Hiring a live-in caregiver and initial issues

Sean, she's lying to you. You get out of my apartment and don't ever come in here again. Well, she's not a renter. Why should I be forced to allow her to continue living in my house when she's invading my privacy? My name is Joe and this is my story.

Tell me a little bit more about yourself. Well, I'm uh well, I'm retired. I live in New Brunswick. I'm a homeowner and basically I have a special needs son that always required a living caregiver.

I've had living nannies pretty much since the day was born and the last one I had turned out to be one from hell. I'd used her in the past for babysitting and what had happened was the government approved us for 4 hours a day funding which was fine. So anyway, we offered it to this girl that we used as a babysitter. She had just been evicted from her apartment. I now know why. And she also had a daughter. Now I have a bedroom specifically made for the nanny. When I bought the house, I made sure of that. So I said, "Listen, you got 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. You got10 hours each weekend. There's the bedroom that goes with the plan. If you want to move in the bedroom, you can. She's like, "Well, it's kind of small for both my daughter and I." I said, "Well, that's all I got." I also have an in-law suite, but at the time, my uncle lived there. He's like my father. He's now passed, but at the time, my uncle was living there. And she said, "Well, I'll just live in the bedroom until I find my own place." I said, "Okay, that's fine." So, anyway, 2 months later, my uncle moved out. So, she said to me, "Oh, well, how about I move in your in-law suite?" And I went, "Uh, no, I don't really like the idea of that." She's like, "Well, it would be great. You know, I'm I'm I'm here at the house. We have our privacy. You have your privacy." blah blah blah. I said, "Okay, fine. But I want to make one thing clear. That is not your apartment. You're not a renter. You're not a tenant.

And if the day comes that the the arrangement of employment ends, so too does the living arrangement, but I didn't get a contract in writing, but I made it clear to her when she moved in what the deal was." Well, what happened couple two years later, my father-in-law got dropped off of my front step because he got dementia. His girlfriend said, "Here, you take care of him." So, we ended up moving him into the spare bedroom downstairs that used to be the one for the nanny and we had to hire a second caregiver for him, but she would live out. She was only here during the day. Of course, we didn't know anything going on because I was at sea and my wife worked full-time. So, when my wife came home at the end of the day to get a report from Melissa, that was her name, my son's caregiver, she had no reason not to believe her. She only knew what she told her, right? But, of course, once we hired Katie, their caregiver for my father-in-law, she was here as well. When she get the report from Katie and then from Melissa, Katie would tell her, she says, "Sean, she's lying to you. My wife's name is Shawn Brie. She said, "She's lying to you. She didn't do any of that stuff."

Matter of fact, she let Adam sleep till 3:00 this afternoon. So once it all got exposed, I ended up retiring medically and I came home and I right away she's got a guy moved into my in-laws suite. Didn't even ask permission. Just moved him in and charged him rent to live there. Imagine. So anyway, as soon as I come home, I saw him. I said, "What the hell is this?" Well, he always lived with me before. I said, "He did not live with you when I made this arrangement with you." I said, "This is not your apartment. I told you that when you moved in. You can't just move people in. So you got a choice. Either he goes or you both go. Anyway, make a long story short, her behavior got worse and worse as the summer went on.

A guy come in one day and she wasstanding there yelling at my wife when she tried to eat her lunch. >>What? >> Yeah. Oh, yeah. >> Go on for >> Well, she told me ithad been going on for 3 years. She was bullying her. >> Yeah. Of >>course, when I came home, put a stop to it. But here's where the part gets interesting. After giving her warning, she got worse. So, I said, "Okay, Melissa, you obviously did not take my warning to heart. Listen, I don't think you'recut out for this job. Melissa, you don't understand the importance of it. Youleft him alone several times when you went to town. You left him here. Had he had a seizure, he'd be dead. If a fire broke out, he'd be dead. So, you're notcut out for this job. So, here's the deal. I'm going to give you 2 monthsnotice to find a place to live. I said, cuz I'm not happy with your work ethic.I'm telling you that right now. I said, as a matter of fact, if you were not living in my home, I probably would have terminated you a month ago. You I understand you have to have time to find a place to live. So, therefore, I'mgiving you 2 months notice. So, November 1st is your last day at work and yourlast day living in my house. The next thing you know, I'm finding recordingdivide. Like I found out it looked like a phone charger plugged into my kitchen island, but it turns out it was a recording device. So I unplugged and I threwin the drawer with the other ones.

