The reason I have been served an eviction notice is because I refuse to recognize the Owner’s choice for a new caretaker of this building, being 68 Mecklenburg Street.. (Charlene Bastarache)
she moved into the basement Apartment in November and one of the first things she did that was an early warning sign to me that this girl has no experience with negotiating skills.
My Friend and ex boss who owns his own home off of our shared driveway (Alleyway) between the buildings had asked me if I could do a repair for him in his basement and had gone out to get what I needed to help him, He returned with the material and was going back out to leave for the day to his uptown business, He came back in and showed me a scribbled note on a beat up old dirty envelope ( Pictured here)
And asked me if I knew what that was about, I told him I wasn’t sure but I would ask,, That’s when I found out Charlene not only moved into our building but had struck a deal with the owner to be caretaker and get a little off of her rent.
Then in January she rented her first empty apartment, She assured us( the tenants) this was a great person as she had known him for a short time.
Once he moved into his One bedroom apt. so did his many friends morning noon and night.
Needless to say the community put two and two together quite quickly.
Now, When Charlene realized what kind of a situation she was in, it was panic time, she was coming up to my place to talk to me and asking for advice along with the tenant in apt 4 and my friend from next door to go over what her options might be, this went on for a while.
Finally I had to stop and point out to her that when I found out that she took the job of caretaker, I had told her then that she certainly did not understand who she was going to be working for but that she will very quickly and that I certainly knew what I’m talking about after dealing with this man for the past nine years as caretaker and the many nightmares that ensued of which I was now no longer a part of and that I will not be her shoulder to lean on.
A couple of us tenants emailed our discontent to the owner of this property,( Mr Euclid Ouelette )of Quispamsis to which we got no reply.
By this time anybody that was anybody in the area knew what was happening and things weren’t going so well for Charlene either.
Things started getting a little testy with her and our new tenant.
She was trying unsuccessfully to find reasons to get him back out of our building and needless to say she was getting very nervous as this started unfolding, At one point she had asked my friend to walk her back down stairs past their apt as well as asked me if I could keep a record of those who were coming and going as well as any conversations we might be able to hear in the hallway because she was now afraid for her safety.
(( Oh,, during this time the owner had decided to take a bit of a vacation in Florida where they have their trailer of which seemed to be coincidental in the past every time there was an impending disaster about ready to erupt when I was caretaker as well))
Anyhow words were exchanged numerous times and meanwhile the traffic was non-stop.
One day she came to tell us that she thinks she found a way to get him out and that if it didn’t work she just wanted to get the F&*k out of here as she was now worrying about her safety all the time.
And she said her life was worth a little more than a couple dollars a month off of her rent.
( Myself I think it was the first time it warmed up and he found out his bedroom ceiling leaked that got him to leave) He came to my door to ask me if I was running water upstairs but I told him I’m not over top of his apt. but that the roof over that apt has leaked off and on somewhere along the adjoining building off and on for years and every once and awhile Euclid would smear a little tar on the areas he thought might be leaking.
Also there has been a rule in place that there is to be NO DOGS in this building but she was allowed to bring her dog as a deterrent for early warning of someone around her doors because of her suspicions of her new tenant
To add to this, Her duties were to keep the halls clean but that only happened when Euclid was coming over for rents, other then that they looked like hell for another month and a half or so.
Also as some of you readers know my daughter had broken her leg over the holidays and we live on the third floor, the snow had started building up over Dec, Jan, until it accumulated into a large layer of ice across the entire front entrance but Charlene’s answer to that was she went out with a shovel, tapped on the ice and basically decided it was too hard and the fact that the number of people coming in and out of her new tenants apt meant there might be an altercation out front so there was nothing she could do about it.
Along with other things that will just take too much time to type. Including asking her numerous times to replace the old smoke detector on the middle floor hallway as I felt this was very important for myself and my daughter to have plenty of reaction time if there is ever a fire because we’re on the top floor and everybody in this building with exception my daughter smokes which scares me a lot on nights I can’t sleep wondering if all will go well for another night.
I also emailed the owner on numerous occasions about that one.
So in taking a stand and not recognizing this woman’s services or title, as well as seeing that Euclid had no intentions of making any real changes for the better for this building to only start going back to the way things were when I first came here back in the nineties.
