[US - CA]

hiiii, i want to preface this by saying that I'm currently a freshmen college student trying to terminate a lease for next year.

I signed a lease with a Fraternity Management company for a $1100 single room in an inactive frat house that will extend from June 5th into the next year, along with a $750 security deposit. I recently lost a close family member and I don't think that I can afford to live there anymore.

I messaged my contact about terminating the lease and they stated that I can request a termination through the Housing Corportation but I'm not guaranteed to get it approved. (The management company is literally his dad, him, and another guy, so I'm pretty sure that they would just review it with the three of them). (he also first stated that it was my responsibility to find someone to pick up the lease, but then when I told him to point out where in the lease it states that I had to, he said that I didn't have to, but it would help my request greatly in getting it cancelled.)

The only appendums that are attached regarding termination are these:

8. Termination. All requests for termination of this Agreement must be submitted in writing to the House Corporation. The Renter requesting termination of Agreement shall continue to be liable for room fees until the request is approved in writing by the House Corporation. The House Corporation agrees that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. A termination of this Agreement must be in writing signed off by two officers of the House Corporation. If the House Corporation approves of the termination of this Agreement, the effective termination date will be the date of such approval. This Agreement can be terminated by the House Corporation if renter violates House Rules and Matters of Common Courtesy (see Addendum C).

9. Guarantee. In consideration of the House Corporation entering into this Agreement, the Renter and his or her Parent/Legal Guardian jointly and severally guarantees and accepts financial responsibility for all payments and other obligations due the House Corporation by reason of this Agreement. Renter may renew or request cancellation of this Agreement upon Renter's signature alone. As a condition to the effectiveness thereof, the Parent/Legal Guardian also agrees to be responsible for all obligations under Renter's renewal or cancellation.

There isn't anything about the Housing Corp having to approve it, but also there isn't anything exactly about finding a new renter. I already have a place lined up and it is much better, but for a double and a ways away from my college. Additionally, I found out a lot of stuff AFTER I signed the lease: there's a basement where parties are often thrown (I'm a stem major so I do need quiet, but its almost a given that there would be noise, but I wasn't informed that there was going to be noise inside the house) and, most of all, the frat was unassociated with our college because they were hazing in pledges that had to do with animal cruelty. I don't feel safe in a house that has a lot of fratty members living there.

Are they allowed to not let me cancel my lease? Also, it's the end of the year, and not many people are looking for housing, which makes it impossible for me to find a replacement. Any advice? Thanks! (For reference, I'm near San Fran, CA)

Moved into a new unit in August. Neighbor is a very old lady whose grandson stays around to help her out through the house but he is not on the lease, only she is. He keeps smoking in the laundry room, which is shared by all three units, and when the air pumps into our house and makes it smell like cigarette smoke, he blames our third neighbor who also smokes and denies it even when I see him go down there with a lit cigarette. Once he found out it pumps into my house he keeps doing it out of spite and waiting until he sees my car leave. Landlord cannot be convinced that it’s the grandson and not the smoker downstairs because it’s my word against theirs and they’re both lying. What are my options here? It’s a nonsmoking unit. I cannot find a new place to live right now. This is effecting my work because I work in textile conservation and if I come into work smelling like smoke I physically cannot do my job.
Should I ask for a camera in the shared laundry room ? This guy also has a habit of messing up my windshield and tires when I snitch on him so I’m afraid if he gets kicked out that I’ll get messed up but my rent just increased and this issue hasn’t been resolved. We have the smallest unit and pay the most in rent.

While looking for a place to rent for semi long term I was in touch with a girl who’s dad owned a property and they were looking to rent out one of the rooms. They were asking £950 per month plus bills and an £950 deposit and I agreed to take the room. Before entering the property, I asked for a legal contract to be drawn up along with confirmation that my deposit would be protected by the government deposit protection scheme. The daughter advised her dad will arrange for this and I had to chase this a few times. Right before my move in date, I received a contract (unsigned by the landlord) and I emailed back asking for a clause to be amended because that’s what I had agreed with the daughter in person. She said he was fine to amend it, but then I heard nothing. After I moved in I continued chasing the new contract for a month and a half. I haven’t paid or signed anything, no rent or deposit, and was willing to pay until a new contract is drawn up. I eventually asked the daughter for the landlords number so I could contact him directly and she refused to give it me. That was a red flag for me, the whole situation just sounded strange and I had a bad feeling. Earlier this week, I finally received an email from the landlord after all this radio silence, and he just asked for a lump sum to be paid for 2 months rent plus the deposit (again, no new contract received and he just sent his bank details in an email).

