Was she a tenant or a squatter? OPP said tenant, but judge rules trespasser

OPP had refused to remove a woman from a Trent River cabin that she claimed she was renting

This cabin at 677 Church St, Trent River, was taken over by a squatter last fall. Patio chairs in the foreground and a granite countertop on the right.

Last summer, Ulett Montaque, 83, decided to sell the waterfront property in the hamlet of Trent River where he lived since 1981, but the housing market was slow and no buyer came along.

Then, in September his life took a turn for the worse when Lorraine West, 54, turned up and began moving her furniture into one of Montaque’s cabins on the property, stacking old patio chairs and a granite countertop outside.

Faced with her actions, Montaque did the obvious thing, calling the police to report a trespasser who needed to be removed. But when OPP officers arrived, West insisted that she was renting the space. The officers believed her, although a judge later ruled that she had no evidence to support this claim, and the officers told Montaque he would have to take the issue to the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Now, five months, several lawyers and thousands of dollars later, West has disappeared and the property is sold, assuming it is vacant on March 30. Montaque finally got action by going to the Ontario Superior Court and getting a ruling that says it was never a Landlord and Tenant Board issue.

The dispute raged during September and October, with the OPP continuing to believe West and not Montaque. Twice she called police to complain that he was trespassing at her cabin. He was arrested, handcuffed, and driven to the Campbellford detachment for booking.

“They put me in a cruiser and I had to lay down on my side like a bad criminal,” Montaque said in a phone interview. “They take me to the jail. When I reached jail, I’m 83 years old, when I reached jail, I couldn't stand up.”

He was told there was a restraining order on him and he couldn’t go within 10 metres of the cabin West was squatting in. A few days later, three OPP cruisers showed up when he was in an adjacent building turning off the water and told him he was too close to West. They arrested him again, Montaque said.

That time he was told he had to stay 100 metres away, about 300 feet. But that meant he couldn’t stay on his own property, since it wasn’t that large.

Instead, Montaque says, an OPP officer accompanied him inside his home so he could gather some clothes and left him on the street at 9:30 p.m. Montaque then had to drive 130 kilometres to his son’s home in Mississauga.

The property at 677 Church St. in Trent River has a troubled past. On August 18, 2018, Scott McDonald, a tenant who was a cocaine dealer, was shot and killed by three men who came to steal his drugs and money.

Montaque had no involvement in that incident, but real estate agent Dorelene Lin said the homicide was disclosed to any interested buyers while the property was listed last summer.

Since the property wasn’t selling, in early September, Lin suggested to Montaque that he might want to rent the units on the property starting Oct. 1. So, Montaque put a For Lease sign in a cottage window.

This is where the story goes in two different directions. West insisted, without any evidence, according to Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan J. Woodley, that she came to see the cabin on September 2, paid $1,400 in cash for first month’s rent, and had an oral contract to rent it. West said she promised Montaque a granite countertop as payment for a last month’s rent.

On January 29, Justice Woodley heard evidence in Montaque’s effort to have West declared a trespasser and finally have her removed from the cabin.

The unit that was in dispute is the cabin on the right. The Trent River and the Highway 30 bridge are in the background.

Montaque said West came to the site on Sept. 12 after he put up the rental sign and he told her the cabin would only be for rent if it didn’t sell by Oct. 1. Furthermore, any renter would have to be vetted by his property manager. Evidence showed that West provided some information but not enough for a formal evaluation, so none was ever completed.

Montaque’s affidavit said that on Sept. 14 West phoned and asked if she could bring a countertop and leave it at the property. He reminded her that he property was not yet for rent “but ‘out of courtesy’ advised she could bring the countertop if she had to, but she would have to retrieve it if the property was not rented to her,” the judge wrote in her decision.

However, that same day, Lin told Montaque she had a serious purchase offer coming, so he “called Ms. West and told her NOT to bring the countertop as the cabin was no longer for rent.”

West told Montaque she didn’t care and was still coming to the property. While he was away running an errand, she arrived and unloaded the countertop, some outdoor furniture and some indoor items.

“Mr. Montaque attested that he approached Ms. West and requested that she vacate the cabin immediately and leave his property’” the judge wrote. “Ms. West refused. Mr. Montaque then telephoned the police and reported Ms. West for trespassing.

“When the police arrived, Ms. West had already moved her belongings inside the cabin. Mr. Montaque provided affidavit evidence that Ms. West blatantly lied to the police officers and told them that she had a verbal agreement and was a tenant at the property. The police accepted Ms. West’s statement and told Mr. Montaque that they could not assist, and he would need to go to the Landlord and Tenant Board.”

From Google Maps.

“Ms. West refused to vacate and claimed to have an oral agreement, which claim I find to be false’” she wrote. “Ms. West established her occupation based on this falsehood and convinced the police that she was entitled to remain. Ms. West is a trespasser, and her occupation of Mr. Montaque’s property is unauthorized.”

The judge noted that Montaque provided a wealth of background documents to back up his version of events.

“Ms. West argues that she is a tenant and not a trespasser. I note that Ms. West has provided no corroboration in the form of documents, emails, recordings, or calls that would support her claim that an oral agreement was reached,” she wrote.

On Sept. 18, Montaque accepted a purchase offer for a sale that was to close Nov. 30, requiring vacant possession. Since West was still living there the sale did not close, but Montaque negotiated a new closing date of March 28 and went to court to have her evicted.

Woodley evaluated the evidence from both sides and in a ruling on Feb. 1 came down squarely on Montaque’s side. “Ms. West is a trespasser, and her occupation of Mr. Montaque’s property is unauthorized,” the judge concluded. “No landlord and tenant relationship ever existed between the parties.”

She ordered West to be out of the property by Saturday, Feb. 3, or, ironically, ordered her to be removed by the OPP or the sheriff. But Lin says West was gone before that date, however, in the interval someone smashed several windows and a glass patio door on one building.

Montaque said that West had caused damage to the cabin and a house on the property. In her ruling, Woodley noted that she had not ruled on that issue since it would require a longer hearing.

Woodley also said that Montaque could move ahead with legal action to seek a damages from West and a fine for trespassing, but those issues would also require another hearing. She said Montaque was also entitled to seek an order for West to pay his legal costs.

But Montaque’s lawyer, Delaram Jafari, said in an email that “Mr. Montaque cannot afford pursuing this matter any further and has no plans to proceed with pursuing damages, fines, etc.”

It seems unlikely West has the financial capacity to pay any damages or costs.

“I have directly observed Mr. Montaque’s distress and anguish as a result of this situation’” Lin said in her affidavit.

One final note, the various charges the OPP laid against Montague have been dropped.

He’s now living permanently with his son in Mississauga and hopes the sale closes on March 30. In an understatement, Montague said in an interview, “I am pretty relieved that this thing's over.”