Here's a tip for tenants - especially tenants-from-hell.
If you gave notice and then refused to leave, pay rent, OR stop harassing your landlords and destroying the repairs YOU DEMANDED THEY MAKE...
when you see them in passing, do NOT bother to nod courteously... it will most assuredly NOT help anything... and in fact, it might infuriate the landlord (you know, those people you are stealing from) and make them want to go pound your face in SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO badly.
Saturday 8 December 2012
Friday 7 December 2012
unFREAKINGbelievable!!!
Just talked to the sheriff's office.... we can file the paperwork with them on the 17th as per our order ....charge us $401.40, and then NOT DO FUCK ALL.
They ~should~ be able to let us know when they might get round to actually evicting her.... when it suits them.... "AFTER THE NEW YEAR SOMETIME"
This system is SO NOT REASONABLE.
If we can't get new tenants in there in January either, we lose another $1200..... !!! $2900 plus hundreds of dollars in damages that we will never see is not enough... now lets add another $1601.40 on top of that.
Merry fucking ho ho to me.
This is unfreaking believable.
Next call will be to a realtor.
They ~should~ be able to let us know when they might get round to actually evicting her.... when it suits them.... "AFTER THE NEW YEAR SOMETIME"
This system is SO NOT REASONABLE.
If we can't get new tenants in there in January either, we lose another $1200..... !!! $2900 plus hundreds of dollars in damages that we will never see is not enough... now lets add another $1601.40 on top of that.
Merry fucking ho ho to me.
This is unfreaking believable.
Next call will be to a realtor.
Thursday 6 December 2012
Breathing
Things are a bit less stressful here now that we know that at least the ex parte order is on it's way.
There is, of course, still a process through which she could fight it and we would still end up at a hearing... but it is rather more complicated that someone that can't change a light bulb, turn a timer knob, or push a tap the other way (in a full YEAR!) might reasonably be expected to manage.
Would rather she put her energy toward finding another place (although honestly, I pity whoever gets stuck with her.) Pretty sure it won't be any where here in the Harbour though... small town news does have a way of making it's way 'round.
What really irks me about people & situations like this is that they cause so much harm to people who are in legitimate need of a break. It is far too easy to say that's it...we will never rent to anyone on any kind of assistance again. Totally understandable, especially when this is far from the only tenant-from-hell-on-assistance we (and many many other landlords as well) have dealt with. It becomes easy to stigmatize all prospective tenants on assistance the same way...
...which means that even those people who do truly need assistance, and will appreciate being given a break and a safe, reasonably priced place to live, and who might actually be able to find there way out of the system with a bit of help wind up being punished for the behaviours of these scam artists.
It is not fair ...but what can I do?
I was a single mom on welfare once upon a time. It wasn't called OW then... there was general welfare or mother's allowance .... and it wasn't for very long. But it was not fun and I was relieved to be off it and get back to working. Still ran into plenty of housing issues along the way though - people not wanting to rent to single mothers...even single moms with jobs....
I keep trying to give others a chance... advocate for them with hubby when he is resistant and all that fun stuff...
and we keep getting burned.
Sure does make it hard to keep trying.
There is, of course, still a process through which she could fight it and we would still end up at a hearing... but it is rather more complicated that someone that can't change a light bulb, turn a timer knob, or push a tap the other way (in a full YEAR!) might reasonably be expected to manage.
Would rather she put her energy toward finding another place (although honestly, I pity whoever gets stuck with her.) Pretty sure it won't be any where here in the Harbour though... small town news does have a way of making it's way 'round.
What really irks me about people & situations like this is that they cause so much harm to people who are in legitimate need of a break. It is far too easy to say that's it...we will never rent to anyone on any kind of assistance again. Totally understandable, especially when this is far from the only tenant-from-hell-on-assistance we (and many many other landlords as well) have dealt with. It becomes easy to stigmatize all prospective tenants on assistance the same way...
...which means that even those people who do truly need assistance, and will appreciate being given a break and a safe, reasonably priced place to live, and who might actually be able to find there way out of the system with a bit of help wind up being punished for the behaviours of these scam artists.
It is not fair ...but what can I do?
I was a single mom on welfare once upon a time. It wasn't called OW then... there was general welfare or mother's allowance .... and it wasn't for very long. But it was not fun and I was relieved to be off it and get back to working. Still ran into plenty of housing issues along the way though - people not wanting to rent to single mothers...even single moms with jobs....
I keep trying to give others a chance... advocate for them with hubby when he is resistant and all that fun stuff...
and we keep getting burned.
