140115 fix it

I wrote the following letter on January 15 and attempted to fax it several times, giving up the next day.

January 15, 2014

Beverly Epstein & Jack Steinman

500-28 Balmoral Avenue

Toronto, ON M4V 1J4

tel: 416-720-3824

fax: 416-901-9513

Sent by fax (http://goo.gl/LtT9MF)

Dear Beverly and Jack,

Re: Suite 306/28, lease of Francois Deribere-Desgardes

I am presently occupying the bachelor suite 306 at 28 Balmoral. The lessee (Francois) has mentioned me in the “notice to mutually end the lease agreement” he has left with the superintendent James, at James’ request, prior to Francois’ departure to Montreal.

I have received the N4 form dated January 8 with a Termination Date of January 21. There seem to be a few misunderstandings:

  1. Mr Deribere-Desgardes assures me that the early Termination Date must be a mistake, since his last month deposit should cover rental of the bachelor apartment until the end of the month (January 31). Please clarify whether this is the case or not.

  2. James the superintendent told us that the lessor is Mr Jack Steinman and he cannot sign anything on his behalf, but I note that the N4 form has both Beverly Epstein & Jack Steinman as landlords (top right corner) and it is only signed by Ms Epstein (at the end). I am thus assuming that you are both, equally, landlords - please correct me if I am wrong.

  3. The unit listed as the landlord address, #500, does not seem to exist - my unit, #3xx, is seemingly on the last floor. Please clarify.

We delivered Francois’ “notice” together and upon delivering it, James told me that if I want to keep the apartment I should let you know. The apartment has potential, but before discussing that possibility, let me take this opportunity to list a number of issues I have identified with this dwelling:

  1. There is a persistent, strong smell of both tobacco and marijuana in the building that is noticeable since entering it and especially on the 3rd and last floor, where unit #306 is located.

  2. I noticed a similar ashtray smell in the apartment. Although I washed and then replaced / removed the curtains and most everything else liable to collect smell, the ashtray smell persisted. It is now clear to me that the smell rises up from the apartments below and it is quite obvious even with the windows open, coming in from outside, most likely from people who smoke indoors and let the smoke exit through their windows.

  3. It is not my intention to get people to stop smoking or to criticize them, but this affects me because I find it extremely displeasing in my own home, potential visitors might be put off by this smell, and it is likely a self-perpetuating problem: only people who are themselves smokers are likely to rent here, contributing to this issue. It is unlikely to ever be resolved and I have even noticed people smoking indoor, on the hallway, most likely in violation of provincial and city by-laws.

  4. The apartment has clearly very poor heat and noise insulation from other apartments and potentially from the outside as well. Placing the hotplates on top of the fridge is a rather inefficient design. The washroom uses 3 large incandescent light bulbs for lighting that cannot be easily changed without breaking the design and not only consume too much, but they also produce a significant amount of heat. There is no way to control the heating element in the washroom and as a result the window has to be open at all times. In the living room / bedroom, the heating element must be turned off and the window open even during the frigid -20 C temperatures to prevent overheating. While overheating is not a terrible issue in the winter, it is definitely a big concern in the summer, especially if the lessee pays for hydro. There is considerable waste throughout the building, as everybody seems to keep their windows open constantly, either because of overheating or because of smoking.

  5. The hardwood floor in the apartment, on the hallway as well as in other apartments cracks and is very audible. This is fixable. [There are numerous videos on YouTube showing hos this can be accomplished, by: shellbusey, Ken Fisher, MonkeySee, HomeRemodelWorkShop, 2658742 b c, bandq, Armchair Builder, Jim Riesberg, Menards, Jeff Patterson, Jerald Adamsson - and these are just a few.]

  6. There is a hole in the bedroom / living room that needs to be fixed. (http://go.zodian.net/balmoral2)

hole in the wall, top of heating element

  1. The painting of the small cabinet mirror door in the washroom has caused it to no longer close and the mirror has now a dirty appearance.

  2. The washroom door doorknob mechanism was not held in place by a metallic piece, but seemingly only by paint and it seemed to have been broken long before I moved in (I will upload the photo at http://go.zodian.net/balmoral1). It is thus impossible not only to lock the bathroom door, but to even close it. This is a problem not only for having visitors, but also because the washroom door opens from the kitchen area of the apartment.

broasca doorknob

  1. The number tag above the door is missing even though it’s present on top of every other apartment.

  2. There is a space between the door and the door frame allowing anybody on the hallway to peer inside the apartment. It also allows noises to be heard more easily. This should be fixed with a spacer inside, on the door.

I have brought some of these issues (more specifically the last few) to James’s attention in my second day here, while doing laundry in what seemed like the lobby of his office. James told me that he will contact his people and will get back to me with a date, but I have yet to hear back from him.

If I am to take over the lessee’s lease, as James has suggested, I would require a significant rent reduction. If you are willing to make me an offer, please do so; if you are not willing to make such an offer, please let me know when can I expect at least the bathroom door issue to be fixed.

I trust I will receive an answer before the end of January 16, 2014. You may use 206-666-4473 to contact me by voicemail or fax for the next 30 days. Please note that my fax number changes frequently and I try to keep contact.zodian.net updated with the latest number.

Yours truly,

Andrei Zodian

In case you are wondering, here is how a quick Internet search describes fixing hardwood floor squeaks:

Sadly, it appears that the Landlord places the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of their tenants through condition 6c) in the lease: "carpeting may be required to control the noise (..)"