The Eviction portrays the harsh realities of Vancouver’s housing market through humour

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Inspired by true experiences, Julie Bruns and Chelsey Moore hope their recent web series, The Eviction, sparks conversations and leads to action addressing the harsh realities of Vancouver’s housing market.

Created and written by Bruns, The Eviction series follows a couple — Anne, played by Bruns, and Moore’s character Phoebe — as they fight for their rental home when the owner decides to sell it and tapes an eviction notice to their front door.

Frustrated with the renting options in the market, the couple wonders what would happen if they convinced the potential buyers, who keep coming to check out the apartment, not to buy it.

From using a stink bomb in the bathroom to getting their friend to play a strange neighbour, the couple tries their best to make the house look as unlivable as possible, and the plan seems to be effective.

Although the series is a comedy, the many real experiences of people who have struggled with Vancouver’s housing crisis brings the show to a new level.

“We wanted to … create a series where we have a very intimate view of a couple in a relationship, the frustrations that they’re going through, and the things that you don’t necessarily bring to your friends to talk about,” Bruns says.

“It’s such a heavy topic,” Moore adds. “Everyone has [known] somebody, if it’s not them, affected by the housing crisis in Vancouver, and it’s been going on for 15 years or more …. The best thing you could have done was to portray it with a comedic lens.”

When writing the series, Bruns and Moore say they used a lot of lines which were quotes from real landlords and friends who shared their experience to give the story a more personal touch. 

“[We] definitely wanted to bring a lot of that flavour of the authentic experience of life into it,” Bruns says. 

“When you see … the series, you’re like, ‘That sounds ridiculous,’ but [it] actually happened,” Moore says. 

Vancouver is ranked as the most expensive city in Canada, Made in CA reported this year based on the cost-of-living index.

Recent renter households are also more likely to live in unaffordable housing than existing renter households, Statistics Canada reported in October. Unaffordable housing refers to when people spend more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax household income on shelter.

With living costs becoming more unaffordable, people’s long-term solution is to leave Vancouver, resulting in the loss of not only their homes but their community as well, Bruns says. 

“Why live in a city that is so hard to live in when all you’re doing is spending all your time working and watching your friends and the community you care about slowly leave and disappear?” 

Moore says that she personally decided to move away from Vancouver as it doesn’t seem worth the cost anymore.   

“I’ve seen artist spaces shut down. I’ve seen people trying to start their own businesses. There was a recent comedy venue … that hosted a variety of creative ventures and they closed down the first time because of a fire, and then the second time, the landlord just raised their rent exorbitantly to the point where they [couldn’t] afford it,” Moore says. 

The series resonates with many, Bruns says, adding there were people coming up to her in-person to talk about how the story feels relatable to them. 

“As a writer, you’re so happy that your words have resonated with somebody, but on such a topic, you’re also a bit broken-hearted that you have something like that to bond over,” Bruns says, adding she hopes those who watch the series while going through the same experience feel seen and valid. 

“It’s happening to everyone …. People with those impressive jobs that their parents encourage them to get, it’s happening to the artists, it’s not discriminating.” 

Those interested in watching The Eviction can find it on YouTube.