Sure does make it hard to keep trying.
Wednesday 5 December 2012
Penguins
No doubt this mess is far from over - but did get a bit of penguin worthy news today....
The ex parte order for eviction has been issued and will be in a mailbox by "the end of today."
Another fun day
Another fun visit to the house in yet another attempt to respond to the squatter's maintenance demands. Notice was given on Monday that we would be there today at 11.
We showed up with the deputy fire chief - he was there at our request, as we wanted to address her concern about the "fire hazard" .... the snippet of her note is actually very funny if y'ask me... what she neglects to mention is that they demanded the deck be removed and did most of the work; the patio door was fixed when they moved in - with a brand spanking new handle, even - and THEY broke it; and the 2 inside doors she "needs" for the bedrooms she has no right to be using anyway are CLOSET doors, 1 of them for a closet which has actually never had a door because it is an odd configuration.
Is there something in the Landlord and Tenant's Act that says bedroom closets must have doors?
Anyway ... her whole list is complete & utter nonsense, but I've covered that already, so....
We do, however, need to address the issues around the patio door - they've knocked it off its track so there is a gap to the outside and that will not do under Tay Township property standards.
Our plan WAS to reseat the doors and then seal them up, but since the squatter not only refused to leave as per the notice, she brought in her very mouthy and aggressive sister, we were unable to have R. enter the unit to make any repairs at all... another conversation caught on video ...boring though, just so you know.
So we wound up once again having to fix it only from the outside... did the best we could without access to the interior, and, of course, without spending copious amounts of money, since we don't actually have copious amounts of money and are, in fact, now in the hole by $2900 and counting.
Won't be at all surprised if J. removes it again.... but police officer, bylaw officer and fire chief all now have documented that we have addressed her concerns for her safety.
Anyway .... once we got back home, was sitting here trying to do some other work and the thought just crossed my mind....what if the fax didn't actually go through?
I did get (and keep) the confirmation slip ... but still..... shit happens .....and honestly, in my life, shit happens a LOT.... what a NIGHTMARE that would be ... if we were sitting here waiting out the week to ten days it supposedly takes to get an ex parte order or, God forbid, a hearing date....
Anyway ... since I was having an anxiety attack, I called the Board - CS person told me that there was nothing showing yet (OMG!?!?!) ... but not to worry ...that just means it hasn't been processed yet... can take up to 72 hours from time it's received, blah blah blah....
not to worry? uh yeah.... no.... So she is going to email the office I faxed it to (Barrie area is covered by the Mississauga office) and ask someone to call and let me know either way. So NOW I am sitting here waiting to hear back from them.... fully aware it won't likely be as quick as I would like it to be though.
What a freaking NIGHTMARE!
Anyone wanna buy a house?
Is there something in the Landlord and Tenant's Act that says bedroom closets must have doors?
Anyway ... her whole list is complete & utter nonsense, but I've covered that already, so....
We do, however, need to address the issues around the patio door - they've knocked it off its track so there is a gap to the outside and that will not do under Tay Township property standards.
Our plan WAS to reseat the doors and then seal them up, but since the squatter not only refused to leave as per the notice, she brought in her very mouthy and aggressive sister, we were unable to have R. enter the unit to make any repairs at all... another conversation caught on video ...boring though, just so you know.
So we wound up once again having to fix it only from the outside... did the best we could without access to the interior, and, of course, without spending copious amounts of money, since we don't actually have copious amounts of money and are, in fact, now in the hole by $2900 and counting.
Won't be at all surprised if J. removes it again.... but police officer, bylaw officer and fire chief all now have documented that we have addressed her concerns for her safety.
Anyway .... once we got back home, was sitting here trying to do some other work and the thought just crossed my mind....what if the fax didn't actually go through?
I did get (and keep) the confirmation slip ... but still..... shit happens .....and honestly, in my life, shit happens a LOT.... what a NIGHTMARE that would be ... if we were sitting here waiting out the week to ten days it supposedly takes to get an ex parte order or, God forbid, a hearing date....
Anyway ... since I was having an anxiety attack, I called the Board - CS person told me that there was nothing showing yet (OMG!?!?!) ... but not to worry ...that just means it hasn't been processed yet... can take up to 72 hours from time it's received, blah blah blah....
not to worry? uh yeah.... no.... So she is going to email the office I faxed it to (Barrie area is covered by the Mississauga office) and ask someone to call and let me know either way. So NOW I am sitting here waiting to hear back from them.... fully aware it won't likely be as quick as I would like it to be though.
