Dan Lok Sued for Alleged Failure to Pay Rent
Dan Lok claims on his company’s website to be a best-selling author and “the world’s #1 closing and influencer business strategist.”
According to the Vancouver Sun, A wealthy entrepreneur is being sued in B.C. Supreme Court for allegedly failing to pay rent on a West Vancouver home.
Gary Richard Murray, the landlord of the house at 2929 Mathers Ave., claims in a petition that he is owed unpaid rent by Dan Lok, a financial guru who signed a one-year “fixed term” lease to live in the home in 2019.
Lok agreed to pay $35,000 a month rent for the eight-bedroom home, which has an assessed value of more than $13 million.
Murray claims that in August 2019, Lok signed a one-year extension of the lease for 2020 at the same monthly rent, but that he terminated the lease in December 2019.
He says that in September 2019 he got notice of Lok’s intention to terminate the tenancy in December of that year and that his lawyer issued a written warning that failure to pay rent to the end of the extension agreement would result in him losing in excess of $420,000.
In October 2019, Lok and two other tenants, Desmond Soon and Jennie Li, alleged that the rental property had deficiencies which if unaddressed would result in the tenants terminating their tenancy agreement for cause.
A lawyer for the tenants advised Murray’s lawyer in an email that a home inspection provided for the tenants found that there were “numerous” deficiencies including problems with the heating, plumbing and electrical components and that “certain issues create a health risk and render the house unfit for habitation.”
The landlord responded by getting a home inspection of his own. A lawyer for Murray told the tenants’ lawyer in a follow-up email that many of the findings of the tenants’ inspection were called into question by the landlord’s inspection.
“Notably, our report outlines that there are absolutely no deficiencies that would render the rental property ‘unfit for habitation’ as you had suggested in your earlier emails. As such, I would suggest your clients to think twice if they wish to end their tenancy on such false pretences.”
The landlord agreed to undertake certain repairs addressed in the landlord’s inspection report, in “good faith,” in an attempt to ensure that the tenants were satisfied with the condition of the rental property, says the petition.
On Nov. 29, 2019, Lok’s lawyer informed Murray’s lawyer that the tenants would issue a written notice to terminate their tenancy effective December 2019 on the basis of the failure to correct the alleged deficiencies, it says.
The tenants vacated the rental property on or about Dec. 31, 2019, leaving the home in a “state of disrepair,” according to the petition.
On Jan. 1, 2020, the tenants failed to pay rent to the landlord pursuant to the fixed-term lease, says the petition.
Contacted on Monday, Lok, who claims on his company’s website to be a best-selling author and “the world’s #1 closing and influencer business strategist,” said he was aware of the petition and had a lawyer handling the matter for him.
He said that it was “false” of Murray to claim that he is owed rent, noting that he had ended the lease in December.
“He’s just desperate, wants to get more money from me.”
He said he had “nothing to hide,” welcomed the opportunity to take the case to court, and claimed that right after he left the home, Murray already had a lease signed for someone else.
“So he’s already leasing it, but he wants me to pay. It doesn’t make sense.”
