Tenants evicted from Winnipeg apartment in process of returning home

Residents could return to College Ave apartment The residential tenancies Branch has issued 32 orders against the landlord at 285 College Ave. CTV's Jeff Keele has the latest.

The tenants evicted from an apartment building at 285 College Avenue may be back home in time for the weekend.

On Friday, the province confirmed the Residential Tenancies Branch (RTB) was on scene, changing locks to allow tenants back into the building after being locked out and evicted without notice earlier this week.

"RTB has hired Paladin Security officers to stay at the building all weekend to ensure that residents get new copies of their keys and are able to re-enter their suites," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Multiple police officers and locksmiths were also on-site at the apartment.

On Monday, tenants at the building discovered their locks had been changed and their belongings strewn on the lawn. The province said it was "outraged" by the mass eviction and was investigating.

The spokesperson added that the landlord has been served notices for the illegal evictions, and each evicted unit is a separate violation of the Residential Tenancies Act.

Devony Hudson is a resident at the building and was shocked when she was originally told to leave.

When she heard the news that she was allowed back in, she said it was pretty awesome.

"Under the circumstances of me being at the place that I'm in right now, moving back home would be awesome," said Hudson. "Pretty surprised. What happened here, it's not right."

She hopes everyone who lives in the building is able to return.

- With files from CTV's Jeff Keele