What a freaking NIGHTMARE!
Anyone wanna buy a house?
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Aggravating
I was TRYING to run a bit of interference.... let her deal with me rather than hubby.
No luck with that.
Not only did she not read her email, she did receive another call from CS complaining about her supposed lack of heat. SO she called and left a message on our phone stating? threatening? Whatever... her plan was that unless we got back to her quickly, she would arrange for a heating and cooling technician to attend to "fix" it.
More than a little unclear on how they would DO that without actually having to break into OUR basement unit, but whatever....
All pretty ridiculous given that the stupid woman HAS HEAT! And oh yeah... she gave notice that she'd be out by 30-Nov. And she hasn't paid one red cent toward rent since a partial payment in October. Just how long ARE we supposed to support this woman? And if WE are required to support her and her family, why the hell are the taxpayers ALSO doing it?
We DID disconnect her thermostat - we are required to ensure that the unit is maintained at a temperature of 20C (according to the Landlord & Tenant Act) or 21C (our Township property standards) ....but NOWHERE does it say that we have to allow her to control the thermostat.
The other units in the building are both above the required temperature... and so is hers. So like HELL we would be paying for a totally unnecessary service call!
Anyway, got that all sorted - bylaw went back and checked that the heat was within legal limits, spoke to the oh so safety conscious squatter about leaving the batteries IN the smoke detectors we keep providing her, and - at least for now - that's the end of that.
Got one of the fire chiefs coming by tomorrow (at our request) ... we want to make sure they are okay with our proposed plan to address the patio doors problem. Have given CS notice to be out for 2 hours so that we can make more repairs.... we'll see.
Another sleepless night
The longer this crap continues the more the stress builds...
neither of us are getting much sleep... hubby, I suspect, got none at all....
spent the entire night coming up with possible (mostly irrational) ~self-help~ options.
Since the Landlord and Tenant Board takes far too long...
and the police and other community agencies do nothing but ensure that WE don't do anything illegal (or even unpleasant for the little ~princess~) .... but allow HER to do whatever she happens to want to do at our expense....
I can understand the notion, and have, in fact, spent some time on Google looking to see what is likely to happen if we do the same thing CS has done to us...
According to the Landlord and Tenant Board it is against the Act for a tenant to change the locks without the landlord's permission.
If they DO change the locks, they are required to provide a key for that lock "immediately".
We have asked repeatedly requested that they provide a key for the front door lock which they installed without our permission.
Finally - once police became involved - CS did provide a key.
Perhaps it is the key to her heart? Cuz it sure as shit is not the key to the front door. I checked it when we were there the other day (legally, having given notice, and then having to still wait 45 minutes for the ~princess~ to put on some actual clothes and go away).
Seems to me that turnabout should be fair play.
Why can't I change the locks the next time we're in there to make repairs? And be just every bit as accomodating about giving her a new key as she has been for us?
She has - supposedly - $2400 of our $$ on hand which she is withholding because there are no lights in the kitchen and she and her partner are both, apparently, incapable of changing a light bulb - let her take that money and go stay in a motel... honestly, I couldn't care less about where they go. They need to go.
neither of us are getting much sleep... hubby, I suspect, got none at all....
spent the entire night coming up with possible (mostly irrational) ~self-help~ options.
Since the Landlord and Tenant Board takes far too long...
and the police and other community agencies do nothing but ensure that WE don't do anything illegal (or even unpleasant for the little ~princess~) .... but allow HER to do whatever she happens to want to do at our expense....
I can understand the notion, and have, in fact, spent some time on Google looking to see what is likely to happen if we do the same thing CS has done to us...
According to the Landlord and Tenant Board it is against the Act for a tenant to change the locks without the landlord's permission.
If they DO change the locks, they are required to provide a key for that lock "immediately".
We have asked repeatedly requested that they provide a key for the front door lock which they installed without our permission.
Finally - once police became involved - CS did provide a key.
Perhaps it is the key to her heart? Cuz it sure as shit is not the key to the front door. I checked it when we were there the other day (legally, having given notice, and then having to still wait 45 minutes for the ~princess~ to put on some actual clothes and go away).
Seems to me that turnabout should be fair play.
Why can't I change the locks the next time we're in there to make repairs? And be just every bit as accomodating about giving her a new key as she has been for us?
She has - supposedly - $2400 of our $$ on hand which she is withholding because there are no lights in the kitchen and she and her partner are both, apparently, incapable of changing a light bulb - let her take that money and go stay in a motel... honestly, I couldn't care less about where they go. They need to go.
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