I emailed the owner and told him I will be trying to contact low income housing as well as my social support worker to try and move out and until such time ((of which I am on the understanding will probably be very soon)), I will only pay him my rent and that this should not be a problem as he has to come and collect the rents from Charlene anyway.
Now this is where we are to this point on the eviction notice.
Tomorrow I will give a brief history of 68 Mecklenburg Street from my view over the past nine years and the unbelievable situations I have been in and have gone through with myself and my children over that period.
lastly I will finish with the final falling out in October of last year that made me break down and exchange a few harsh words and quit as caretaker for Mr. Ouellette and believe me I’m more than within my rights to take the action I have decided to take.*
*((Depending on how this goes will determine how detailed I will get on the above)) I have about 100 pictures of the inside and outside of this building which was part of my conversation with the Rentalman,s office Which went well, They were very good to me, they treated me with respect and fair time ((2 Hours to explain my side of the story)) I will say that the word Inspector came up more than once but that will come on the next write up.....
At this time I will say I’m quite nervous of change and hope it will be the start of something positive after this past ten years with this building and it’s owner as well as the very hard times and changes with my kids and my addiction with vlts I will send along a few pictures of better times in the past and in the end I just ask that those of you who can be a little cold on the comments to not be so quick to condemn me as this is indeed a step into the unknown for me as it has been a very long time in this one.
For example I read a comment in the previous posting on this issue and it said something like,,, So what,, if you can pay your rent then just pay it and move on. or if you have the money then just move, but it is that sort of down look on those of us struggling to get some sort of dignity and gratification back out of life and to try and increase our outlook to a better start to a better and equal place, those sort of statements set those of us back by years so I don’t mind saying after all I’ve been through I am a little scared of change because I never know whether it will be a good thing in the end or just another one to add to my “I guess I saw that coming pile...Thanks...
Timothy Smith
Saint John N.B.
18 comments:
Oppssss???? I don't know where the word cry baby got under Tim's picture.
Sorry about that!!!
This is well done and nicely detailed. Good luck with this Tim. I wish you success with this issue and thanks for bringing people like this to light it might help in the push for harder laws on responsible renting.
After all it is a business and the rentees are their main investment I hope your able to get a new unit and a new start, you seem to be a good person in a bad situation.
say hi to your daughter for me.
hope to see more on this story
looks like he burnt the midnight oil on this one.
I would like to thank MLA Dr.Doherty for calling from the Legislature this morning on this.
I remember hearing that somewhere in Saint John is a low income housing co-op. I researched them long ago, they are common in the states and ontario, but the government funds a program where tenants 'purchase' a building so that their government cheques help build equity. I remember reading that there was a project in Saint John, but couldn't find it. It's always a shame to see $550 go to a slumlord when it would purchas e half a duplex.
It's worth trying to find some information on this.
OK first, It's been a very long day and my feet are killing me.
I would like to take a second to Thank Mrs. Anne Marie Mullen for her undivided attention and interest in this issue.
Next I would also like to thank Mrs. Grozik of Non-Profit housing for her understanding and help with this as well, they both have been a lot of help.
Besides that I will try and focus again tonight to give a brief history of the many different situations I have been through and or have dealt with over those years and have it ready for print in the morning.....
Again I would really like to thank those of you who have shown a little compassion for this issue and maybe just maybe together we might be able to wake those who have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to people like Euclid and also Mr.Singh but that one is a later issue.
(Charlie Knows this one)
I believe there will be a few people reading this issue over the weekend as I have had quite a few ask me for this site address...So I guess I must also thank my friend Charlie for letting me use this site to bring this to the forfront.
Tim I have read your blogs in the past but this,,,,,,,,Well this was very well put together.I don't know about the others but I know I will be here in the morning to read on-best of luck
Although your story is long and soulful the bottom line is you received an eviction notice because you failed to pay your rent. Deciding not to pay the person rightly charged to collect that money was your choice and as such you are in fact the ultimate cause of your own eviction. It counts for little that you had the rent monies, you simply refused to pay.
If the price you are willing to pay for what you suggest are your principals is loosing your apartment then it seems you have won, congratulations.
Like Charles postings this is bigger than Tim Smith. This is a person who is willing to go public with what is wrong with NB landlords. There's a reason why slumlords was the main issue in the Saint John by-election, and that legislation is still gathering dust as well. If you live in a house you simply do not understand what it is like to live in an apartment, let alone on a fixed budget with little power.
