4PK
Nov 16th, 2005, 12:13 PM
Hi RedFlags! i know this is a long post but could you all PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read this? as I am in need of desperate help here!
I really need some help with an issue I'm having with my landlord. I'm a student at the University of Waterloo and around April, I found a place to rent. The contract is a 1 year contract. We knew the place was going to be renovated. However the landlord said that they would finish the renovation during the 4 months of summer. Now here is my situation:
Soon September came along and it was time to move in. Well, school started on the 12th. We (tried) moved in on the 10th. (one of my roommates wanted to move in a week earlier because he isn't from ontario, but at that point they didn't even start on our unit yet!) One of my roommated arrived around 11am... On the day we arrived, we came to find that our unit was far from finish. The bedroom floors were not changed yet (but the common area was), they were painting the bedrooms the day we arrived, and all the old furniture was just piled up all over the place (literally, all over the place. We couldn't even put our stuff inside until about 7pm). The landlord asked if we wanted to help move the furniture but we said no because thisAround evening time they moved all the furniture out of the bedrooms and into the common area and all we had was a mattress. Not even a toilet! We had to use the landlord's for 2 days while they were getting the new one installed. Also, one of the bedrooms did not even have a door!
So now school started and the first 2 weeks of school was not very fun. During the first week of class, one day we come home and find even more furniture in our unit! Most likely the people working on the units moved furniture from other units into ours so they could work with more space. This was ridiculous because 99% of the furniture was to be thrown out anyway. We have a small hallway in our unit and they put a huge desk right in the middle of it! We had to squeeze through to get to our bedrooms! We really could not take this and talked to the landlord. She just said she couldn't do anything. She did not have enough people helping and she just kept having problems with the people she hired for the job.
Since she did not want to help, we decided we had no choice but to do things on our own. So, we spent about 2 days moving out a lot of garbage furniture from our unit. This included about boxsprings, several heavy desks, dressers, and other miscellaneous items. This proved to be quite a workout. We live in a 4 story apartment with no elevator and stairs that turn, and we live on the 2rd floor. We moved out most of the furniture and it felt good to finally be able to actually be able to walk in our unit without squeezing under or around stuff. During the first week, they also finally changed the bedroom floors. However, they mixed up 2 of the units. Our unit was supposed to have carpet however they gave us laminate floors. We thought about switching units for a while until we saw that the other units had even less work completed. So we decided to stay in our unit. Also there were no baseboards in the bedrooms yet. Also during the first week, we had someone come over to change the bathtub. This was good because the old one was... yuck. However, little did we know this meant we had to shower in our landlord's unit for 3 days.
At this point, we noticed a lot of units that were incomplete were still empty. We wondered where other were since they should have started school by now. We just didn't think much about this. Then we met about 3 people in other units and we took a look at the other units. We were very surprised to see what we saw! 2 of these units (one on the floor above us and one on the floor below us) were we were almost completely finished! (note the almost, in fact, to this day their units are still ahead of ours by a lot) These 2 units were completely painted, they had a nice couch, they had a microwave, all the bedrooms had a new desk, new bookshelf and new bedrack all built for them, their washrooms were all finished, they had a new counter in the kitchen and a double sink! Some of those people moved in even later than us and didn't have to deal with the same problems we had. So we talked to the landlord once more. We joked a bit about lowering the rent for one month byt a bit and she kept assuring us oh sure, don't worry. Also, she actually had the furniture in her unit just that nobody was able to help her build them. Well, we knew at this point we'll never get anything done if we count on her. So, once again we said we'll do it. We had to build 3 bed racks, 3 desks, 3 bookshelves. I think during the 2nd or 3rd week the room without a door finally gets a door.
Also, during our first week here, we could not use the kitchen either. Our refridgerator did not work so we just ate out for the entire week. This was ok for now. During the second week they finally fixed the refridgerator, and cleaned the stove (but still no microwave) and during the middle of the second (or third, can't really remember) week we got our new counter and double sink. During the second week we got another couch. It was another old one but was a lot better than the worn one we originally had. They said new couches were coming once the units were painted, and that dressers for the bedrooms were on order (the landlord just gave us this thing we could use until we got dressers)
Another week goes by and we're onto our third week. At this point I come back from the weekend and see that we have a mirror in the bathroom now. They also put up tiles on the bathroom walls as they said they would. This seemed like a good sign. The super intendant also came by to fix a few items (replace broken switch overs/phone jack covers and they actually helped us clean up a bit!) Our place was kind of dirty because we didn't want to clean everything just to have the workers make it all dirty again. Well, during the third week we finally get windowblinds! we were without these since the first day. I guess it's not a big deal since our unit is all guys, and because we aren't facing the sunny side during the afternoon. But i can imagine what girls in other units would feel a need for them. I think it was also around this time we got chairs for the kitchen/bedrooms and coffe/eend tables for our common area. However once again we had to build 6 chairs, a coffee table and 2 end tables ourselves. At this point, our common area was not really functional... (actually.. to this day it hasn't changed at all and it's already... the 10th/11th week?) This is because there is still an old table stand thing, a big wardrobe, a boxspring, and all the closet doors of the unit in that area (the closet doors are there because when they changed all the floors, the doors would not fit.
