You can’t really choose your neighbours. They are who they are – sometimes good, sometimes bad.
But if you have an absentee landlord, it can make the whole neighbour thing really tough to deal with if there’s ever a problem.
Like a monster tree that is out of control.
I was contacted by a North Burnaby resident who was struggling with an irritating situation during the past few months.
He doesn’t want his name used so I’m respecting that. He’s an octogenarian and empty-nester who was unhappy with his neighbour’s trees.
The monster tree in the front had grown well over the property line and the one in the back had done the same, as well as getting “hazardously close to our BC Hydro lines.”
It’s not the worst situation in the world, but when this senior tried to contact his neighbour, he discovered the owner is absent and so there is no mechanism for getting the situation dealt with in a timely fashion.
A City of Burnaby crew had come earlier in the year, but only trimmed the trees on the absentee landlord’s property – not his.
So, he tried again to contact the city as well as members of council, including the mayor.
He pleaded with them to do something because he feared what could happen with the power lines.
This is what is so frustrating with all of these homes being rented out to absentee landlords. Many of them don’t care for their properties, leaving the yards overgrown, garbage piled up and the houses being in general disrepair.
I have watched over the years as the same situation played out at my family home in North Burnaby. I still have friends in the area and they say our old home is a mess because the landlord lives overseas.
So I feel for an octogenarian trying to get some action next door.
The good news is that this morning, I received an email from this kindly old gent saying that he had just heard from the city and they’ve agreed to send a crew to trim the trees – hopefully billing the landowner for the cost.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