Tim has an entire tale to tell about this house. I spoke to him one night on the phone and it was just frightening-it sounded like world war three was going on in the background. My biggest concern is that he get a decent place because I am glad he will be out of there-if he does go.
The reality is that Tim's child deserves to be raised in a safe environment, which is difficult with what welfare rates are in NB.
I actually wish Tim would move to Fredericton, I think between him and Charles they could really put fire under legislators. However, here the point is that Tim has many stories to tell about his landowner, and since most of the poor people are too afraid to talk, it is a welcoming sign. I don't remember him asking for anybody's sympathy or even help, he simply has things to say.
And of course since we still don't know the story, its premature to be casting judgements-although judgements are hardly productive or desirable.
Just passing through- The price I'm willing to pay is to expose the frivolous laws we now have in place to deal with landlords like those who hire anybody off the streets to deal with getting them their monthly bankroll at any cost from the disadvantaged locals of these poor areas who think they deserve this type of treatment because they truly think they are insignificant anyway as they are going through their downward spiral, and who truly believe that if they report these types of treatment they're only going to have to move and go through it over and over again because these owners certainly didn't buy these properties to be a part of the community they don't even like coming to their own buildings, So I guess you could say they're similar to you in one respect Their "just passing through"
But that's where the similarities end as I have read some of your much better comments than this one.
My Friend believe me when I say on your way down to the bottom you gain a lot of insight for the realities around you and believe me it's nothing like cable t.v.
The climb back is not a simple task and for people like my landlord or this caretaker to add their rain down on you, for some that can finish them off as far as any sense of dignity they will ever have again..
Please be light on those who have fallen at least until they get back on equal ground.
I seriously do not believe you think it's OK for someone to be evicted for caring about their security and well being over the nightmare it takes to put a drug dealer or a junkie back out of these buildings.
For someone that can end up stating " And of course since we still don't know the story, its premature to be casting judgements" you sure seem to have no problem giving all the answers.Anonymous 7:48. The simply put anonymous is that THIS particular action (the eviction notice) is straight foreword. If You withhold your rent for what ever reason the Landlord, regardless of what you might think of him has the right to evict.
Mr Smith makes it abundantly clear in the first line of his letter that he refused to pay not because of the long list of grievances he writes in the body of his letter but simply because he has a personal dislike for the building caretaker. The rest of his letter is really nothing more than his side of a rather long story.
The better question might be is why after ten long years is the man still there? Oh yes I know there were those gambling problems and perhaps other things that Mr. Smith has suffered through but apparently those days are gone. It is difficult to raise a child on welfare but it is not as so many in here seem to think impossible to better yourself so don't bother with the excuses that there was no choice. Over ten long years there are always choices and opportunities. While by times you can have reason to blame others for some of your misfortune by and large most is self inflicted. A person might be better served looking at their own actions first.
I didn't see any answers in there. So far we don't even know the questions. "Just Passing" may feel the need to sit in judgement of other people and tell them why they are wrong in everything they do and why they are at fault in everything that happens to them, fortunately he's the only poster doing so so its heartening to see that that is the tiny minority opinion. Every family always has a relative like that, sort of like grandpa Simpsons quote "...and that's whats wrong with Bart's generation, now, as for your generation..."
That's JP's right, we have freedom of speech and he should thank Charles that he actually has a popular soapbox where he can preach at poor people as to why they deserve their lot in life and why they should shut up about it because its all 'straight forward'.
We know that the Residential Tenants Act was designed partly, if not mainly to deal with slumowners. We know that it hasn't been enacted. So contrary to what JP states, we know that this isn't 'straightforward'. Not by a long shot, so we're looking forward to hearing lots more on this Tim. It will have served a valuable purpose if it at least gets focus onto the Residential Tenants Act and gets the government in gear to do something about it.
Dear anonymous 10:31, its not passing judgement its called my opinion. That you don't agree frankly means very little to me. (I have no doubt you feel the same) Just have the decency to admit that they are opinions not judgements as that is simply a cowardly way to dismiss and belittle opinions that you happen to disagree with.
Mr. Smith- I do not dispute the fact that there is need for changes. I am sure it is a worthy endeavour for you and others especially with your first hand experience. What I do not agree with is the way this post and the one Charles posted previously that suggests this eviction notice is related to the fight you want to fight. You received an eviction notice because you failed to pay your rent. You knew that would be the result. You if anyone knew what the rules say.
