City officials in Winnipeg recently handed a compliance order to a local property manager, telling him to clear out hazardous trash and debris left by an active homeless encampment on his land. If he doesn't comply, the city will clear the site itself and tack the bill directly onto his property taxes.
It sounds like a straightforward enforcement of municipal codes. But step onto the riverbank behind 35 Balmoral Street, and you'll quickly see why this situation is an administrative mess.
The property manager, Marvin Sharp, CEO of AML Properties, manages the Pen-Eve apartment complex in West Broadway. For years, people experiencing homelessness have set up tents along the Assiniboine River directly behind the complex. They've also taken shelter under an elevated surface parking lot that's slated for demolition because of riverbank erosion.
Over time, trash has piled up. We're talking used needles, discarded mattresses, burnt debris from fires, and piles of household goods. When Sharp received the city's compliance order on July 17, 2026, he didn't just feel caught off guard. He was furious.
The Balmoral Street Compliance Order That Sparked the Debate
City bylaw officers issued the order after inspecting the rear of the Balmoral property, citing abandoned furniture, trash, and biohazards. The notice gave the property management firm two choices. Clean up the site yourself, or let municipal crews handle it and pay the price on your next property tax bill.
That demand ignores a glaring physical reality. You can't simply sweep around tents while people are living in them.
The debris trails straight into active living spaces. To clean up the trash, someone has to move the encampment. And property owners don't have the legal authority or training to displace unsheltered residents from their tents.
Sharp pointed out that his team previously installed double chain-link fencing around the unstable parking structure to keep people out of dangerous areas. People cut through the fence anyway to seek shelter. Fires have broken out beneath the concrete deck, creating serious structural and safety concerns.
City officials say their policy distinguishes between public and private land. The city cleans up encampments on municipal property through coordinated efforts involving outreach workers, public works, and emergency services. On private property, however, the city tells owners to contact the Winnipeg Police Service non-emergency line.
Calling the police doesn't solve the core problem. It just moves people a few feet across an invisible property line. The moment officers leave, people move back, and the cycle repeats.
Why Passing the Buck to Landlords Fails Everyone
This legal ping-pong leaves property owners stuck between compliance fines and impossible logistics. Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry ward councillor Sherri Rollins didn't mince words when addressing the situation. She called the order absurd and described it as a Band-Aid on a gaping wound.
Landlords in high-density urban areas already spend thousands of dollars extra each year on security, chain-link fencing, structural repairs, and biohazard disposal. Penalizing them for waste generated by systemic housing crises isn't a policy strategy. It's revenue collection under the guise of code enforcement.
When public policy treats private land as an isolated island, it ignores how homelessness operates in a city. Unhoused individuals don't stop at property boundaries drawn on a survey map. The riverbank behind Balmoral Street connects seamlessly with surrounding public parkland and the Granite Curling Club property, areas that have seen repeated encampment clearances over the past year.
Pushing people off public land without providing adequate permanent shelter simply drives them onto adjacent private parcels. Forcing the private landowner to pay for the resulting cleanup creates a punitive loop that helps nobody.
The Complex Reality of Cleaning Up Active Encampments
Handling waste at an encampment isn't like picking up discarded coffee cups in a retail parking lot. It involves serious biohazards and personal property rights.
Needles and sharp objects pose immediate safety risks to maintenance personnel. Burnt materials from improvised heaters can contain hazardous chemicals and unstable structures.
Outreach groups working under protocols like Winnipeg's Kíkinanaw Óma strategy emphasize human rights compliance, notice periods, and trauma-informed support when clearing sites. Private property owners don't have access to these social service networks. Expecting a landlord or their maintenance staff to step into an active camp and remove materials creates volatile situations for everyone involved.
Advocates regularly point out that aggressive enforcement without housing options simply scatters vulnerable people deeper into unsafe spaces. Meanwhile, area residents and property managers face legitimate safety risks from fires and structural hazards.
Threatening landlords with tax penalties does zero to reconcile these competing needs. It just shifts municipal accountability onto private citizens.
What Property Managers and Landlords Can Do Right Now
If you own or manage property near active encampment zones and receive a municipal compliance order, taking immediate, deliberate action is critical.
- File a formal appeal within the statutory window. In Winnipeg, property owners can appeal compliance orders to the city's community services committee within 14 days. It costs $250, but it pauses immediate municipal enforcement and puts your case on the record.
- Document every intervention attempt. Keep detailed records and photos of security measures you've installed, such as fencing, lighting, or private security patrols. Save receipts to prove due diligence.
- Coordinate with local ward councillors and outreach teams. Don't rely solely on standard 311 or non-emergency police calls. Reach out directly to your municipal representative and local homelessness outreach organizations to coordinate safer, human-rights-compliant site assessments.
- Issue clear written notices before clearing abandoned debris. Work with legal counsel to establish clear timelines and legal distinctions between active personal possessions and abandoned hazards on your boundary line.
Relying on tax penalties to resolve urban housing crises solves nothing. Until municipal policies align enforcement with real social infrastructure, property owners must protect themselves through formal appeals, meticulous documentation, and direct political engagement.
