A Burnaby landlord who operates multiple illegal suites is trying to punish one of the tenants who complained about a lack of hot water.
And she is trying to hide behind the City of Burnaby to cover her cowardice.
This all comes in the wake of the city apologizing for sending five inspectors to the home to inspect the illegal suites, a story the NOW covered here.
But since the city apologized, the tenant has told the NOW that this “scumlord” has informed her and her mother, who are both disabled, that she is removing the washing machine, despite a lease agreement promising in-home laundry being available.
The tenant has detailed how the home has constantly had a shortage of hot water for laundry and for showering and cleaning. The tenant was told to “stop complaining.”
Now the laundry is set to be removed and the landlord is blaming the city inspectors saying it must be taken out.
“The landlord advised us yesterday that she needed to remove our washing machine ‘right away’ and said it was because ‘the inspector’ said so and that they will ‘keep coming back,’” the tenant told the NOW. “I asked her for proof that this was necessary and she would not provide it. The washing machine, however, was included in our tenancy agreement which therefore makes it a material term. Furthermore, the City made absolutely no mention of this in their correspondence with me.”
The tenant says the action appears to also be revenge for the inspectors arriving in the first place.
“(The letter from the city) very clearly stated that it was a neighbour who complained about the illegal suites and that said complaint was based off a real estate listing. Then, yesterday, the landlord accused us of being the ones who complained to the City when that couldn’t be further from the truth. What she did was outright slander.”
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
