When Forbidden Brewing Company owner Michael Vincent showed up to work on Feb. 8, he was shocked to see the locks had been changed, the power shut off, and four notices taped to the inside of the door.

The notices outlined that the Courtenay-based nano-brewery was not compliant with its lease agreement and was being evicted, effective immediately.

鈥淭he tenant is in default of its obligations under paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Lease, by reason of its failure to pay Additional Rent in the amount of $1,982.47,鈥� reads a portion of one of the notices.

鈥淭he Tenant has failed to remedy this default after the provision by the Landlord after 30 days鈥� notice to cure the default.鈥�

The Forbidden Brewing Company is located at the Best Western Westerly Hotel in Courtenay.

The hotel鈥檚 general manager, Rick Browning, says the brewery had not paid its 鈥淎dditional Rents鈥� from October through December 2017.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 pay the rent, the bailiff comes in and locks the doors. We didn鈥檛 lock the doors, the bailiff locked the doors,鈥� he said.

The notices on the brewery鈥檚 door also cited offering live music, operating exterior signage without prior permission, and not providing customers with designated parking stalls as examples of breaches of the lease.

Vincent, Forbidden鈥檚 owner and operator, states the brewery is not in the wrong and posted about the dispute on its Facebook page on Feb. 8.

He says the conflict between the brewery and the Westerly Hotel has been going on since 2016.

The two sides have already been to court over some of the issues cited in the eviction notices. In September 2017, the Supreme Court of B.C. being allowed to stay at the hotel as a tenant.

The Court鈥檚 ruling did state that the brewery owes the Westerly Hotel payments for Additional Rent, including hydro/electricity bills, but that the amount was unclear. The two sides are now awaiting an appointment with the Supreme Court鈥檚 Registrar鈥檚 Office to determine the amount of debt owed.

鈥淭he judge found that we do owe them money, but we have no idea of how much that is, so we鈥檙e supposed to be going in front of the registrar to determine how much,鈥� said Vincent.

Vincent said the hotel presented Forbidden with a $30,000 hydro bill last year. He said the Westerly did not supply any documentation for the amount.

鈥淗is response was to just pay it and they鈥檇 show us the details later,鈥� he said.

The Court鈥檚 ruling also found that the brewery鈥檚 co-designation as a 鈥渓ounge鈥� meant the pool table and live music on Friday nights were allowed. Another issue cited in the eviction notices 鈥� the brewery鈥檚 exterior signage 鈥� was deemed acceptable as well.

Browning said the notices posted on Feb. 8 have 鈥渁bsolutely nothing to do with that court action.鈥�

鈥淭his particular termination is for non-payment of additional rent,鈥� he said.

Browning said that hotel customer reviews have highlighted dissatisfaction with the noise and odours associated with the brewery and that its lack of adequate insurance was a 鈥渉uge liability鈥� for the hotel.

Another issue is that the beer that was fermenting when the power was shut off on Feb. 8 is at risk of spoilage, according to Vincent. He said the retail value for that amount of beer is about $20,000.

鈥淭he power has been restored. We鈥檝e been requesting access back in to confirm that the system came back on and the temperature settings鈥� to make sure everything is good. We haven鈥檛 been allowed back in,鈥� he said on Friday.

The Forbidden Brewing Company opened in 2015 and has occupied the space at the Westerly Hotel since July 2014.

鈥淥ur relationship is bad with the general manager,鈥� said Vincent. 鈥淯ntil he leaves or moves on, I don鈥檛 see it getting better. But we have every right to stay there for another six years if we so choose. To let ourselves be pushed out of the space 鈥� it鈥檚 just not an option for me.鈥�

The brewery鈥檚 original lease, signed in 2014, was renewed in 2016. It expires on Sept. 30, 2019, though Vincent said there is an option to renew for another three years after that.

鈥淭here are better locations and better places to be in Courtenay, and one day we鈥檒l move. But we鈥檒l move when we want to move,鈥� he said.