Some landlords are happy to make a buck without providing any service
by katlyn richardson, contributor
I have lived in rentals all my life and in several different cities. As an adult, I have rented twice with two vastly different experiences. I have been renting from my current landlord for almost 3 years now with a small break in between as I rented a house with friends. That house had a horrible landlord. If anything needed fixing, it took weeks to get things even looked at, and getting them fixed was a completely different battle.
This landlord also would get mad if you dared to hold them to the lease agreement and the Tenant Act for the province. When I broke the lease early because that house became a nightmare quickly, the landlord did everything to cause problems, including standing at a cat litter box and complaining it smelled of cat potty when my cat had hopped out of the litter box in front of them. We also had issues where we couldn’t get the front door to open, which made the place extremely unsafe. When we left, they did everything to keep the damage deposit and I didn’t even bother fighting it because any amount of money to never deal with them again was worth every penny.
My current landlord is honestly the best landlord, and extremely fair to tenants to the point that in the last two years only one suite has changed renters. This landlord is quick to fix anything, only asks for a heads-up if rent will be late, and makes sure there are no issues for tenants. Also, because the building only has six suites, we get free laundry services. Around the holidays, we all get wished a happy holidays and are checked in with at different times to see if anything is needed. Quite honestly the experience here should be the norm for renters. When we had cockroaches in the building, the landlord tried every method he could until I told him how they manage it in huge buildings in Toronto, and while it was a pain to get the gel because nowhere in Regina sells it, it almost immediately cut down on the roaches seen when it was used. When my cats had nearly caught a mouse, my landlord was quick to seal up entrances for them.
Landlords like my current one are rare and typically only found if someone rents from a family member or close family friend. These landlords shouldn’t be so rare, but they unfortunately are. My landlord being so good actually has me unsure if I will ever move unless under some miracle I can buy a house or my landlord mentions having a different house for rent. While I am mindful that my landlord has profited off the need for people to have shelter, that doesn’t stop them from sometimes actually treating tenants like people. I know some places are absurdly priced, like $1,200 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. A rent cap would help, but I feel like more restrictions need to be put on landlords to take proper care of their rental properties so that less renters are forced to pay $1,000+ per month to a landlord who only cares about whether they can continue to rent out places while doing the absolute bare minimum the law tells them to.