I find this whole situation very fishy and decided to leave two days later. I packed up my stuff and left the room exactly as it was when I moved in. I left some cash on the counter for the daughter to go towards bills and messaged her that I have moved out due to her dad refusing to sign a contract, despite my persistent chasing.

He has now contacted me demanding for 2 months rent, my deposit, and a fee of £1700 additional for not giving 60 days notice. Bearing in mind again, I haven’t signed anything or paid anything since my stay. He is threatening to take me to court unless I pay all the above.

From a legal standpoint, I’m not sure what I should do or if he has any legal argument. I am willing to pay him for the time that I was there (to the very day) if he agreed to it, since we did have a verbal agreement via email and messages, but I didn’t want to pay anything without a contract in place for my protection. Any advice would be most appreciated. It’s important to note too, that he didn’t put me on the council tax and I feel like was avoiding signing the contract to avoid paying landlord tax. The whole thing felt very illegal and I didn’t want to be involved with it any longer.

I need suggestions and solutions!!!

Actually in october our induction stove stopped working and my owner bought a new one because the warranty was expired. Aftee my roommate moved and i was alone in the basement , in december again the stove stopped working. She made excuse that u boiled something over it? Its a masterchef double induction stove bought from canadian tire. I swear I never boiled anything over it because i dont even cook much. She took the stove and then gave me a new one and said that I have to pay her money because it ciuld not be replaced because of visible damage but there was not any visible damage over it and It was showing E8 Error when it stopped working. I did not give her money then because she did not send me the receipt with which she bought the stove She said me an old receipt which was of 16 oct and I bought my own small stove and the argument was settled. But now after 5 months when somebody had to move in she said that U have to pay money , and she started forcing me and I had to oay her to avoid arguments. I asked at Canadian tire they said doesnt matter if its a visible damage or internal it can be replaced. I also got full receipt from there which was of ovtober and showed her and then she made an excise today that this conversation is 5 months old and that she put the old stove in garbage bin and she also said that she did not take that old stove to canadian tire first she bought new one and then she took the old one there which they did not return . Here she is not clear if she speaks truth then why is she saying that she took the old stove from me after she bought new. She said that she already knew that it wont be replaced so she did not took it and then she also says that they refused to return it . Was she replacing or returning? I think she just replaced the stove thats why she never gave me the receipt. Now How can i take my money back from her? She said that if u give notice in may u can move out on july 1. I dont wanna argue now i just wanna take my money back before i move out. I have all the proofs too!! Where should i complain and what is the chance that i will get money back.

