# Tenant from hell story - from Berubeland



## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

The last of the "tenant from hell" trilogy...it's a good one!

http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/landlord-tenant-eviction/


----------



## Racer (Feb 3, 2010)

Fabulous article, I posted the link on facebook. I think I peed my pants a little, laughing.


----------



## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Stripper with dirty feet sounds far worse, I must say.


----------



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

There's a couple extra funny things that happened around this story. 

The lady who rented the apartment actually got a promotion a few days later. She actually became my boss. I came into the office and she told me to do something because she was now my supervisor. Instead of doing it I went home. That was the first time I quit that job. 

The second funny thing surrounds my own thoughts surrounding the disposal of the "device" When I heard we weren't renting the suite because no one would touch it. I actually got upset about how stupid the whole thing was. Then I went and threw the damn thing down the chute. I was marching back down to the office to tell the guy I took care of it, when I thought...Wait I don't want anyone else to know that I'll deal with this kind of crap. That's why I didn't tell anyone. When the maintenance guy assumed someone stole it, that was funny as hell. I was expecting him to ask me if I knew what happened to it but instead he went off about thievery. 

Stealing in buildings is always a problem mostly because staff is paid very low wages and has wide access to apartments and money. Later on for instance several hundred dollars went missing a few times from our office. I heard the accountant was dismissed later, but I doubt he did it. The maintenance guy was also accused of taking kickbacks and fired.


----------



## chaudi (Sep 10, 2009)

"I originally rejected this post and then decided to run it – then I rejected it again and finally decided again to publish it"

gee i wonder why?

"I dig deeper, it turns out she gave the guy a break because he just got out of the mental hospital and he needed a place to stay right away. "

Do you always attack mental ill people like this? Calling them the tenent from hell? Discrimination is illegal in Canada.


----------



## iherald (Apr 18, 2009)

chaudi said:


> Discrimination is illegal in Canada.


She rented the apartment to him. How is it discrimination?


----------



## chaudi (Sep 10, 2009)

you should read the story harold,
"The Brush Off

I break the news to him. You’re not moving back in here. You caused thousands in damage with your flood. I hand him the check and tell him to take his stuff. He gets really mad at the rental agent and starts screaming at her. I tell him it’s time to go and he leaves. He doesn’t take any belongings and never came back."

In otherwords, they sign a lease with him, at least agreed in principle" *There is a receipt for payment of first and last. *", took his money, then decided to '_kicked to the curb.'_
because:
1) he has psychiatric problems 
2) he has a some sort of dildo
3) he's a" obese, middle-aged men"
This is not only illegal but a violation of human rights. 
You can not discriminate against someone because they are sick, have certain tastes or sexual habits, or even if they are obese or middle aged


----------



## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I'm pretty sure you are allowed to discriminate against tenants who cause floods.


----------



## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

FP-I don't find the article offensive in any way. Actually thought it was a little silly that someone didn't just put on some gloves, and throw it out (with the gloves).

I would argue that you should re-read the article chaudi.

The soon to be tenant was not officially a tenant yet, as his contract had not begun and as stated had not been signed. Therefore no agreement. Take that to court if you like, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on without signed agreement. The LL showed compassion and was kind enough to let him stay there early.

The soon to be tenant, had caused a water leak that interfered with the reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit, otherwise they would not have received a call about a water leak in the middle of the night. Interference with another tenants reasonable enjoyment of their unit is grounds for eviction.

The almost tenant was given his deposit back.

Also, as stated thousands of dollars of damage were done. Perhaps the gentleman should be happy that the LL did not seek compensation through the court system for the damages caused.

As per your comments: 

'1) he has psychiatric problems
2) he has a some sort of dildo
3) he's a" obese, middle-aged men"
This is not only illegal but a violation of human rights.
You can not discriminate against someone because they are sick, have certain tastes or sexual habits, or even if they are obese or middle aged'

1) the intent to lease was made, however not followed through on, as the applicant had not signed the lease, so if intent to lease was made, knowing his condition, eviction for the same reasons would be difficult to prove in court or a rental housing tribunal.

2) who cares, the dildo didn't do the water damage and pass out.

3) see # 1 response.

