A group comprised of some of the 125 residents of a Hillhurst apartment building that was deemed structurally unsound gathered along 10 Street Northwest to call for changes to Alberta’s laws to protect tenants.

In the late afternoon hours of November 23, 2017, Kensington Manor, in the 300 block of 10 Street Northwest, was evacuated after an engineer, hired by the property manager, spotted serious structural issues. Tenants were permitted several minutes to gather some of their personal belongings before they were forced to vacate the premises.

Nearly two weeks later, the Kensington Manor residents returned to collect their remaining possessions but the process was plagued by delays by the City of Calgary.

A representative from Renters Action Movement says the issues the Kensington Manor residents have faces exemplify the shortcomings of Alberta’s laws designed to protect tenants.

Saturday’s rally was designed to bring awareness to the plight of the displaced residents and signatures are being gathered for a petition to have the Service Alberta Minister review the residential tenancy act.

“We believe that piece of legislation that governs tenants’ lives is fundamentally broken if tenants can be displaced from the building with 15 minutes notice, given no real compensation and have to immediately look for new leases,” said Kate Jacobson of Renters Action Movement.

Kensington Manor residents say they are considering legal action to secure fair compensation.