Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Overcrowded issue in Brio home resolved quickly and successfully

A Brio homeowner who was renting out his home to 23 people has seen the error of his ways.

A Brio homeowner who was renting out his home to 23 people has seen the error of his ways.

After an investigation by the fire department late last month, the homeowner was very co-operative in bringing his home up to code, according to Fire Chief Bruce Hall.

Now only 10 people are living in the house, which is an acceptable number under the B.C. Fire Code.

All 14 people who left the home managed to find alternate housing through Whistler-Blackcomb and with the help of municipal staff from the fire and bylaw departments.

Hall praised everyone involved in the case, from the homeowner to the renters, as well as the municipal bylaw department and the fire department.

"If we can manage to make the situation safer with co-operation from everyone involved then everybody kind of wins," said Hall.

"Everybody co-operated to a successful conclusion."

The home on Juniper Lane has three floors, with the homeowner living on the top floor. Twenty-three people lived in six other bedrooms, three on the main floor and three in the basement floor. Up to five people where sharing some of the bedrooms.

Last month bylaw services received a complaint abut the number of people living in the house.

Under the B.C. Fire Code only two people are allowed to live in a sleeping room.

The homeowner had until Friday, Dec. 19 to comply with the Fire Code.

"It certainly is a concern from a public safety point of view," said Hall.

"If a fire ever occurred in some of these homes with a large number of people, it’s a real concern for us."