Editor:
Get all the details in writing. That is my advice to anyone who is trying to find a new place to rent.
I had a bad experience with a landlord in Burnaby and now that I’ve found a new place to live I’m going to share it. I guess it’s my fault because I didn’t make sure the lease had every little detail exactly spelled out.
The place I moved into had access to a laundry room in a house near Metrotown. The landlord lived upstairs. The laundry room had a door on our side that I could enter to wash clothes for me, my boyfriend and our son.
Our son is like most little boys. He loves playing outside and getting dirty and my boyfriend works construction. They both get pretty dirty and so I have to wash a lot of clothes. We also like fresh sheets so I wash them a lot too.
But my landlord said I did too many loads of laundry each day and that I was “abusing” the privilege and so he blocked the door we used to access the laundry room by nailing it from the other side. He said it was costing too much in utilities, which was a flat rate in the lease.
Then he told me that our lease agreement didn’t actually say laundry was included and he was right. He said it verbally and I took him as his word.
I vowed to not make that mistake again and in our new place – not in Burnaby – I got every little detail listed.
Sara Wilson, Fraser Valley
