Matthieu Tetreault closes the door of his wood stove and settles back into a chair beside his dog, coffee cup in hand.
He says he’s not sure how much longer he’ll have moments like this in the addition he built onto his Ford Glendale RV.
The RV sits on his mother’s property in Wellington, a rural community just north of Fall River in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Tetreault has been in the RV since this past summer — but after a recent complaint, HRM staff issued him a letter saying the setup contravenes the local land-use bylaw and he has to leave by Feb. 2.
“I would like the HRM to kind of consider not making people homeless,” Tetreault said.
“Am I supposed to just get a tent now? Would that be more feasible to them? I don’t understand why it’s that big a deal, when there’s people in worse-off situations than I’m in.”
Tetreault served in the navy for about nine years before leaving with a back injury. He now works full time in the construction industry, but he can’t afford a place that’s also pet-friendly to accommodate his large-breed dog, Harper.
Tetreault said although he understands HRM has bylaws against people living in RVs, there should be some leeway given the ongoing housing crisis. He had his wood stove built to the proper codes, he said, and an inspector with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency signed off on it as a safe heat source.
City spokesperson Brynn Budden said that while a Halifax Fire inspector initially directed that the stove was not to be used, that instruction was later rescinded after receiving additional information from the property owner. Planning staff, who issued the notice for Tetreault to stop living in the RV, were aware of the “initial instruction that the stove was not to be used.”
“Safety concerns around the wood stove have been resolved,” Budden said.
Tetreault questions why the municipality has ordered him to leave, when more than a dozen people are living in their RVs at the Shubie Campground this winter in a project supported by HRM and the provincial government.
“It’s obviously not permanent,” Tetreault said about his situation. “Just with the economy, it’s a little more difficult to save up to be able to purchase land and move forward.”
Many municipalities across Nova Scotia, especially towns and urban centres, have rules against living in RVs for more than a few weeks. Rural areas often allow them for camping, or don’t have specific rules about them at all, while the Region of Queens allows RVs permanently in some areas if they meet certain criteria.
Most neighbours have been helpful and supportive of his situation, Tetreault said, some of them dropping off firewood for him.
HRM letter issued in January
But at least one complaint about the RV was made to the city, which led to its order on Jan. 3, 2025.
Michelle McClung, Tetreault’s mother, said she wishes whoever complained had come to her directly. She said they could have moved the RV further from the road or put up screening to hide it.
“He doesn’t need to be homeless because someone doesn’t like the look of the RV,” McClung said.
She said she feels the complaint-based bylaw system is unfair, because she knows of at least two other people in the neighbourhood who have been living in RVs for years.
The situation has been emotional for her, McClung said, because she can’t offer Tetreault much space in her own house on the property. It’s already full with her two other adult sons and a grandchild, she said.
“It’s horrible,” McClung said, speaking through tears. “It’s hard when they all have to come home, you know, because of the circumstance and the economy.”
If Halifax does not retract the order, Tetreault said he will have to stay on his mother’s couch until he can figure out a better solution.
Budden, the HRM spokesperson, said the land-use bylaw is “designed to ensure that only dwelling units that meet all municipal requirements are used for human habitation.”
Municipal staff are aware of Tetreault’s case and are “reviewing the situation,” but Budden said no further information was available.
The city’s director of housing and homelessness told CBC last year that the municipality usually drops enforcement of people living in RVs once they determine the property owner approves of the situation.
Halifax staff are studying whether to allow RVs for residential use, and that report is expected later this year.