Well, she came right upstairs. Like she knew the second I unplugged it. And she went and retrieved it. Well, next thing you know, every time she comes upstairs, she got her phone in her hand. And she corners me in the hallway one day and she says, "Okay, fine. You don't want me working for you after November 1st. Is there any chance I can stay here as a renter? I'll give you 1350 a month for rent." I said, "Absolutely not." She goes, "Why not?" I said, "Because it's not an apartment and you're no longer working for me. there's no longer reason for you to be here. So the answer is no. Of course, she's recording this conversation. I didn't know it at the time, but now thinking back, she was recording it. But see, I didn't know this. She forged a receipt to say she was paying rent. She was paying board. Every nanny before her paid board. So what happens then? She puts a bungee cord across the door. That's a fire exit. The door that separates my in-law.

I can take it down and show you it. Actually, this was a bedroom that I had dedicated for the nanny when I bought>> Oh, I see. The original one bedroom. Yeah. >> Right. Now, here's my in-law suite. I want to see. You see that cracked door right here? >>Yeah. >> That was her kicking the door to break it open. >> Wow.>> You still see the mark right here. There's where the bungee cord was. But anyway, here's my in-law suite. That's my son now cuz we got him living here.

>> Okay. >> So, as you can see, two bedrooms, right? >> Mhm. >> Now, you get the low down. So, the only thing that separated the in-law suite from my recreation room >>was this >> with this bedroom door with no lock on it. Right. You walkthrough, you're in my house. >> I see. So you make a little more understanding. Now, I spoke to a lawyer. He said by her blocking that fire exit, that is a crime in itself. Mhm. Okay. But here's where it gets interesting.

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‍Unauthorized move-in and tenant dispute

She's the main heat pump unit for the lower level is in the in-law suite. And I walked in and I went, "Why? Why is there tape on that?" So I took the tape off and I said, "Ava, tell your mother not to put tape on the louver. She just broke it." "Mom, Joe's in the apartment." So she comes running out like a mad man frothing at the mouth. YOU GO OUT OF MY APARTMENT and don't you ever come in here again. Blah blah blah. He said, "Listen, I'm going to make this crystal clear for the third time. This is not your [ __ ] apartment. It's my house. Don't come in my apartment again. This is your last warning." The next days, which was a bungee cord place, right? >> Anytime we weren't downstairs, she would be basically at the bottom of the stairs recording private conversations. >> Why? >> Yeah, cuz she's psycho. And when she basically told me she wasn't leaving, I went over to the police station. I said, "Listen, I need help getting rid of a trespasser out of my home." He goes, "That's a civil case. Call a lawyer or call RTT." So, I called RTT. So they put me through to this guy and I explained my whole story to him and he went, "Do you have a contract in writing stating that?" I went, "No." He said, "That's unfortunate because if you had put that in writing, you could have kicked her out 24 hours after the job ended." He said, "But because it's not in writing, you got to give her some notice."

>> Okay. >> I said, "I gave her notice till November 1st, but she's refusing to work." He said, "Either way, give her 30 days notice." I said, "How do I do that?" He said, "There's a template on our website. Print it off, but instead of saying superintendent, cross it off. put living caregiver.>> I print it off and I dated it September 29th, which was the date I was filling it in. I should have put November 1st for the eviction date, but I also attached a full written notice underneath that I typed off the computer, but she knew the system. So, what she does, she takes a picture of the template only because it was dated wrong. Sends it to RTT and says, "My landlord is trying to wrongfully evict me and he dated the template wrong." RT knew I was ignorant because I'm not a landlord. I'm a homeowner. >> I see. I've never read it before. >> Okay. >> So, I asked, "What do I do?" So, I go over to the police station and said,