Hey guys, bear with me it’s a lot. I just moved into a new apartment complex in April. Of course the unit I toured had no mold issues and completely new renovated amenities. Well 1 day before my move in (I have had this unit on hold since end of February, early March), they let me know that the unit I was looking for was infested with fleas. I let them know that I cannot wait to fix this and they’ll need to fix this asap because my lease ends in a few days. I ended up looking around for other complexes but soon realize I’d have to be coming up with another security deposit in the meantime (I have money saved up - but this money is really meant for new groceries, cleaning supplies etc for the new unit). So we were extremely stressed. The complex ends up calling back and states they have a different unit that’s fully upgraded and will be ready for our original move in (the next day). We end up taking this because our backs are against the wall, we do not want to fork out extra money. So we move in the next day. When the 12th comes, they did not contact us about our keys we had to reach out to them which then they let us know that 4oclock (the original agreed upon time) will not work. 5 o’clock will be the move in time. Well that time comes, we begin our walk through and immediately notice the apartment was not cleaned. There were cobwebs in corners, grease stains on the wall and counters plus hair on the ceiling. Once we got into the rooms, we noticed mold all over the windows, the window sills, the blinds and back sliding door. The very next day we wrote an email to the front office to let them know that we are not happy about the unit. It was suppose to be fully upgraded but it’s not plus there’s mold. They apologized and let me know that they’ll be contacting the property manager on Monday. Well Monday came and nobody reached out. We ended up having to reach out to them about this and they let me know they’ll be sending somebody out to “do a treatment”. That person never came. I gave them a grace period of a day. In my mind a treatment meant somebody professional would be handling this matter because it was everywhere. Nope they sent maintenance with some mold x and he just wiped it away… I could’ve done that. He left me with the bottle as well. Well, again, I have asthma. the half attempt to clean the mold did nothing because it was still there. I sent an email to the front office that this was not sufficient and something needed to be done, like replacing the windows. I just came from an older complex that had the updated windows that did not allow moisture or humidity to get in from outside. I had no mold problem there. I sent that email 4/20 and never got a response. They did not respond until 4/23 and called because I called them that same day letting them know I am becoming impatient with this situation. Of course once they heard my tone they called back quickly and stated another treatment will be happening. Well the same person ended up coming back but this time with mold x and kilz. They did not spray the mold x this time but instead sprayed primer over the mold and told me they would be back to paint over all the white Primer that was left everywhere. I looked this product up and it specifically mentions do not apply on mold or mildew prone areas, yet that is what they did. I was so upset I sent an email to the front office immediately letting them know this process is not correct and not safe. Real work needs to be done. From there the property manager went back and forth with me for a couple days to finally say they’re sending somebody out to look at the windows for possible replacement. To help combat this in the meantime I have 2 dehumidifiers, a Dyson air purifier plus a heater to attempt to control the air and humidity in the unit. today somebody is coming to look. But 1. I am afraid this will not be fixed due to them spraying primer over the mold and the whole ordeal in general. 2. Since this has happened another resident has uploaded terrifying black mold photos to the review page. But I noticed since doing so, a bunch of new reviews popped up that say the same thing pretty much. I believe this complex is faking their reviews to hide out the bad ones. Each user just created their account and each user happened to comment on the same 2 posts - which happen to be complexes. I am looking to move out and buy a house soon and would like to get out of my lease whether I pay the amount or find legal help but do not want this on my record so I feel like I am unfortunately stuck. But I wanted to know does anybody have any advice, have you dealt with something like this. What are my options(if any) because I am dealing with a shady complex and locked into a 15 month lease.

Hello everyone!

Quick summary: I have been living in this house(shared acommodation) for the past 6 years or so, however I only became lead tenant around 3 years ago. It's a 4 rooms house, 3 doubles and 1 single. In one of the doubles lives a couple with an infant(if it matters), though I'm not sure if they are on the tenancy agreement.

A year or so ago, the council came over and forced our landlord to apply for HMO and carry on safety measures(i.e fire doors, fire extinguishers, etc).

My last tenancy agreement expired in November. The rent stipulated X amount, however I would also pay an unstipulated Y( one third of the total) amount in cash. To my understanding, that agreement will be in effect until/if we sign a new one.

Now the landlord has asked us to move asap and gave us 1 month notice. I said that's unreasonable, as I also had holidays booked away from the UK,and said that realistically, we'll probably be able to move out by the end of June, most likely July(nonetheless, I did not specify or agree to a move out date), and also wants us to pay increased rent until we leave. If I accept the new amount, I think that would count as altered terms to the ongoing agreement, thus making me liable, so I am inclined to not go with it. Since then we've been actively trying to find a new home, however we're not related and it's close to impossible(it seems) to find an HMO house.

I'm thinking of only paying the X amount of rent henceforth, without the Y amount or the increase he is demanding. The new amount he's asking (Z) is almost double of X(-£100), which doesn't seem reasonable to me.

What are my options? Does he have a leg to stand on if I refuse to comply with his demands?

Ps: if anyone can help us find some letting agency or landlord that deals with HMO(preferably in the HA1/HA2/HA4 area, but not a must), I'd greatly appreciate it.

Pps; I live in London.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could clarify for me if my husband is an actual “tenant.” He’s been living on site as a maintenance supervisor for over a year, he doesn’t pay rent for his unit but his pay is pro-rated to make up for the live in benefit. Would tenant rights apply to him? He has 72 hrs to vacate since he’s been terminated, is that legal? They’ve offered a “complimentary week”. But don’t they have to evict him?

