Hi,
We are living in a Rental High-Rise for the last 2 years in North York-ON. The Building Manager is extremely rude and has no respect for women.
He spoke very rudely and loudly twice, with me. We complained to their Customer Service - nothing happened. He does that over very small or non-issues. And, he gets a good verbal slap from me, everytime he dares to do that. This infact, triggers him to repeat again as he is extremely vindictive.
Recently, he was extremely aggresive and screaming at me - my husband was away at office. We decided - enough is enough. My husband called the Cops the next day (we should have called that very evening). The Cops told that Building Manager not to come to our Apt or in front of me, in future. We have also reported the matter to the President of the company recently and got a receipt of the letter, for our records. The matter can also be reported to the Tribunal as the Landlord has harassed the Tenant.
When my husband first rented/entered the apartment - he made a mistake. He as well as the Building Company did not do any 'Move-In Inspection' (both forgot, although it is a norm in this Building) - so there is no record about what exactly was broken/defective before we moved in.
We are leaving the Building now and has given them the reqd notice. Now, the Building Manager is asking us to fix some of the defects that existed before we rented (He got those in one of our recent Maintenance Requests. We wanted to test the waters). In our Letter to the President, we have explained why those items are disputed and we have a receipt copy of that.
There will be a 'Move-Out Inspection' on our last day. He is eagerly waiting for that. That will be his lethal weapon against us. They will inevitably come up with a very long list of issues. Since, it is an old building - there can be so many issues. It is vindictive and will not be reasonable. So, we won't pay for fixing them. I am expecting atleast 2000-3000 $$$. It is not a big deal to come up with that, by incl a bloated labour cost. (Only if something is reasonable - we will pay. But we don't want to pay partially as the problem/issue will still be there and our headache is not gone) We have decided not to give them our New Address and Telephone. However, they already have my husband's office telephone #.
We believe, he can do 2 things :
1) Ask some 'Collection Agency' people to get the repair cost from us by bothering us everyday
2) Damage our Credit History by writing to the Credit Bureau
Is there any 'other' Risk Factors ? And how to tackle the above 2 Risk Factors.
Can we write to the Credit Bureau in advance, explaining our situation. But don't know - whether it is possible or not. What action we can take against a Collection Agency - if they bother us, since it is a disputed amount.
If the matter is taken to the Court by either them or us - how expensive it is to fight a Legal battle (Average Monthly). Any Ideas. We would avoid but it may get into a Legal Battle - never know. Money is not the most important issue here.
Your responses & advices are most welcome.
Regards

My suggestion would be to get your apartment professionally cleaned by a professional cleaning services company. Keep the receipt to show that you have had the apartment professionally cleaned before departure. Your responsibility is the maintenance of your apartment and you should leave it in impeccable condition. You can also ask for them to do a walk-through of your apartment in your presence. If you wish you may hire a real-estate lawyer to represent you at the walk-through so that they are not able to come up with false charges for damages.

If you are renting in another area, they will definitely call your previous landlord for reference - that will give him your new address. If you are moving to an ownership this doesnt apply.

If they come up with a large damage list, they will need to itemize the damages. You can review which of them were pre-existing (you have already documented this in a letter to the President) and the ones which are not pre-existing you will need to pay.

If it goes to a collection agency, you will receive a call from the agency. At which time you need to tell the agency the amount that is in dispute (you are responsible for immediately paying the amount that is NOT in dispute). Collection agency cannot notify a credit bureau as long as the item is under dispute (its still a good idea, though, to check with all the credit bureaus) and the undisputed portion has been paid. Collection agency is not a dispute-resolving agency and you will need to work with your landlord to mediate a settlement on the dispute portion.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this is not to be construed as legal advice. The above reflects my understanding of a tenants rights and obligations - different laws may apply in your case from provincial considerations.

Three issues can be identified in this case:

1. Damage / deficiency which was caused by you,
This can be:
a. What you can easily set right e.g. cleaning up
b. What you cannot easily set right, for these your would be ready to pay.

2. Damage / deficiency that is disputed due to no joint inspection at time of occupation.
a. Did you have any copy of letter you gave to landlord/super for setting things right just after you occupied?
b. Was there any list of fittings/fixtures given in contract or at time of occupation which you can use as the base-line?

3. Damage / deficiency you fear landlord/super will claim unjustifiably once you vacate:
a. You can take photographs/video of entire apartment with date stamp/newspaper so that in case of dispute you can cite evidence.
b. You can have detailed move-out joint inspection. Just remember that all normal wear and tear cannot be recorded as damage. Only damage should be recorded. If he records any damage which, to your mind, is not justified or had existed before you took over, you must record it in writing on the report itself before you both sign it.

Just remember, litigation is very expensive and time consuming. In final analysis it is better to pay up a reasonable sum. Do not worry about 20% here or there.

You may like to call a friend to be around as a witness to whole thing.

If you end up paying more, just think it is price of experience. No one is perfect. These things do happen.

Thanks Canadian Dream & LD.
Your words carry a lot of insight. It will definitely help me prepare better.

Can you tell us the name/address of the building? That will warn CDs who are planning on renting in that building

What is important here is that, we have to be very careful and rent, 'only' after a good referral. Keep all written correspondences and receipt of any letters given. If there is a genuine concern - then the Police will react appropriately.
Generally, Building Managers think they are Bosses because of their nuisance value (and many people are scared of that). But, it is also not easy to harass a tenant. One should read their 'Tenant Agreement' as well as the relevant sections of the 'Tenancy Protection Act'. Going to the 'Media' can also be effective as these companies are concerned of their Investor Relations - like City TV Helpline, CBC Consumer Alert - haven't researched yet but think will definitely work.

Raking up this 4 yr old thread , since I did not wish to start a new one .

Who is responsible for what in the maintenance in the Apartment ?

We have moved into an Apartment on a one year lease and have the following observations on which I d like to take the expert opinion of CD s .

a. Is the unit to be repainted before a new occupant moves in ? I know they don't do it later when you continue living ?

b. If some of the ceilings / walls have painting issues , isn't that the landlord's responsibility ?

c. The air vents are dirt clogged ... The super mentioned we would have to get them done ourselves but I am not convinced since it shows that the vents have not been cleaned for quite some time ..

d. The windows do not open smoothly as the insides have paint and dirt -- isn't that the responsibility of the landlord as well ?

e. They told us they don't get the window glasses cleaned even even a new tenant moves in -- is that a norm ?

I have written to them twice and will follow it up again but also wish to take CDs opinion on this ..to understand who is responsible for what in an Apartment ..

Lastly --- I ve noticed that windows have only one layer of glass as opposed to two layers that we have had in the past .... Is it not mandatory to have 2 layers of glasses in windows during winter ?

Please share your opinion .

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Fido.