"Listen, here's the deal." I said, "For some stupid reason, you guys don't want to help me get rid of her." Now, I said, "She put a bungee cord across a fire exit. She barricaded my fire exit." Well, she's entitled to her privacy. I went, "No, she's not, man. She's not a renter. She's a living caregiver. Get that through your head." >> Put a lock on the door and be done with it. So, I'm not a complete psycho. So, I bought a lock with quarter inch screws connected solely to the MDF mold. So, if you push the door hard enough, it would have popped off. Like I'm not gonna lock her to her death. >> As you can see, see these holes right here? That's where I attach the lock. But as you can see, it's only MDF molding. >> The screws weren't even all the way through.>> Okay. >> Right. So anyway, like I said, cuz I'm not going to I'm not going to lock completely if there's a fire, right? >> I put the lock on it to basically put it there. Say, >> where's the exit door? >>The main entrance to the in-law suite, you mean? >> Yeah. >> Right here. >> So it's inside. Okay. So technically speaking, that door, the one you were just showing, did not need to be open. >> I'm standing behind it. She kicks the door so hard she hits me in the foot with the door.

So I said to her, I said, "First off, this is my house. This is my door. If I want to put a lock on it, I'm allowed to, unlike you who put a lock on your side. Don't kick my door again." Again, she yells, "Don't." But of course, she's videotaping the entire ordeal. She got her phone like this, videotaping it all.>> Don't lock me in. Kicks the door a second time, hits me in the foot again. I said, "Melissa, I'm telling you right now, don't kick my door again." I said, "Adam, hold the lock." So I had my son, hold the lock. Don't lock me. Kicks door the third time. Hits him in the hand with it.>> Now I get pissed. >> So I literally said to her, "If you kick my door one more time, I'm gonna knock your [ __ ] teeth down your throat. Don't kick my door again." >> Okay, >> don't lock me. And kicks the door the fourth time and broke the door. That's where I showed you cuz it's not even fixed yet. The door. She broke the door. I stepped in with my fist cocked. I said, "I should smoke you for that." She backs away from me with her phone, trips the dehumidifier, and goes, "That's assault." I went, "Whatever. Just get the [ __ ] out of my house." I put the lock on the door. I came up and got in the shower. I get out of the shower. There's a cop beating on the main door right there. >>Okay. The door up and I said, "What do you want?" He said, "I need to hear your side of the story." He comes back up and he says, "Well, you're right. I watched the video.

So, her assault charge will be very hard to prove." Well, your charge of property damage will be very easy to prove because we clearly see on the video where she broke the door. I said, "Then why are we having this conversation?" RTT calls me up and they said, "We're calling to advise you that your your eviction is being overridden because you dated the template wrong." I said, "What are you talking about?" She said, "On the template, you put the eviction date was September 29th. It should have been November 1st." I said, "Irrelevant. I also gave a full written attached to it." I said, "Here's the template. Here's the two-page written notice of a eviction I attached to it." We've already ruled, so we can't overrule it now, so you're going to have to give her another 30 days notice. Why should I be forced to allow her to continue living in my house when she's advanting my privacy? Fine. So, I gave her 30 days notice. So, finally, I put it all I I I played their game. I jumped through the hoops, put it all forward, but they wouldn't tell me whether or not they're evicting her decision yet. >> So, I went to my MLA's office, who's also he was the premier at the time. So, I went tohis office. Now, at the time, it was during the election, so I didn't get to speak to him directly, but I spoke to his assistant, told him everything going on, and he said, "Joe, you shouldn't have to put up with that."

He said, "I'll make a phone call." Also, he called RTT back and said, "Your eviction will stand." Now, here's where it gets interesting. Remember how I told you she was recording stuff? She submitted four recordings to RTT in order to try to get it overwritten. >> And she reported us to CRA. My wife and I got severely audited for our taxes for the previous 3 years. She tried using that asisue. She said, "Since I reported them to CRA, they're retaliating against me and evicting me as a result."

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‍Neglect accusations and workplace deception

First off, the eviction notice was given to her long before the CRA audit. So that's irrelevant. I said she was evicted when the job ended. So don't even play that the fact that she's now giving you recordings is proof that she's spying on us and conducting ease dropping like I've been saying. So I want a copy of those recordings. You know what they said to me? No. They said we cannot give you those recordings unless she gives us her permission to share them with you.

