Bad Landlord Rant

[HotHotHeat]

For the last eight months my two roommates and I have lived in a three bedroom townhouse while we attend university. Throughout the time we've lived here we have had to deal with a landlord that i would rank as the most incompetent and frustrating person I have ever met, and hopefully ever will meet.

In October, our fridge broke. We notified our landlord of the situation immediately, but it took her seven days to find (I say find because it was a fridge she got for free in the bargain finder). Obviously the hundreds of dollars of food we had in the fridge went bad. We thought whatever, not worth making noise about.

Also in October, our washing machine starting leaking a black oil. She denied that was possible until we showed her our clothes with black dots all over them, and then did another load with a white towel while she waited to prove it further.

By this point, it was becoming clear that she hated us and that she thought we were somehow trying to ruin the appliances.

Then in November our oven broke. We notified her the next day. It took her four days to come by the house, and when she did argued that the oven worked just fine and we should stop complaining "about everything". The oven did in fact work. It warmed to a cozy temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit...Unfortunately that doesn't do much for cooking pizza. After a brief argument about the oven indicator light and how it worked, she conceded. Not until mid December was it replaced.

The hot water heater went in January. To our amazement, she replaced it right away (within three days) and all was fine. I figured she must have known it was about to die.

I should mention that at the beginning of our tenancy there was no 'official walkthrough checklist' to asses damage to the property that occurred before we moved in. We tried several times to arrange a walkthrough with our landlord, none were successful.

Fast forward to present. It's time to move out. We've pulled out our contract to go over what is required by us as far as cleaning before we leave. It says the house should be in reasonably clean condition, it says NOTHING about professional carpet cleaning.

On Monday of this week we got an email from her 'reminding us' that we were required to get a professional carpet cleaner before we moved out and she would require a receipt proving to her we got them cleaned.

The next day we began to try and talk to our landlord to let her know that this Friday (now tomorrow, ugh) we would be moving out and would like to meet Friday morning to exchange the keys and get our damage deposit back. I am aware that the law states landlords have 15 days to return a damage deposit, but since there was no checklist, it is impossible for her to asses what damage is from us(which to be truthful is nothing) and what was here before we moved in. Because of this we agreed two weeks ago to exchange the damage deposit during the time that we gave back the keys. She appeared to accept that she would not be able to claim any damage and withhold any portion of our deposit.

Anyways, our attempts at phoning and emailing her all week were unsuccessful until about half an hour ago. I finally got a hold of her on her cell phone. I asked if she had a chance to listen to our messages from Tuesday, Wednesday and earlier today, or read over the several emails we sent. Then she said this "I don't have to deal with this, too busy". And with that she hung up.

All indications are that she has no intent to meet with us tomorrow morning before our flights leave at 10 AM. We called back and asked if we could meet tonight instead, but she said "Not now" and hung up. I think she works a night shift at a convenient store for her job, so granted she was probably sleeping while we tried to call her, but for her to ignore four days of emails is ridiculous.

As it stands she owes us $675 for our damage deposit plus 1.5% interest...But I've lost all faith in that happening. She knows we're leaving the city tomorrow because of the emails we've sent her and I can only assume she's betting on the fact that we won't file a complaint to the BC tenant officer. The sad thing is, with the costs of me and my roommates to come back out to the coast for the hearings and whatever else is part of the process, it's not worth it. We've been taken for over $200 each. When you're a student who's budgeted the return of that money as income to pay for gas and food, it's not a good situation.

My advice to anyone with a shady landlord is to pay the last months rent MINUS what you are owed as damage deposit.

Some people lack morals and ethics, I guess that's old news though.

On the plus side...School's out for summer!

[Locke]

Out of curiosity, where is this?

As for bad landlords, this is pretty much par for the course. I have yet to hear a "My Landlord Rocks" or "Greatest Landlord Ever" story.

[burn_this_city]

Cause $700 damage before you leave.. Shes obviously trying to scam the DD...

[The Yen Man]

Urinate on her carpets as proof that they've been "professionallly cleaned". Man, I was a student once, and it really sucks when you're cash strapped. $200 is a lot of money for me when I was a student. I'd be livid if someone tried to scam that from me.

[photon]

They only do it because they can get away with it; they get away with it because no one does anything about it.

I'm guilty of this as well, when I rented I had a landlord that did the same thing; I was going to take her to court about it, and did a check and she had TONS of records of this.. I chose not to because it was too much of a headache for me at the time, but in hindsight I wish I would have.

