

"I've been here for so long. And I like it here, you know. It's convenient, it's close to everything. After you've been in a place for this long you just don't like to move."

Application to tenancy board

The Browns said they were upset to receive the notice of application to the tenancy board after the hospital stay.

"The very next day," said Dennis Brown, "I just thought that was completely insensitive. It's like, the woman has just come out of the hospital, she's been in there for three weeks. She's basically stressed out enough as it is, and you're adding to her stress by throwing this on her? Come on."

The application by the landlord of Fort Massey apartments on Queen Street was heard by a residential tenancy officer in April. The officer decided in favour of Doreen Brown, however the landlord is appealing.

"We wish no harm to Ms. B"

Company president Vincent Chagnon said he's become concerned about Brown's safety and the safety of other tenants.

"We wish no harm to Ms. B ... quite the contrary," he said in an email to CBC.

"She is a good and quiet person and tenant," he wrote. "We have attempted several times to contact human services at various levels to get her some help."

"The ambulance personnel have intervened on many occasions in the last few years and even more in the last few months," he said.

Chagnon said Brown can't keep living on her own, and he took action because "no other alternative existed for us as landlords to deal with this type of situation."

"I believe her mobility issues create a serious security and fire threat to herself and the other tenants as a result of the oxygen tank," he said.

"In the past she has used her stove to heat the apartment. This is not safe."

Doreen Brown said she used the stove to stay warm because the landlord was not providing enough heat, and he said that she was permitted to do so.

Mobility issues

Dennis Brown took issue with Chagnon's description of how often his mother has fallen.

"My mother has mobility issues, yes, she does ... she uses a walker to get around. She's maybe fallen down a handful of times in the last six months, like maybe two or three times," he said, "They're trying to make it sound like she's falling down every day, or almost every day. Well, she's not."

The tenancy officer's decision

Last month a tenancy officer sided with Doreen Brown, saying she had breached no laws or contracts. The evidence the landlord presented showed Brown had needed help to get up after two or three falls over the course of two years.

"The landlord provided no medical evidence to prove that the tenant due to her alleged infirmities can no longer reside in the unit," wrote tenancy officer Jason Warham.

"There was no evidence that the tenant is not managing the oxygen tank properly," the decision stated. "Simply put the landlord is of the view that the tenant is reaching the point where she needs extra care ... I believe the concerns expressed come from a place of deep caring and understanding."

However, Doreen Brown was surprised to hear of Chagnon's concern and questioned her landlord's motives.

"I don't believe it, you know, that he's concerned for my safety. Why would he be? I'm nobody to him, I'm just another tenant," she said.

"A difficult issue"

In Warham's decision, he suggested the case is "a difficult issue and one that will occur more and more as our population ages."

"At what point can I no longer care for myself? Who decides such issues? Unfortunately the Residential Tenancies Act is a clumsy mechanism to deal with such issues," he wrote.

The landlord is appealing the decision to Small Claims Court on May 29. The Browns say they are investigating other housing options if that decision goes against them.