landlord issues/renovations to my apartment (help)??

[sans.terre]

Hey gang,

Maybe some of you have had issues here? i'm in Ontario if that makes a diff.
I've been away for a few months and come back to my place to find the landlord has torn the washroom out. There's construction shit everywhere. Drywall plaster on all our dishes, etc. Kitchen is unusable, there's no shower or sink or toilet.

Paid full months rent. What are my rights here?

I've got to be fit/ready for work in the morning and fucker is in here sawing ceramic tiles in my kitchen.
Wtf? Does anyone have experience with this?

What actions do i take? Wrote landlord. She said "sorry. it needed to be done"

[Sebastian]

Same situation happened to my girl and I when our new apartment was still being renovated when we moved in.  Landlord (whom I'd already known for awhile, i.e., it was very easy to work something out) waived our rent for the first month.  I'd not settle for anything less than that.

I have no idea what your course of action would be in the case that she doesn't agree to that, however, since I don't live in Canada.

[Cole]

They should have notified you that the reno's were going to happen on x date for y long. Not entirely sure what your possible options are, but dig through the Landlord-Tenant Act and see if it mentions anything. Failing that, call the Landlord-Tenant Board.

[Zoidberg]

Check your contract first but it seems like a massive invasion of privacy plus I THINK landlords need to give 24 hours notice minimum if they want to swing by.

Check your contract tho.

[Kinchy]

If you've been away for a few months, perhaps they tried to contact you already?

[Alex.]

Sorry but this is hilarious to me.

I can only imagine what was running through your mind as you get home to find everything in shambles.

[LukeTom]

Hi, law student in England (So don't take my advice as being completely right because your in Canada). Look through your residential agreement, if you don't have it, your landlord/letting agency should be able to provide you with one. Look for something along the lines of landlords obligations to the tenant. It should say something along the lies of if your house is un-liveable/in disrepair then the landlord will reimburse you for the money and find you alternative accommodation. Also they almost always require notice to come into your property, which again will be in your residential agreement.

Good Luck! hopefully it dosen't take too long to sort out!

(again, this is only advice and if you want to actualy take any proceedings dont rely on it! usually some solicitors offer a 15 minute free advice service or if you have a citizens bearu they can help)

[master]

Piss on your landlord to establish dominance.

[KillSeth]

Sooooooo, probably safe to say you don't have a traditional lease agreement?

[badlight]

After reading your last post, all I have to say is 'Good Luck'. Youre going to need it. There is some type of board or committee or something that handles landlord/tenant disputes. Did you sign a lease or have any paper trail at all as far as rental agreement/rent goes? Also, LL is supposed to give 24 hours notice before they are allowed to enter, as others have said. In Ontario, the LL can pretty much put whatever they want in the lease, but if any of it is contradictory to the Tenant Act it is more or less meaningless(pets, security deposit, etc). Give these guys a call and see what your options are : http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/

Even if you dont have a traditional lease, you still have rights. From the sounds of it though, this guy is a bit of a slumlord, so once again, good luck.

[ginger]

There should be a tribunal/ombudsman for this kind of thing BUT if you live in a crack den, ain't nobody gonna help you.

[Tony Harrison]

It is probably an implied term regardless of the contract that the landlord must give you 24 hours notice before entering the property as this would amount to the landlord impeding on your exclusive possession of the property.

I don't really see what remedy you could seek here. As the work has already started, you can't ask them to stop because you will still be without a washroom.

It might be worth trying to negotiate a reduced rent payment for next month due to the disruption, starting any legal proceedings would probably prove to be  costly and even more of a disruption than this current problem.

In essence, buy some earplugs and a washbowl.

[Alex.]

I'd make them give me a free market month of rent. They need to at least give you a heads up.

[JFax]

ombudsman

Such a weird word to adopt from Swedish, up there together with Smorgasbord.

Anyway; If you live with like 10 other dudes the landlord must have given at least one of your crackhead-chums a notice, no?

[ginger]

I think moped is also of Swedish origin.