House has now flooded twice over 10 months due to poor drainage. House now has black mold. Landlords are letting me terminate early due to the fact they will not fix anything (have cancelled all work orders) and it’s causing conflict (because it’s making me sick)… but this one paragraph in this early termination contract… “Tenants shall leave the Property clean, free of trash, debris and/or personal belongings and SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED DURING TENANTS' OCCUPANCY.”… is this a cause for concern? I’ve never seen a lease/agreement not discuss normal wear and tear? Can’t get any local attorneys to call me back. Thanks! :)

Hey guys! Question. I move in to my new apartment Saturday. I signed my lease a month ago and paid my deposit. Last week, landlord calls and said they messed up and have to send me a new lease, they were supposed to charge me more for the security deposit. Can they do this? She said if I don’t sign the new lease before move in and pay the difference for the new deposit, they’d ask me to do it in person before they give me my keys. (I’m in California)

Here's a breakdown of what's goin on:

-Renting a single family home. Due to faulty wiring, we nearly had a fire caused by our dryer, and the dryer has thus stopped working.

-In the process of fixing the wiring in the house, the washer was moved. When it was moved back, it began to leak whenever it was run.

-Landlord is refusing to pay for a replacement dryer, or address the leaky washer. Landlord is sending me Craigs list ads and expecting me to move, and discard, of the old dryer and washer. She will also not pay for an appliance repair technician.

-No where on our lease are a washer and dryer listed as amenities included in the house. They were "gifts from the previous tenants."

-Weve lived here for 3, going on 4, years and have had a working washer and dryer the entire time.

-Located in Colorado

Here's some questions I have

-Regarding the "gifted" washer and dryer: They are technically the property of the landlord, because we would not be able to take them when we leave. Does this in any way hold the landlord responsible for repairs and replacements?

-If we were to buy a new washer and dryer and scrap the old ones, would we have ownership of those and be able to take them with us when we move?

-If we opt to have them replaced, where would ownership fall? Since she does not include them in our lease, and is choosing to not take any steps to replace them, and often refers to them as "gifts" rather than a feature of the house.

Hi there

I am gonna get an apartment on lease for the first time. The landlord has asked me sign the “Addendum to Additional terms of Residential Tenancy Agreement” and “Addendum to Standard Form of Lease agreement” before signing the actual Lease Agreement. My question is Can I sign them before the actual lease agreement or should I wait?? Can signing the addendums beforehand harm me anyway?

Thanks

In February 2024 my landlord and I agreed on a new 6month tenancy. Scheduled insulation works in the roof in March 2024 (needed for the EPC rating) meant that he’s only just sent through the new tenancy agreement and now expects me to sign for 6 months starting now so until October. He did not mention at the time (in Feb) that he wouldn’t get the new contract to me until after the works had been completed. I have been planning my year and a big move in August to coincide with the end of the 6 month tenancy that I agreed to in February and now have little flexibility with that. He is refusing to allow a rolling monthly tenancy and has stated someone new couldn’t take over my tenancy for the last two months as “it is not possible to put a tenant break clause in an assured shorthold tenancy any earlier than 6 months”. I’ve been left in an impossible situation and blindsided after agreeing to 6 months in Feb but now having to pay for 2 extra months or potentially leaving now before signing the new contract. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! I’m moving out of my first apartment, and my command strips ate up a bit of my wall!! The rip is a little over an inch long and a little under half an inch wide. I’m a college student with cobwebs in my bank account so I’m a little anxious! I’ve got a few questions for what to do next

1. Is repairing wall damage yourself legal/allowed? I can’t find any details about it in my lease
2. If it’s not allowed, how cooked am I?

Hello!

I have an interesting issue. I provided a holding fee and unfortunately, signed a document that differed from what the property management office VERBALLY told me.

I naively believed they would adhere to what they verbally told me, which was that, the unit was not ready to view and I would be able to get my holding fee back if I decided not to move forward once I saw the unit.

During my visit and inquiry, they verbally told me there was a balcony in this unit. They now claim this never happened.

I was too trusting and made the mistake of signing the lease before even viewing the unit. The unit was also not ready for move in when they said it would be and when theyattempted to give me the keys. However, they ended up changing the 12 month lease to a 6 month lease right in front of me then claimed they could not do anything or let me back out since it was signed. To me, that is confusing as they wouldn't be able to change it from 12 to 6 once signed if that were the case.