If you could go back, what would you do differently? This video is brought to you by our partners at Single Key. You can screen a tenant perfectly and still get unlucky. People lose jobs, life happens, and no report fully predicts that. That is what Single Keys rent guarantee is for. If the rent stops, they keep your income coming for up to a whole year, cover the legal fees, and even handle the eviction process. That means one rough year does not cost you $16,000 and 80 hours of your life. A rental is likely one of the biggest investments you'll make in your life. So, let's help you take the risk out of renting. Think Single Keys rent guarantee. Well, I tell you what I would have done when she took her daughter to school the next day. I would have gone I would have had about six guys standing by, loaded her stuff in the driveway, covered up, put a change of locks. And you know what? There's not a damn thing they could have done about it. I found that out from a lawyer after the fact. >> He said, "RT is all bark and no bite."

He said, "In your case, you had full justification to kick her out of the house, move her, stop, and change the locks, and RTT could have done nothing. But even worse, the police actually put the charge of assault proof." >> And the reason why because they said they charged me because I cocked my fist. That was reasonable force. But the interesting part was they didn't say he cocked his fist in the report. They said I shoved her. I used force. What we'll do is we'll charge her with mischief.

We'll charge him with assault. We'll offer both of them alternative measures. And then we go, we're done with it.>> Okay. Okay. >> I hear nothing from it. A year and a a yearlater, I get a message from the crown attorney's office. He said, "Well,you got to make your choice. You can accept the alternative measures, which means you eat the humble pie, you make an apology, you make a charitabledonation, it all goes away, or you take it to court." I said, "Well,I'm not admitting to something I didn't do, so I'll see you in court.">> Mhm. >> Then I went to the police station. I said, "I wanta full unredacted police report. I'm entitled since I'm now co-acused. I' mentitled a total disclosure of what she said in that police report. Flat outtold me no. >> Interesting. >> What we feel is justifiable. Thefirst five pages was completely blacked out. I know. I now know why. It was100% liable slander >> to get them all in her corner.

Now, we're going to fast forward aheaduntil February of this year. She served us and she's suing us now, claiming forwrongful dismissal of her job, wrongful eviction from her self-contained unitinside my home. The interesting part is section 12P where she says, "As aresult of losing my job, I also lost my self-contained unit inside myemployer's home." I went right to the chief of police and said, "Doesthat look like a renter to you?" He went, "No, it doesn't." Isaid, "So why? What are you going to do about it now?" She lied on apolice report. She falsified a she forced a rent receipt. She conducted easedrops. She conducted voyerism. And the icing on the cake, before she finallymoved out, she went and bought two pet rats and released them into my house. andhad 51 offspring. >> No, >> they through the water lines on my jettub, flooded the entire downstairs basement. I had to spend $10,000 in repairs.No charge for the voyerism videotape sleeping on my bed because they said itwasn't sexual in nature. No charge for the ease dropping because they saidone-sided consent. I said first off, one-sided consent. She has to be involvedin the conversation, first of all. Second of all, that does not apply in aprivate dwelling where there's an expectation of privacy, especially when youplant recording devices.

So, right now, you're at a stage whereMelissa is taking you to court and it's still active. When is the courthearing? >> We It'll never It'll probably be years down the road. But thepart that blows me away the most, RTT sided with her when I told him, I said,"She's not a renter. They didn't even want to hear from me." >>Yeah. Yeah. >> Overrode two legal evictions and nearly overrode a thirdone. They actually showed up at my door on the 27th of December to make sure Imove my father-in-law in. >> Yeah. Wow. You believe that? >> Okay.>> A bunch of stuff I'll share with you. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank youvery much, Joe.

Very nice to meet you. Okay. Give me a high five. Give me a high five. Cheers. See you later. Bye. >> My name is Joe and this is my story.

• New Brunswick Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT): The provincial government office Joe contacted for eviction help, which handles landlord-tenant dispute resolution and mediation under New Brunswick's Residential Tenancies Act.
• Find a Form – Residential Tenancies Tribunal: The official page for the eviction notice template Joe printed and filled out (with the incorrect date) to try to remove his live-in caregiver.
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): The federal tax agency the caregiver reported Joe and his wife to, triggering the audit she later tried to use as leverage in her tenancy dispute.
• SingleKey Rent Guarantee: The video's sponsor, a landlord rent-guarantee service that covers missed rent, property damage, and eviction-related legal costs for up to a year.
• SingleKey: A Canadian landlord platform combining tenant screening, rent collection, and lease tools with a Rent Guarantee program covering missed rent and eviction costs.