That sucks.. all I can say is buyer beware. As a landlord I screen my tenants to make sure I have good quality tenants. As a renter, do the same. Check up on the landlord, call or talk to existing and previous tenants, check the BBB... I'm not going to eat at a grimy restaurant with questionable owners.

Should you have to do that? No, but unfortunately there's lots of bad business people out there.

[Flames_Gimp]

that sucks.

I would say you should have never moved in without doing the walk through. Without anything on paper, it's now your word against hers.

[taco.vidal]

Where are you located? BC or Alberta?

Dont let this slide. Do a search and find the appropriate government agency to complain to. File an official complaint. You will get your money back.

One thing to note, no matter what your lease says, the LAW is the final word. So even if you signed a lease saying something thats contrary to the law, the law is what applies.

Get your money back.

Then to spite her, post a ton of ads on Craigslist and Kijiji for the townhouse and a rental rate thats really cheap. Keep doing it monthly. Maybe post some adds for appliances as well.

[HotHotHeat]

This is in Nanaimo. I think I'll at least threaten to go to the tenant officer and we'll see if she calls my bluff. It's just not worth it with the traveling costs to file a compliant.

[Locke]

There is always the old tried and true method of dealing with situations in which rational argument is found ineffective.

Drop a steamer in the middle of the living room floor.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Locke

Out of curiosity, where is this?

As for bad landlords, this is pretty much par for the course. I have yet to hear a "My Landlord Rocks" or "Greatest Landlord Ever" story.

My wife and I had the same landlord for nearly 6 years while we finished all of our schooling. Great guy. Apologized when he had to raise the rent a few times to cover increasing costs. Responded to any problem (only 1 or 2 in 6 years) immediately. And cried when we moved out to begin our career 3000 miles away. Bought us a nice bottle of champagne for when we reached our destination.

But the two landlords before that, oh boy....

[Deelow]

I just went through a battle with a landlord. It was in Saskatchewan, so I'm not sure if there are different rules....but it was resolved with the help of the provincial rentalsman. It took almost 4 months but I got my money out of him....just today actually. I am sure there is a 3rd party in BC that can give you some advice. If you are in the right you will get your money. You just need to be patient.

[taco.vidal]

You shouldnt have to travel to do it. Find out your rights. The campus should have a student legal aid group. Call or email them if you cant get there in person.

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

This is in Nanaimo. I think I'll at least threaten to go to the tenant officer and we'll see if she calls my bluff. It's just not worth it with the traveling costs to file a compliant.

[RougeUnderoos]

If everything you say is true then you are getting robbed. Act accordingly.

If you knew someone was going to steal your car tomorrow and you'd never get it back would you take it to the carwash or would you go have a bit of fun with it?

[stang]

^^^^ Exactly...
I would call her and tell her that if she doesnt want to meet with you to give you your money then you are causing 700 dollars worth of Damge and she can kepp the deposit.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by stang

^^^^ Exactly...
I would call her and tell her that if she doesnt want to meet with you to give you your money then you are causing 700 dollars worth of Damge and she can kepp the deposit.

I wouldn't say a damn thing. That way you're free of any kind of involvement!

Hide stuff in the vents....yogurt, chicken, various produce. Steal all the lightbulbs. Unscrew the water lines running into the taps so they have a slow drip, then call your regional health association and complain about mold. Paint a big dong on the front lawn with roundup.

The possibilities are endless!!!

[RougeUnderoos]

The milk-chicken bomb!

[peter12]

I have a friend who was in a similar situation. He filled an old cooler with hot dogs and left it in the walls. It was so ingeniously hidden that it took the landlord a year to find it.

[Metro Gnome]

Hide dead fish throughout the place before leaving.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Sell all the appliances. If you can't find a buyer, give them to Goodwill.

Make numerous copies of the house key and attach key chains with the address written on them. Hand them out to the homeless or high school kids looking for a place to party.

See how much raw chicken you can grind into the carpets. And don't forget to include the juices in the bottom of the package!

Introduce wildlife into the home. Create an ecosystem with lots of rodents, reptiles, insects and spiders.

Try to spruce up the place before you go with a fresh paint job. I suggest a nice black on all the walls.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

I wouldn't say a damn thing. That way you're free of any kind of involvement!

Hide stuff in the vents....yogurt, chicken, various produce. Steal all the lightbulbs. Unscrew the water lines running into the taps so they have a slow drip, then call your regional health association and complain about mold. Paint a big dong on the front lawn with roundup.

The possibilities are endless!!!

I like the above ideas