After some back and forth, they allowed me to back out of the lease but kept my holding fee.

The unit was listed on apartments.com as having a patio/balcony (depending on floor) as well as other features that did not exist upon seeing the unit.

I would have never applied, provided a holding fee, or moved forward at all if I knew it did not have a balcony.

They say they are not liable for advertisements such as those on apartments.com

I'm unsure of what to do. They claim they never made the statements that they did but in my state verbal agreements are binding.

Is there anything I can do? I'm low income with disabilities and being out of that amount is making things very difficult especially as I search for stable housing.

Hey Reddit fam,

I need your advice on a sticky situation with my landlord. So, here's the deal: I've always been a bit of a cleanliness freak, and when my roommate's mess started attracting unwanted critters, I took action. I even sent a message to our landlord, slightly exaggerating the situation, thinking it was due to lingering food. Turns out, there was a sneaky hole in the kitchen sink causing the chaos.

Fast forward to the end of our lease, we scrubbed that place with bleach like my life depended on it. The landlord did a walkthrough and gave it the thumbs up, saying "looks good." But now, out of the blue, they're hitting me with a whopping $1400 charge (possibly up to $10k!) for ozone treatment, citing spice odors and the previously mentioned unsanitary conditions.

My question is: Can they actually do that? I'm no legal expert, but it seems a bit fishy considering we cleaned the place thoroughly and he walked the house with us during move out. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any advice on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated!

Ps: none of us smoke any kind.

Thanks in advance for your help

So basically my issue is that my landlord wants to increase rent with less than even 30 days notice & then is threatening to non renew the lease with less than 30 days if we dont pay the new rental cost. We have lived here less than 3 years and more than a year. Is this illegal in Illinois? How can I enforce this-- he seems to think he can do whatever he wants. This is a slum btw.

Edit: sorry for the confusing title. "non-renewing less" should say "threatening to nonrenew unless we pay the increased rate"

My door was the original door. The door was not "broke" at time of move in. It was noticed on the walk thru the landlord she said it just needed tightening up referring to the door knob. The door had a handle knob and a separate dead bolt. Long story short the door had been repaired more than once in the past evident by the different screwholes . The door was cracking and it was apparent the screws were loose. They were not able to be tightened the holes were stripped. Last year they did a inspection of the apartment I mentioned the door had become noisy and would only stay shut is if it were deadbolt the door was splitting . Normal wear n tear use. Life of a door? I WAS GIVEN A $2300. BILL FOR THAT DOOR. I don't have any money I didn't do anything to the door. What do I do ? I am scared. Homeless is not that far away. Any suggestions . The landlord has always seemed shady to me with reason /receipts. Never wanted to go there because she holds the housing key.

We are in Texas. We are about to renew our lease for a third time. Our landlord has stated s/he wants to professionally clean the house and deduct $250 of our security deposit for this cleaning service. We are not moving out, we are just renewing the lease with different terms (Landlord is increasing our monthly rent by $50 too). Can a landlord in Texas deduct cleaning fees from security deposit prior to the tenant moving out? This seems like a “maintenance fee” which is not a proper reduction for security deposit especially when the tenant isn’t even moving out.

I'm currently on a lease for about $1,000/month. I am moving and found a subleaser for my apartment. This sublessee really liked the apartment and was enthusiastic about it, but in talking to the landlord he tried raising the rent to $1,500 for the subleaser to pay to take over the lease. Understandably the subleaser did not want to pay that and found a new place to live. Now I am on the hook for the rest of the year's rent. I'm wondering if there is any legal action I can take against the landlord for this because it is really shitty. He later apologized and said "maybe that was too much to hike rent by", but he isn't the one losing out in this situation.

Hello, I am in WA state. Upon moving in, my property manager said I have to pay $100/mo flat fee for utilities. On the day I picked up the keys to the apartment, he verbally stated, "your utilities are all covered by the flat fee".

Then, eight months into me living here, my property manager sent this: "Please email me documentation and proof that you set up your utility account with the city at move in and if not please do so today and send my way."

