landlord advice

[bokonon]

several times i have called my landlords to tell them there is a leak in the roof. twice they have told me that the roof is fixed and now it just leaked on my computer which is doing strange things as we speak due to the puddle it was in. i am pretty much fu©ked for next term of school without a computer and i can't afford another. is there anything i can do?

[StoneMtn]

There is something that will be called the "Tenant Review Board" or "Tenant Review Office" or something to that effect in most jurisdictions. I am 99% certain one exists in Ontario. I believe that in Ontario they are governed by the "Residential Tenancies Act" (obviously the one for Ontario), which you can find online and would probably indicate the proper name of the office.

Find out what they are called in Ontario and contact them. They can advise you of the recourse available. You may have the option of an informal arbitration via telephone to resolve the matter or other options.

[ike]

The first of the month is coming up soon.

Why don't you withhold rent until fixed to your satisfaction. That usually gets 'em moving.

[StoneMtn]

I would consult the local landlord tenant office first. Depending on the circumstances that can be illegal and grounds for eviction.

[PalacePrincess]

keep calling and calling your landlord until it is fixed, be the biggest pest you can until they come and repair it to your satisfaction. in the meantime, if you don't have it already, get apt. insurance as soon as you can! it's not that much (i've paid $150-$200 for different places, for an entire year), and you can pay monthly if you need to.

i had a similar thing happen to me once -- the pipes in the apt. above mine had a leak, and every time the upstairs tenants used any water, it would collect between their floor & my ceiling, until it eventually came all crashing down. bits of the ceiling fell down twice, and both times (after calling repeatedly), the slumlords came to "fix" it. (all they did was put new ceiling tiles up). eventually it got so bad that when i was away on vacation, the entire ceiling in that room fell down, and the living room and that bedroom were flooded with 2 about inches of water. thousands of dollars of our personal property was destroyed & we didn't have insurance. (not to mention the damage to the actual apt. -- the water damage was so severe that the hardwood floor in that bedroom had all the planks warped up into sharp angles -- gad, i should dig up the pictures of the carange).

anyway, long story short, we were basically just fu©ked & had to move -- landlord's insurance does not cover tenants personal belongings, and since we didn't have any insurance there wasn't much we could do.

if there's anything i learned from that is how VERY important it is to have apt. insurance, and what may seem like a little water leak will eventually turn into a HUGE problem if it is not fixed properly. so just keep on bugging them until they come & fix it! don't worry about being a pest either, if you annoy them enough, they will do something about it. keep a record of all the times you call, if it ever gets to the point where you would have to go to the tribunal (and i pray you won't, that sh!t takes MONTHS to resolve), the more evidence you have against your landlords, the better your case will be.

and seriously, seriously, seriously, if you don't have apt. insurance, get it. i wouldn't wish what i had to go through upon anybody!!

[lara]

1. Move your computer.

2. Follow everyone else's advice.

[bouche]

I don't think you can withhold rent. You must talk to someone from the board. In Quebec, we were advised that we couldn't withhold rent for anything, but you could pay for repairs and then that could come out of your rent...as long as the 'board' approved of the action.

Landlords are responsible to keep the property/building in order and tenants are equally responsible to not destroy anything.

I lost a bunch of data on my computer when our electrical system in our old apt was wacked. The computer would just shut off all the time, and I'm sure it was power surges.

Eventually the landlord had an electrician in and they did stuff. I think our place WASN'T Grounded or something like that.

Anyway, renting sux. I hate dealing with landlords and I'm finally free.

[snarfmaster C]

bokonon - i'm going through exactly the same thing. except my computer isn't under the leak, my bookshelf is. here's a link to ontario's tenant protection act

i guess we're both going for:

Tenant Applications 32.(1)

2. An order determining that the landlord breached the obligations under subsection 24 (1).

Landlord’s responsibility to repair

24. (1) A landlord is responsible for providing and maintaining a residential complex, including the rental units in it, in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.

as far as where you go to get that application, i couldn't tell you. here in peterborough they're at the local government building info centre.

hope this helps

[Lazlo]

Move. That's what your landlord is gunning for. He's sick of you whining over the goddamn leak. So just move already.

[bokonon]

thanks for the advice. i called the landlord shortly after starting this thread and she told me that the roofers "capped the chimney". before ricky and i moved in here there was a wood stove which they removed for insurance reasons. the roofers are coming again tomorrow. it's good to have a landlord that has lots of businesses and money in town. she gets things done. i dried my laptop beside the heat vent for six hours and so far so good. i'm using it now.

[SevenSeasJim]

Just to get even do the burning bag of sh!t trick at her door.