News   Apr 25, 2024
News Roundup for April 25, 2024
 230     0 
News   Apr 25, 2024
How It Started
 444     0 
News   Apr 24, 2024
Latest Iteration of 50 Eglinton West Proposes 46- and 58-Storey Towers
 1.4K     1 

Do I have any rights against lousy property management?

W

Wooba

Active Member
Member Bio
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
316
Reaction score
2
I'm hoping someone here can give me advice. In November I moved into a condo unit in Toronto that I'm renting on a 1 year lease. A couple of weeks after I moved in I had a backup of filthy water through the kitchen sink. Flooding all over the place and soaking the carpet in the adjacent bedroom.
I had the building maintenance guy come up and he helped shop vac it. At that time he told me that I was not the only unit having issues with backups but mine was the first he was aware of the water over flowing the sink.

Long story short, the unit owner had had backup issues in the past but he thought it had been resolved and he claimed that he'd never experienced the water overflowing before.
Before I moved in the unit had been vacant for a time so he could well be telling the truth, however it was very obvious that this flooding had happened several times before based on the condition of the wood under the sink and the bedroom carpet (I did not know why they were in a state when I moved in, the flooding made it obvious).

The unit owner lives abroad and he does seem to be doing the best he can under the circumstances. All we seem to be getting from the property management is excuses like "we're checking the drawings, we're getting quotes, we're having a meeting about it next week, blah, blah, blah". Here it is 3 months later and I'm still having regular (pretty much daily) bouts of water coming into the sink and I just had my third over flow. I've been very patient up to the point but I've absolutely had enough and want this resolved. Is there anything I can do to force the property management company to get this resolved in a timely manner? Am I entitled to any compensation either from them or my landlord (I don't really think it's fair to blame him, but if the chain of command goes through him then so be it).. Do I have any rights here?

Thanks..
 
I really would rather not get into that and just stick to the scope of my questions.

Thanks..
 
You're a renter in a condo, so you probably don't have many options. If you are on a lower floor in a tall high rise, maybe the building's kitchen stacks need to cleaned, it's all the grease, hair and dirty water from the units above that is bubbling up into your sink. Soon, it could burp up from your toilet and from your bathtub. Kitchen stacks should be cleaned at least once a year. Ask a commercial plumber.
Property Management are only the puppets, it's the Board of Directors who govern the corporation and as a renter, you probably aren't entitled to access the Board. Your owner has to put the screws on them. You are not entitled to any rebates or refunds, unless your landlord has a good heart.
 
You can get the owner to allow you to represent him by proxy. There should be a form that you can fill out from the condo corp. Once you have that you are allowed to act as a voice for the owner which allows you full access to the board. Since it's in the owners best interest to get this resolved as well he/she would probably agree to it. And then I would call the management office every day until the matter is resolved.
 
Proxies are only used for certain types of voting and for certain types of meetings, but proxies are not used for representing an owner to the Board or for access to the Board (Ontario Condominium Act 1998). He may be able to get some other type of owner's consent but even then, just because an owner agrees to have the renter represent him, that does not necessarily mean the Board has to accept it or that they will act promptly on the consent or the problem. But I just can't understand why they can't figure out such a basic problem as drain back-up. That is no good.
 
Sorry, I meant a form of power of attourney that is strictly for the situation at hand. This allows you to respond in the stead of the owner for the areas specified in the legal document that would be signed by the owner.
 
Though you are 'only' a renter I think you can insist that you address the next meeting of the Board of Directors - most Boards meet monthly. Despite popular belief, a condo is run by the Board, the Property Manageement company is only their agent and "the buck stops at the Board." If I were you I would write a short note to the Board President or Secretary and copy the owner. I would say that I want to attend the next Board meeting for a short time to discuss the back-flow problem.
 
You have to break your lease and find a new place...there is no compensation for you...however you can apply for breaking your lease or a rent reduction...do you have own insurance? (most tenants don't)

I feel for you because your landlord should be taking care of this for you, so I'm going to give you some steps....I hate teaching this stuff because tenants can abuse the system. But here goes:


1. Document in writing each repair request make sure you include the date. You can also use email but back up with sending the letter in writing...keep a copy for yourself.
2. Ask your landlord you would like to break your lease to find a new place or have a rent reduction for your suffering
3. If they refuse and if problem persists contact Ontario. Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/ieu - 416-585-7214 they will enforce repair orders on your behalf
4. If the repairs are still not completed you could go to a multiple of all the free legal clinics and tenant rights organization that will fight on your behalf free of charge (google problem tenants in ontario..I wrote a blog and I got an ominous threat from an organization called Toronto tenants...ask for Dan, tell him Brian sent you)

Cheers
 
You guys are so nice. It has been 3 months of effluent coming up the guy's sink and all over his carpet. I doubt that the Property Management and the Board are going to get any smarter any sooner, unless the tenant uses some guerilla tactics. There is a beautiful chance this man will have poop foaming up out of his bathtub unless management acts fast. First, a commercial plumber should snake the drain, then maybe the kitchen stacks, and for all we know, it could be a municipal sewage block or slow-down. It has nothing to do with the blueprints or different quotes, they are futzing around, they either don't care or they don't get it, there is a well-known procedure to handle this problem using the process of elimination, but after 3 months, I don't think these clowns get the picture. I would take photos. I would scoop up a bucket of that stuff and unceremoniously give it to the PMC. I would write a note to everyone on my floor and everyone below, asking them if they have had the same problem. I would fax Toronto Public Health. I would fax and visit everyone on Mr Persaud's list. Most of all, I would move out without notice, because I wouldn't care if my owner was on the moon, he's the landlord and he has to do his job. Signed, grumpy.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top