I did not receive this instruction from him upon moving in. From my understanding I was only prepared to pay the gas usage to PSE and the flat utilities fee of $100/month. I asked him to clarify and he said this: "Your utility flat fee of $100/month covers water sewer trash and heat. The city account covers your usage per what you use, outlets and lighting".

It caught me off guard that the property manager reached out eight months after I moved in, telling me to set up the utilities account, when I am already paying a flat utility fee of $100/month. I am mostly confused because this was not communicated any time prior to me living here for eight months.

Here is all that is stated in the lease on utilities:

Base Rent: $1700

Utility Rent: $100

Total Monthly Payment: $1800

Owner will furnish the following utilities to the leased premises: water, sewer, garbage, gas electricity, telephone, cable/satellite, and internet. Residents agree to pay all charges not supplied by Owner, assessed by the utility provider (or owner) in connection with resident's use of utilities during the term of this agreement, or the period of occupancy by the resident, whichever is longer. Resident agrees to pay the utility bills for which they are responsible and ensure that utilities remain connected for the duration of the initial term of any renewal period. Resident will pay for the following utilities, including any related deposits, fees, charges, or services on such utilities: water, sewer, garbage, electricity, telephone, cable, and internet. Owner may modify the method by which the utilities are furnished to the leased premises or billed to resident during the term of this agreement. In the event of interruption or failure of utility services that owner is required to furnish, owner shall use reasonable diligence in its efforts to restore such services. Owner shall not be liable for any damages directly or proximally caused by interruption or failure of utility service unless such interruption or failure of utility service is solely due to owner's failure to pay to the service provider for the provision of such services to the leased premises. Where applicable, resident will be charged recycling related lines assessed on the residential community. Owner may change or install utility lines affecting the leased premises if the work does not substantially increase resident's utility costs.

Owner reserves the right, at any time a past due balance is owing on the utilities, to apply any and all funds received from the residents, including funds paid as rent, first to the past due balance and then any remaining funds will be applied to rent. Resident agrees to this allocation of funds despite any limiting or restrictive endorsement contained on the payment. Further, if resident fails to pay any utility charges that are to be paid by resident, Owner may, at its option, pay such charges in full to retain continuing utility services and bill residents such charges as additional rent together with the next regular monthly rental payment which is due following the date of such utility billing. When the resident moves from the leased premises, the utility charges will be charged to and deducted from the security deposit.

Based on these lease terms, is my landlord allowed to blindside me like this and make me pay even more than my flat utility fee? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, using a throwaway.

Currently paying a lot below market (been here for many years). Landlord said they can't afford the rising cost anymore and needs to sell. He offered to cover my first and last month on my new place and moving cost but I'll need like $80-100k and 3 months to find a new place. He's not interested in that so he will sell with me.

I want to make things as difficult for him as possible so he can agree to my demand or make the sale impossible since I understand only those interested in moving in will buy it due to the low rent as otherwise it wouldn't make any mathematical sense.

I just want to confirm if I can do these things below before enacting them. From what I understand, I can deny him the ability to take photos of my things, so If I just scatter my things around, he will not be able to take any pictures right? Also, because he needs to let me know at least 24 hours ahead of time for each tour, I can just be home and make the house dirty and smelly while smoking pot just right outside the door? Because I know exactly when they are coming, can I also pay/convince some local hooligans and homeless people to hang out and cause trouble just right outside the sidewalk when these viewings take place to scare away any interested buyer? Of course, I'll make sure they don't snitch and won't be able to link me to them.

Helpful advices appreciated!

Hey guys, this is a very unique situation that my boyfriend and I have been living with for the last three years. Basically, my landlord uses the basement office for his business, and we have no privacy. When we first looked at this place, we were interested in it because of its beautiful location and price. We thought we couldn't pass up this opportunity. Our original landlord when we signed our first lease was his now-ex-wife (they were in the process of a divorce when we got the house). She told us that we would have to be okay with him (her ex-husband) using the basement office during business hours. We thought, hm, that was kind of strange, but it's cheap rent for this big house, and it sounds like we will barely see the guy. Fast forward two years; the divorce got ugly, and our original landlord lost ownership of this property. We have been renting from him for the last while. I'd also like to point out that nowhere does it say on our lease that this agreement is official. It was just a verbal agreement.