I am sure that you also know that regardless of what happens down the road in relation to changes to the "Residential Tenants Act" non-payment of rent will always be cause for eviction. Its completely possible that someone might withhold payment for the expressed of being evicted.But the reason for the eviction is still non-payment.
You know as well as I that many landlords do not pick up their rent in person. Landlords can own so many apartments that indeed I doubt they have ever been an many of them more than a few times. That's just a fact of life these days. For the many years that I rented I had to drive to his residence to pay my rent each month. Having someone in the same building would have been a pleasure not a method to make one feel insignificant.
I applaud your desire to fight for something better, I just don't believe your eviction is the place to start.
j,p,t your missing the point here I'm NOT refusing to pay the rent even the rentalsman's office understands that part.
I refuse to pay the rent through the new (((SO CALLED )) caretaker we are currently trying to work that part out I am going to write another piece about those meetings that have taken place yesterday
I was going to do it last night but was just tooooo drained from this.
I have a guaranteed home for Aug 1st, I'll put it together soon.
Thanks for your input I certainly agree on healthy debate and do not take it personally.
I think you will like my next piece, I am too low on energy to waste it on arguments or fighting.
My big thing at this time in my life is that of "Negotiator" it solves a lot more than barking out personal tantrums that never go anywhere.
As we know things like this are a lot deeper than arguing out who is right in a day it takes time to look at all sides to come to a workable solution. Again....Thanks Timothy Smith
P.S. J,P,T, Sorry I didn't read the whole thing on your last comment but I just did, OK- Number one I have worked for this person for a very long time but I'm trying to keep that part out of this issue I will put it in it's own context very soon but for now I have decided it's best for all to stick only to this issue on the blog but you really don't understand all of this,
I will tell you this if you would like to take advantage of my phone number being posted on this blog and you want a little more of this story than what I'm able to print at this time then by all means pick up the phone and call me anytime later this evening and I'll give just you a little more insight on who we are dealing with and I,m willing to bet your next comment will be a little different.
Perhaps I am missing the point Mr. Smith, It wouldn't be the first time. But to be fair to a certain extent you are splitting hairs when you say you did not "refuse" to pay your rent. Either you did our you didn't pay and I can only assume that the pictures of two months rent in this blog show you did not. All I am saying is that to suggest the fact that you received an eviction notice out to be some despicable act in this particular instance is unfair. That does not mean that this landlord is any better than the slumlord you came him to be. Nor does it mean I don't believe that changes are needed in the system. It just means that I expect a greater degree of honesty and integrity in those that are fighting for a fairer system.
So I believe you when you say the rentals-man's office "understands" why you didn't pay your rent. But that is not the same as saying the rentals-man says what I did was right or that they believe the eviction notice was not valid. That you and others are working towards an understanding to make your transition to your new place possible (and I assume that means staying put until that time) does show that cooler heads can prevail. If that is the case then it does show that frank and honest discussion must work by times after all.
I will look forward to your next piece in hopes that it does prove I indeed have missed the point. But I also hope you can see mine.
As to your offer anonymous I thank you but will wait on Mr. Smiths further comments. I would ask you to bear in mind though that when one comments on postings on places such as this the opinions should only be considered in that narrow context. I understand and appreciate you may have more insight into the bigger picture at a personal level. I only ask that you to keep in mind my comments are directed towards this small sliver of the big picture and should only be viewed in that context. For me to assume anything more than is presented would be verging on passing judgement.
oppps J.P.T I was annon I thought I put my name there...sorry about that
Some people have a lot to say; they know nothing about the real facts. Unless they have any real suggestions why add extra stress making lame comments. Tim has gone public because he had advice and probably met a brick wall. Unless you live in his shoes you really don't know.
Tim will be better off somewhere else but if it doesn't get resolved someone else will have the same problem. Someone has to try to change how the system is right now so stop knocking an honest person.
There are many more terrible stories to tell but people fear for their safety or life and a roof over their heads. With limited income many have to put up with a lot of crap.
Things have to change and as quick as the city changes the laws to charge landlords for infractions that is not enough. People have no where to turn and go to anyone for help. Look how most people jumped on Tim for speaking out!
Post a Comment