My landlord threw out my dishes and dvds. He isn't even ALLOWED inside my house according to the contract. He's been doing a never-ending list of really horrible things. I went to speak to the housing people in MUSC basement but they made it seem like it was my fault. I'm frustrated. If I were to break the contract at all I would be sued, so then why is he allowed to break the contract several times? Who am I to talk to?

Here's a list of tenants' resources, along with the Tenants' hotline. http://hamilton.ontariotenan ts.ca/

I would also recommend seeking the assistance of a lawyer, most likely through your parents or relatives for consultation purposes as this matter now involves the destruction of personal property.

I've dealt with crappy landlords before (at an unnamed student condo building *cough*) so I empathize entirely, and this one, if you'll excuse my language, sounds like a total douche.

have you tried talkin with him?

I have tried to speak to him before. I tried to scare him by telling him I would sue him but he said something about me being a woman and stupid. He's very... old fashioned? I've only got a month left but I'm really sick of him. He's been so mean to me to the point where I've cried. I'll probably go on MacShare, I think that's what it's called and make sure people don't rent from him. He has screwed over EVERY person who has rented a room. He's really mean to Asians and women and if you're an Asian Woman he'll treat you even worse. the sad part is that he actually likes me compared to my other housemates.

But I'd like to thank you both for your help!

that's so sad.. one of the reasons why i am still sticking to residence, but i prb will go off campus in the future.
sueing. that can be an option but then you'll need to have proof and stuff. or write a letter to him indicating the problem, showing that you did tell him and stuff. but then that gets so complicated.. you only have one month left.. i guess just live wth it for a bit longer.. definately let ppl know about it! is it macshare? i dont' rmb. hope everything gets a bit bteter from here...

Unfortunately a lot of landlords assume students don't know their rights. And in an awful lot of cases, students don't. If you read the landlord tenant act it is full of jargon and can be quite confusing. That being said, read up on what your rights are, and see if they have been broken.

Also, a landlord does have the right to enter a house without giving twenty-four hours notice (written or verbal) if they have just cause (ie there is visible damage to the house), or if someone lets them in when they knock on the door.

When I talked to the Director of OCRC last year he was nothing but helpful. I gave him my (now previous) landlord's name and apparently had heard complaints previously.

Did he give a reason for throwing these things out? It seems like something is missing here... why would he throw those out for no reason if they aren't even his??

He thought I moved out because I was in Mississauga sick all week. I move out in August though, as the lease states and as I've reminded him several times. In fact, in April I found out he sold my room to someone and I yelled at him to get it back. He's also walked into my room twice without my permission and without valid reason.

Danielle, he has never been let in by any of my housemates and he usually comes in to wake us up at 7 am to get our monthly cheques.

Wow, he *thought* you moved out? Thats ridiculous, if the lease was till August you could technically not come to the house at all and still pay rent... just because you aren't there for a week doesn't mean he can start selling the room to someone else or throwing out your things because he 'thinks' you've left.

Were all your payments on time?

Unfortunately I don't know what legal routes you could take. Thankfully you only have a month left, but if you did want to get him in trouble for the aggrevation you've dealt with in the past you'd need proof of some sort... not sure how you'd get it. Do you have proof that he tried to sell your room when you were still occupying it?

He threw out ALL of one of my housemate's belongings because he went home for the weekend.

I made all of my payments MONTHS in advance.

I found out that he tried selling my room while I was occupying it because my housemate told me he entered my room. So, I confronted my landlord who said, "well, you're moving out this week." And I replied, "WHAT?!?! I paid everything up until August! Why would I pay you for everything and then move out months in advance" and then he muttered something.

I'm surprised I've been so calm for the past 10 months.

holy crap...

read that tenants act thing, nicole. This guy does sound like a total douche and you should definitely get things straight with him before he ruins someone else's off-campus experience

So I thought this was just too crappy and decided to look into what I could find..

From the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Act's FAQ, I got this:

Q5: When can a landlord enter my apartment?

A5: Before entering your apartment the landlord or their employee must give you 24 hours written notice of entry giving a reason as well as a time (the time must be between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.). Formerly even under the Tenant Protection Act, the landlord had to have a good reason to come in, such as to make necessary repairs, but now under the Residential Tenancies Act, they can claim it is just to do an No notice is necessary in cases of emergencies, if you give the landlord permission to do so, or in cases where a notice to terminate the lease (by either the tenant or landlord) has been given.

So, he's definitely breaking the law by going in at 7.. especially on a regular basis.... i'll look into it more

Check out your actual lease Nicole. You could probobly nail him a few times if he's violated things on his own lease lol. What a douche indeed. Do you know if he's been like this in the past? You could use that against him as well.

I did that already. I found 5 violations, I believe. He's been like this with everyone this year that I've lived with. However, before I moved in the guy didn't say anything bad about the landlord but all he said were that it was close to campus and big rooms which is completely true. But once I moved in my housemate said she'd been living there for 3 months and he was really mean. I, at that point, thought he was really nice. Boy, she was right!

Thank goodness for MacShare