Now, his business consists of him purchasing trucks and reselling them, and therefore he uses our driveway for his trucks as well as the garage, which we don't have access to for this reason. We park out on the street, which is not that big of a deal, except we do have to register our cars with the city, so it does cost some money on a yearly basis. We came to realize how effing weird this situation actually is because not only are we seeing our asshole landlord on the daily, coming into the back entrance, and being in our backyard when he's needing access to the garage, but he has an EMPLOYEE, a new girlfriend, a dog, and his kids that come over on occasion as well. There's this beautiful garden bed in the back that I was so excited to use, but I can't even enjoy it because there's always someone around. Even ON WEEKENDS. I know that landlords are supposed to give you 24-hour notice if they want to show up, but of course that doesn't happen. He even came over on Sunday afternoon to stomp around on our roof to clean the gutters without notifying us. Our laundry room is also in the basement, so I often have to go down there, and I can see him working in the office with his door open. One time, I was in the laundry room in my bra, and I had the door closed because I was ironing my shirt, and he wasn't in the house at the time. I heard the door open, and guess who it was—yup, our landlord, grabbing a coke from the spare fridge in there? WTF? He said, "Oh, whoops, sorry!" and then closed the door. I was just shook. It's honestly so fucked up.

We aren't allowed to own any pets, but the original landlord had told us that it was fine if we wanted to have them over to babysit. So, I currently have a tiny dog the size of a guinea pig with me for the weekend, and as I'm heading to work this morning, she was barking at him, puling into the driveway from inside, and as I'm locking the door, he says, "IS THAT A DOG IN THE HOUSE??????" and I'm too stunned to speak, because he's very weird and scary to me. He then says, "You know the rules; hopefully she doesn't create any damage!" and I'm like, bro, it's a 5-pound dog. The floors in our house are original wood floors, but they're not in pristine condition by any means. So after my interaction with him, I phoned my boyfriend to tell him what happened, and I guess our landlord was already texting Mike, getting very mad at him, and they ended up having a yelling match on the phone. Our landlord is swearing at my boyfriend over a tiny dog, when he is the one that hasn't been following any rules whatsoever, and it's actually illegal what he does, and he literally brings his own dog into the basement.

We take such good care of this house; we always keep the yard looking nice and take care of all the maintenance. Anyways, we should have gone to the rental board a long time ago, but the rental market is so terrible right now that we always just had to "suck it up" because we live in a nice house. Mind you, the rent has increased from $1600 to $2200 in the last couple of years; it's not even worth it anymore. We are leaving this rental at the end of May though, and I'm just wondering if you guys think I should go to the rental board about this. What can they even do? Is it too late?

I have a strange issue. I live in an apartment complex. My ex showed up one night drunk and he really hurt me. The police came for him and an ambulance came for me. It was disturbing to the other tenants to hear his drunken beat down on me. Since that night the landlord and the other tenants treat me poorly. The abuser has not been back and is not in my life since that incident. It was an isolated incident. But the tenants treat me like I'm a leper. The landlord cut the lock off of my storage unit and threw my things in the dumpster. When I asked them what the heck ? the landlord said oops their mistake. Gave me a new unit and a new lock. They didn't offer to replace my things. The landlord also started testing my apartment for meth contamination. I do NOT use meth. In the last 3 months the landlord has entered my unit for meth testing 4 times! I just received a new 48 hour notice to enter. They are coming to test for a 5th time! This just seems excessive. They tell me nothing about the tests or the results. They just keep testing. This feels like harassment. If I've passed the first 4 tests why keep testing me? Can I do anything to stop them from doing this to me? Isn't it illegal to pick on a victim of violence ? Any help is greatly appreciated thank you.

A massive exterior renovation is happening here in the condo I rent. Everyday construction workers are connecting power tools to outlets on both my balconies.

Compared to the same period last year, my latest hydro bill came with an increase of 48%. We are talking about an increase of $250

I contacted my landlord and he answered this:

“Every family are suffering increased hydro and gas these days. Should the landlord used electricity from your household, they can pay it, but not from outside users. The logics is like this, once you lost cash in your pocket, you can't expect Bank of Canada to issue new notes for you.”

I live in Vancouver. What should I do? Is there any legal institution that could help me?

Thanks