Advice about a landlord . . .

[Steph]

Hi all, hope I still have some friends out there after the war discussions . . .

Anyway, my b/f and I are renting a little house in Toronto. We haven't had water in three days and the city's building inspector and an electrician have said it's unsafe here (crossed wires, hence no heat). The Tenant's Association of Toronto said we should be able to get all our rent back that we've paid since November (since we've been here).

Has anyone else had to deal with a slumlord and actually received money back? Any advice appreciated.

[Lilith]

Wow.....sounds awful.

I never had landlord troubles....... but I did make an error in judgement once.


My landlord when I first moved to this town was a realestate agent. She showed us a house, we bought it. So later it turns out, she was my landlord, and also repsresent both the seller and us. Have always felt like we got screwed somewhere.

[LixyChick]

I've had landlords........but luckily I have never had to contend with a slumlord.

So sorry to hear of your troubles Steph! Sounds to me that if you have The Tenant's Association on your side......and didn't try to go this on your own.....you might have a chance at receiving the cash back. If this get's to be too long and drawn out.....I've seen cases such as this that were taken to the media....and the slumlord was shamed and blackballed into making things right!

Let's hope this person will cooperate before that has to happen. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

And Lil? I nearly had something similar hapen to me when we bought our house. The RealEstate agent we had was a friend. I thought she couldn't steer me wrong in any way. But when I said I wanted to get an inspector......she said not to say a word about it to her bosses, but that she had a few inspectors she reccommends if she has friends for clients and that I could get a lower price for my inspection if I mention that she reccommended me.

Luckily whistles and bells went off in my head at this suggestion. I went to an independent inspector and even when she insisted that she should be there at the inspection......I told her a different time and she got there late. I lied to her and told her I was sure I told her noon. The inspection was set for noon and I said maybe she thought I said 2 instead of noon. I did tell her 2 so she would be late and the inspection would be over. Lo and behold....I found out things about the house that I am sure she wouldn't have wanted me to if I had hired her inspector. We bought the house anyway, but had the owners fix a few critical things before we did go to settlement.

BTW....this IS an illegal move on her part and everyone should always get an independent inspector and NOT bring the agent on the inspection. If you use their inspectors you may not find out all that you need to know about the house in question. The inspector should not be biased and have an interest in assuring that you buy the home. If they are reccommended by a realestate agent.........they have discussed the fact that the agent will highly reccommend them and therefore get more business....and the inspector will overlook some flaws that might otherwise cause the potential buyer to NOT buy....and therefore the agent won't make her/his commission.

Buyer Beware!

Hope everything goes well for you Steph! This is one of those....."Live and Learn" situations! Don't ya just hate them?

[Steph]

LOL Lixy - yep, I hate this one! Like the wonderful man from the Tenant Association said, "Check out your next place carefully, don't believe a word the landlord says!"

We just got an e-mail from the landlord. He's in Vietnam for the next few weeks and his English isn't too good but I read it to the guy from the Tenant Association and he said it sounds like we'll be getting all our rent back. Phew! Now, we just have to find another place that lets us have a dog and a cat!

Thanks, Lilith and Lixy! :)

[BIBI]

Originally posted by Steph
Hi all, hope I still have some friends out there after the war discussions . . .

Anyway, my b/f and I are renting a little house in Toronto. We haven't had water in three days and the city's building inspector and an electrician have said it's unsafe here (crossed wires, hence no heat). The Tenant's Association of Toronto said we should be able to get all our rent back that we've paid since November (since we've been here).

Has anyone else had to deal with a slumlord and actually received money back? Any advice appreciated.

Well you can put in a complaint through the Landlord and Tenant Act and wait for him to answer etc etc. My advice is to go to a free legal clinic and seek advice.It is the landlords responsibility to his tenants to act in good faith and I do believe the landlord is covered by insurance for any shortfalls that beset a tenant and is therefore responsible to make sure that you have suitable accomodations etc while the work is being done. If the damage to the property is his own fault then you will have a harder time getting him to help you out.... You may be able to get all monies paid back to you but there is a legal process that must be followed to the tee......it may mean that you have to place any further rents in trust for the landlord through a legal aid clinic to show good faith. The best advise is to document all and every conversation with whomever you discuss this with and make sure if your landlord says he will do something for him to put it in writing and date and sign it.

I would venture to that clinic though and write down everything the advise you to do.......Since you have probably paid last months rent upon moving in you might just consider that you may be considered to have just cause to leave without proper notice and move out.....pain in the ass but probably the best plan until you can get the rest straightened out through the proper avenues availble to you!!!!!

[whitehorse]

In the U.S. the laws are different from state to state. I don't know how they are in Canada.
I own residential and commercial property in Indiana, for residential property you can break your lease for defaults but are not entitled to money back for time you occupied the premises.

[horseman12]

Steph, i have never had to deal with them the way you are having to, but i have worked for a few on occasion when they also owned ranches so i know a little about how they operate and for the most i have found them to be cowards if you push for it you should be able to get back your deposit and rent, if not a good lawyer should be able to plus expenses.

[Lovediva]

Steph..it's very hard to get your money back! Been there done that! All I got back was my security deposit and had to go to small claims court to get it...a year later!! Grrrrrrr!!

My advice to you is TAKE PICTURES.....of everything that is wrong with the house and as much inspection forms as possible...to make it easier when you do make the complaint!! And follow Bibi's advice! She gave you the best advice here! :)

[Santiago]

i live in a slum, but we have a new manager and he is starting to fix things up, if not as fast as we'd like him to. ill tell you in a few weeks what happens and how i deal with it!

..wish us luck!

[Lilith]

Steph~ want I should..... (*shrugs shoulders, rubs nose, cocks head*).......have him taken care of? :p

[Steph]

ROFL Lilith! I'll give you his address . . . in Vietnam!!!

Well, we still have no water - the city is still dealing with that so I'm off to the local rec centre to get a shower!

We've been to legal aid and talked to the Tenant's Association. We've been keeping a paper trail and our landlord has agreed to let us out of the lease. He wrote us to say he also believes (surprise!) that the house is unsafe and he's willing to pay us back. We're not exactly sure how much we're getting back but at least he's not putting up a fight.

Thank you all for your wonderful advice!! Horseman12, I think you're right about the coward comment! Once we presented him with proof from the city building inspector, legal aid, and an electrician he caved in.

Good luck with your place, Santiago!