Well... let's just go to the 4th week now... not much went on... the superindendant has finally fixed a broken window screen which was broken since the first day. 1 flourescent light cover was broken since the first day and he still he didn't have time to replace it (he said he would). Another flourescent light cover is kind of broken (part of it keeps falling off) and he didn't have time to fix it yet... also, i should mention something about all the doors in the unit. I don't know if it's because they installed them bad or what... The landlord kept talking about getting new doors or shaving them. But to this day never got to it. the door to the washroom keeps getting stuck near the bottom and so keeps scraping the door frame. It used to be painted, the paint is already scratched off. One room, the door does the same thing and actually ripped part of the door frame near the bottom so when you open the door you need to put your foot against it so it doesn't just completely rip off. The room with no door, well... the door itself, a thin piece it self is ripped because it keeps getting caught near the bottom. Only one room in the unit has door without problems. It's now the 10th/11th week and the doors are still like this. Although they did nail up the ripped door frame... on the 9th week.
As a side note, i should add that we found out a lot of the empty units were actualyl rented out. But for the first few days, some of those people decided to just live at the local hotel or a friend's house because some units did not even have tiles change yet and when changed you cannot step inside for a day or 2.
Anyway... back to the 4th week... well we keep rushing the landlord to finish our unit... and so she keeps telling the workers. But those people didn't really work much so she fired them. Well, at this point she said she would finish things herself. But we knew that wouldn't be the case... so we just wait... Also, we find out she has new doorhandles with locks for the bedrooms. Someone else in the unit upstairs who got them said she won't give them out unless you ask for them. So we did. But she said we don't need them since we know everyone in our unit. We explained about the sublet issue and she said she'd get them installed then. We were completely ok with this (i just hope she goes through with this)
about the 6th week comes along and we get baseboards in our room! I think it's also around this time she posted a notice about hiring a new worker and to contact him to arrange to get things done... I called the guy as soon as I saw it to make arrangements. However, he just never seemed to show up. He started working on another unit. Then came to our unit to patch up holes for about 1-2hours. After that i kept seeing him in the building but never doing much work... and i wait and wait...
(continued in post #2)
I really need some help with an issue I'm having with my landlord. I'm a student at the University of Waterloo and around April, I found a place to rent. The contract is a 1 year contract. We knew the place was going to be renovated. However the landlord said that they would finish the renovation during the 4 months of summer. Now here is my situation:
Soon September came along and it was time to move in. Well, school started on the 12th. We (tried) moved in on the 10th. (one of my roommates wanted to move in a week earlier because he isn't from ontario, but at that point they didn't even start on our unit yet!) One of my roommated arrived around 11am... On the day we arrived, we came to find that our unit was far from finish. The bedroom floors were not changed yet (but the common area was), they were painting the bedrooms the day we arrived, and all the old furniture was just piled up all over the place (literally, all over the place. We couldn't even put our stuff inside until about 7pm). The landlord asked if we wanted to help move the furniture but we said no because thisAround evening time they moved all the furniture out of the bedrooms and into the common area and all we had was a mattress. Not even a toilet! We had to use the landlord's for 2 days while they were getting the new one installed. Also, one of the bedrooms did not even have a door!
So now school started and the first 2 weeks of school was not very fun. During the first week of class, one day we come home and find even more furniture in our unit! Most likely the people working on the units moved furniture from other units into ours so they could work with more space. This was ridiculous because 99% of the furniture was to be thrown out anyway. We have a small hallway in our unit and they put a huge desk right in the middle of it! We had to squeeze through to get to our bedrooms! We really could not take this and talked to the landlord. She just said she couldn't do anything. She did not have enough people helping and she just kept having problems with the people she hired for the job.
Since she did not want to help, we decided we had no choice but to do things on our own. So, we spent about 2 days moving out a lot of garbage furniture from our unit. This included about boxsprings, several heavy desks, dressers, and other miscellaneous items. This proved to be quite a workout. We live in a 4 story apartment with no elevator and stairs that turn, and we live on the 2rd floor. We moved out most of the furniture and it felt good to finally be able to actually be able to walk in our unit without squeezing under or around stuff. During the first week, they also finally changed the bedroom floors. However, they mixed up 2 of the units. Our unit was supposed to have carpet however they gave us laminate floors. We thought about switching units for a while until we saw that the other units had even less work completed. So we decided to stay in our unit. Also there were no baseboards in the bedrooms yet. Also during the first week, we had someone come over to change the bathtub. This was good because the old one was... yuck. However, little did we know this meant we had to shower in our landlord's unit for 3 days.
