Life in the Slow Lane

Life in the Slow Lane

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Passive Aggressive Water Torture

The hovel I live in is managed by an on site caretaker. I use the term managed loosely as this guy is a real ass. I have no problem saying this as he is well aware of my opinion of him and I have no issue with saying it to his face. I call his pathetic, passive aggressive style of caretaking living under The Reign of Terry. This guy does the bare minimum of work around here and is only truly motivated to improve anything if it directly affects him. For instance he has a deck in the back yard. So the back yard is well maintained and cared for. Other tenants overlook the front yard. He maybe mows it once a year. It looks like a dump. He doesn’t care although he gets paid to. The rest of us do, though. The words, “Sometimes you just have to do nothing to teach them all a lesson.” have come from his lips in my presence. It was all I could do not to rip them off. I have complained to the landlords on a couple occasions but they are rich and live in the wealthiest postal code in Canada. They really don’t care much. We pay low rent. We should shut up. So as a result the rest of us are fairly self-sufficient and do our own thing. It works out ok for the most part until something happens that actually requires action on the part of TRoT.

Like this. We have a newish downstairs neighbour who is not really well liked. Over the years most of us tenants have become good friends. Recently the upstairs and downstairs apartments have gone through a series of occupants making long-term friendships impossible. The latest downstairs tenant has been particulairily difficult. First of all he has really offended/annoyed/creeped out myself and my neighbour with some fairly nasty behaviour centered around him and too many beers. Namely he sits on the front porch drunk and gets a little too up-close and personal. Secondly he plays his music and video games so loudly our floor vibrates and furniture actually moves around. We complained to him about it nicely and he not only tried to get invited up for beers and some friendly fun but he also continued to do it. Finally threats of eviction stopped him. He hates me. I don’t care. His apartment was the one that was broken into last week. My neighbour and I sat on the porch for 3 hours making sure his place was secure. We called the landlord, the cops, The Reign of Terry and the glass replacement place. I had to pay for the emergency glass people ($275) on my Visa upfront or they wouldn't come and install it. I will get reimbursed but if it weren’t for my credit card and me his place would have been open to the elements overnight. This guy didn’t bother to come home for another 3 days after we left a message on his cell phone about the break in. No thanks. Nothing. Now he has gone again. We don’t know where. He NEVER responds to messages on his phone. And this time he left his toilet running. My apartment is above his bathroom and for 5 days and nights his toilet has been running. We all get shitty showers because of the water pressure. I am slowly going insane because of the noise. Three days ago I notified The Reign Of Terry that something was wrong. He just informed me today that he couldn’t go in and jiggle the handle, as it was not an emergency. My dad is a property manager. This is an emergency. He told me so. There is a malfunctioning toilet annoying and affecting the rest of the tenants. Get your ass in there and jiggle the fucking handle you passive aggressive dick. The Reign Of Terry drives me insane. And the fact that this asshole downstairs is bugging me and he isn’t even home is icing on the cake.

I have to move. But rent is really high here in Vancouver and if I did move I would not only have to pay waay more but I would need to get a roommate. I VOWED I would never do that again. I like my privacy too much. AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

UPDATE: Either Our Buddy Downstairs (OBD) has returned home or TRoT finally listened to my angry emails but the running toilet has stopped. Miracle of miracles. I can finally relax and get a decent night's sleep.

6 comments:

Opera Gal said...

I have one word for you, missy: mold.

As in, life-threatening, disease-inducing, ESPECIALLY in people who have lowered immune systems, i.e., PEOPLE WITH CANCER.

A woman here in my small town just won a settlement for 985Million dollars from a landlord.

Reason? Mold.
Why? Improper cleanup after water damage in ANOTHER APT.

I shout because I love. Check with your local Tenants association if your city has one. (Chicago did) Otherwise, you may need to check local ordinance and see what the statutes are for landlord responsibility.

My friend is a landlord, so I speak with some knowledge, but mostly caring.

Anonymous said...

whfropera has a really important point. I would be tempted to persue things further if you are up to it. Or sick your Dad on them. I would totally play the health risk card.

Originally I was just considering the annoyance factor. I live with two brilliant young women who have been honored for their academic abilities, yet who remain unable to figure out how to correctly operate a faucet. They do fine with the opening of said faucet, but are incapable of supplying suficient torque to completely stop the flow of water upon closing. At least I can access their bathroom to stop the annoyance. Oh it's true that sometimes I have to excavate to find the tub or sink, but it is doable with time, determination, and on occasion, a backhoe. I completely commiserate, empathize and sympathize with you.

Perhaps you should take up nocturnal tap dancing on your laminate floors... I will buy the shoes.

Opera Gal said...

ok, that was supposed to be 985 Thousand, but its still a big chunk o change. I just found that article.

Kranki said...

whfropera-it is totally frustrating as I KNOW there is mold in the house too. That is some serious money though. I have tried everything but nobody really cares. One neighbour made some waves years ago and they made her life so miserable she had to move. My dad being a property manager give me an insight that I try to use to my advantage. However nobody wants their rent to increase too much. It is such a fine line.

mrtl- I hvae played the cancer card a couple time already for getting some work done on my suite. The landlords are so slow to act. It is difficult to get trades people to come as construction is booming here, too. It is over now and I am so relieved. Until next time that is.

lbo- that is so funny. Those girls of yours. The landlords know about the existing mold issue and say they are going to fix it but no action yet. The problem is that there is so much to do and mold is low on the priority list. It is that bad.

whfropera-I thought that was a lot of money. Wouldn't sneeze at that though...

Anonymous said...

Perhaps if they understood the true toxicity of mold, they would move it up the priority list. The entire court and judicial office system in Calgary had to be moved because of black mold. They judges and lawyers refused to go to work otherwise.

Squirl said...

What a dilemma. You want to be in Vancouver without paying a fortune but your landlords and the Terry/Terror make it a really bad situation. I have a jerk for a landlord, too. It takes months to get anything fixed. Thank goodness it hasn't been anything really important yet. Good luck!!!