No human rights were violated and you know it. It is an unfortunate situation for all parties involved, the LL does not have a paying tenant now, and has thousands of dollars in repairs to pay for, and the applicant does not have a roof over his head. The LL is not running a charity and does not have to provide accommodations for anyone who is down and out. 

Perhaps the LL could be found guilty of discrimination if he allowed someone to move in without a signed lease, who continued to interfere with the reasonable living expectations of other tenants, to live in his building with a different set of rules than the other tenants had to abide by. But he didn't.

Call it what you like, but no human rights were violated, nor was anything illegal done. If anything, it can be argued that compassion was shown to allow him to move in immediately.

Now this is ironic, but to give you an example of what would be considered as discrimination, would be your thoughts/comments on another RE thread in regards to renting to students.

http://www.canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php?t=2987&page=2


----------



## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I suspect there is a knee jerk response to the fact that he has a mental illness. Landlords are not charities. They had legal grounds to 'evict' him (they actually just rescinded their offer for a lease agreement), as he was interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of the property and causing damage to the property, both of which are legitimate grounds for eviction. The specific situation he was found in is not really relevant to the decision to 'evict' him, but just some flavour to the story. I imagine the mental illness and substance abuse issues are just some explanations for why he was disturbing the reasonable enjoyment of the property. The same would go for hoarders, etc.

This sounds like a guy who needs more support (from society/government) than just being dumped on the street. That he was just dumped on the street is appalling. His substance abuse problem was apparently going untreated and he was without any support living arrangements. I think the way he was dealt with was appropriate, as it is not the responsibility of landlords to accommodate tenants that disturb others and damage property. That's a social responsibility.


----------



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

Chaudi,

One of the commenters on the story had a good point about our cultural bias against TMI. 

His mental illness or his sexual escapades were not the reason he was kicked out, the flood and the four floors of damages were.

If you read an earlier story about a 96 year old favorite of our staff she was also kicked out after flooding a few floors below and setting her socks on fire by drying them in her oven because they were wet. 

The issue at hand is truly that severely dysfunctional people are ill suited to communal living. Other residents have rights related to their health and safety. Furthermore the government can make all the laws they want about discrimination, they are not at all willing to house these poor people themselves in either subsidized housing or mental hospitals.

Barbara Hall was on a number of these committees and was instrumental in bringing about the legislative changes. How many mentally ill tenants does she house? I'm sure she could find a room for the poor tenant evicted for scaling 6 floors with a knife in his teeth who went into another tenants apartment via the balcony and said "Sorry I thought you were the police, You're not the police" He then climbed back down the 6 floors to his own apartment. You too could offer up your home. 

Put your money and your house where your mouth is.


----------



## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

If someone with mental problems is left to take care of himself and found floating on a mattress pad in a flooded apartment, without knowing or reporting that something is wrong, they can not properly take care of them selves. What if that started an electrical short? What about mould growth, bacteria and other hazards if left alone in the apartment? Landlords could not be liable or responsible for this. That is not discrimination. For his own safety, kicking him out put him puts him in the right direction. The apartment building was not a mental hospital or supervised home.


----------



## Scottlandlord (May 27, 2010)

What's that old movie line by Dennis Hopper? The 90's are going to make the 50's look like the 60's.

There are so many 'Tenant from Hell' stories in Ontario now that new Tenant from Hell stories make old Tenant from Hell stories look like pretty decent tenant experiences.

About this lady who has a driver and a Bentley!

http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/michele_mandel/2010/08/20/15092061.html


----------



## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Intresting...the link to the sun page....and your website have the same article.


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We had our apartments completely remodeled 5 years ago. Four years ago, the tenant across moved out after one year and the remodelers were back. They showed me the place. It was a disaster. Drawings on all the walls, floors needed resanding. And it was a young family with 2 little girls.


----------



## Scottlandlord (May 27, 2010)

Cal said:


> Intresting...the link to the sun page....and your website have the same article.


It's not my website. I'm just a member, and proud to be one!

However, the Sun story is a great warning to landlords and should be required reading for all landlords in Ontario.

Please note that former Adjudicator Harry Fine (who is quoted in the Sun article) is a member of www.ontariolandlords.ca

So you might be able to see a connection, eh??!


----------