At this point, we noticed a lot of units that were incomplete were still empty. We wondered where other were since they should have started school by now. We just didn't think much about this. Then we met about 3 people in other units and we took a look at the other units. We were very surprised to see what we saw! 2 of these units (one on the floor above us and one on the floor below us) were we were almost completely finished! (note the almost, in fact, to this day their units are still ahead of ours by a lot) These 2 units were completely painted, they had a nice couch, they had a microwave, all the bedrooms had a new desk, new bookshelf and new bedrack all built for them, their washrooms were all finished, they had a new counter in the kitchen and a double sink! Some of those people moved in even later than us and didn't have to deal with the same problems we had. So we talked to the landlord once more. We joked a bit about lowering the rent for one month byt a bit and she kept assuring us oh sure, don't worry. Also, she actually had the furniture in her unit just that nobody was able to help her build them. Well, we knew at this point we'll never get anything done if we count on her. So, once again we said we'll do it. We had to build 3 bed racks, 3 desks, 3 bookshelves. I think during the 2nd or 3rd week the room without a door finally gets a door.
Also, during our first week here, we could not use the kitchen either. Our refridgerator did not work so we just ate out for the entire week. This was ok for now. During the second week they finally fixed the refridgerator, and cleaned the stove (but still no microwave) and during the middle of the second (or third, can't really remember) week we got our new counter and double sink. During the second week we got another couch. It was another old one but was a lot better than the worn one we originally had. They said new couches were coming once the units were painted, and that dressers for the bedrooms were on order (the landlord just gave us this thing we could use until we got dressers)
Another week goes by and we're onto our third week. At this point I come back from the weekend and see that we have a mirror in the bathroom now. They also put up tiles on the bathroom walls as they said they would. This seemed like a good sign. The super intendant also came by to fix a few items (replace broken switch overs/phone jack covers and they actually helped us clean up a bit!) Our place was kind of dirty because we didn't want to clean everything just to have the workers make it all dirty again. Well, during the third week we finally get windowblinds! we were without these since the first day. I guess it's not a big deal since our unit is all guys, and because we aren't facing the sunny side during the afternoon. But i can imagine what girls in other units would feel a need for them. I think it was also around this time we got chairs for the kitchen/bedrooms and coffe/eend tables for our common area. However once again we had to build 6 chairs, a coffee table and 2 end tables ourselves. At this point, our common area was not really functional... (actually.. to this day it hasn't changed at all and it's already... the 10th/11th week?) This is because there is still an old table stand thing, a big wardrobe, a boxspring, and all the closet doors of the unit in that area (the closet doors are there because when they changed all the floors, the doors would not fit.
Well... let's just go to the 4th week now... not much went on... the superindendant has finally fixed a broken window screen which was broken since the first day. 1 flourescent light cover was broken since the first day and he still he didn't have time to replace it (he said he would). Another flourescent light cover is kind of broken (part of it keeps falling off) and he didn't have time to fix it yet... also, i should mention something about all the doors in the unit. I don't know if it's because they installed them bad or what... The landlord kept talking about getting new doors or shaving them. But to this day never got to it. the door to the washroom keeps getting stuck near the bottom and so keeps scraping the door frame. It used to be painted, the paint is already scratched off. One room, the door does the same thing and actually ripped part of the door frame near the bottom so when you open the door you need to put your foot against it so it doesn't just completely rip off. The room with no door, well... the door itself, a thin piece it self is ripped because it keeps getting caught near the bottom. Only one room in the unit has door without problems. It's now the 10th/11th week and the doors are still like this. Although they did nail up the ripped door frame... on the 9th week.
As a side note, i should add that we found out a lot of the empty units were actualyl rented out. But for the first few days, some of those people decided to just live at the local hotel or a friend's house because some units did not even have tiles change yet and when changed you cannot step inside for a day or 2.
Anyway... back to the 4th week... well we keep rushing the landlord to finish our unit... and so she keeps telling the workers. But those people didn't really work much so she fired them. Well, at this point she said she would finish things herself. But we knew that wouldn't be the case... so we just wait... Also, we find out she has new doorhandles with locks for the bedrooms. Someone else in the unit upstairs who got them said she won't give them out unless you ask for them. So we did. But she said we don't need them since we know everyone in our unit. We explained about the sublet issue and she said she'd get them installed then. We were completely ok with this (i just hope she goes through with this)
about the 6th week comes along and we get baseboards in our room! I think it's also around this time she posted a notice about hiring a new worker and to contact him to arrange to get things done... I called the guy as soon as I saw it to make arrangements. However, he just never seemed to show up. He started working on another unit. Then came to our unit to patch up holes for about 1-2hours. After that i kept seeing him in the building but never doing much work... and i wait and wait...
(continued in post #2)