Tenants of a Saskatoon high-rise say rent increase is unfair
Tenants of a Saskatoon high-rise say rent increase is unfair
Residents at a downtown Saskatoon apartment complex are speaking out about what they say are unreasonable rent increases and a lack of attention to building repairs.
A sliding door that hasn’t closed properly for seven years is just one of the problems Edgar Calderon has with his Barrington Place studio apartment.
“For seven years they come to see it and say it cost too much money to fix it. Yes, they told me that because they had to fix the frame and open it up or whatever,” Calderon told CTV News.
He’s lived in the building for 13 years and says the upkeep of the building has gotten increasingly worse over the years.
Now to add to it, the 67-year-old was just told his rent would go up by $375 a month starting in August, which is almost a 50 per cent increase from his existing $775 rent.
“I am retired, plus power went up, food went up,” he says.
Moving is expensive too, he said, but the bottom line is he can’t afford the increase and will be forced to leave.
“I would like to see the company be more fair with the increase, and fix the building,” he said.
The concerns are similar for fellow tenant Peter Davey.
He says water damage caused by a June fire in a top-floor suite still sits unfinished on his floor. Some damage to his suite was just recently finished but two days after those repairs, he got a notice about a steep rent increase.
“I will move. It’s not a big issue for me. I’m disappointed with the company,” Davey told CTV News.
He is advocating for others in the building who have come to him and said they can’t move because some are seniors, and some are parents with small children, making it challenging.
Davey would prefer not to move from his home of five years, where he lives with his 19-year-old son. He said he has made friends in the building, which is part of the reason he wants to advocate for others also.
Colliers took over management of the building in October and said in an email that they’re looking into the issue and declined to comment further.
For Calderon and Davey the issues speak for themselves. With only one working elevator for 145 units, trash in hallways and a front door latch that doesn’t work causing security issues, they feel the owner needs to take responsibility.
The group Renters of Saskatoon and Area (ROSA) told CTV News there’s no reasonable excuse for such an extreme rent increase. They advise residents to contact the office of residential tenancies as soon as possible to report issues.
While the two tenants are doubtful much will change, they would prefer to not have to go through moving from their homes especially given the shortage of housing.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
Zellers has opened the first of 25 new locations within Hudson's Bay stores across the country. The Canadian retail chain launched 12 stores in Ontario and Alberta Thursday, along with a new e-commerce website.
Embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will resign next month after a US$3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw.
Selkirk RCMP have arrested and charged a man after he allegedly killed his dog, smashed out the windows of a home and two cars with an axe, and set fire to a shed on his property.
The Alberta legislature wrapped up its spring sitting Thursday with politicians on both sides of the aisle test-driving insults and expected attack lines ahead of the scheduled May 29 provincial election.
An Ontario man said he was shocked when his truck was stolen not once but twice, and the second time it was taken he was surprised to discover he was no longer covered for theft.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Ottawa on a foggy Thursday evening, kicking off a whirlwind two-day visit to the capital. Ottawa police and the city of Ottawa have warned residents and visitors will see an increased police presence across the downtown core, and there will be "significant traffic and transit disruptions" during the visit.
When a former detective with the Vancouver Police Department discovered photos of his home were being used in a rental scam, he decided to start his own investigation.
The federal government is contributing $12.5 million to the construction of a healing centre at the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation almost two years after the nation announced the discovery of 215 suspected unmarked graves near a former residential school.
For the first time, the owner of a building in Old Montreal has responded to questions about the fire — through his lawyer — addressing allegations that the building was unsafe.
Friends of Camille Maheux are trying to assemble some of her life's work. The 76-year-old photographer was killed in the Old Montreal fire and her photographs and negatives were destroyed.
A Victoria man’s life of crime has turned into one of survival, hope and advocacy amid ongoing conversations in the community about how best to tackle public safety matters.
The Tim Houston PC government remains firm in their promise they'll fix the health-care system by spending more taxpayer money on health than any previous government before.
The rate of snow and rain falling in the Maritimes will pick up late Thursday afternoon into evening as a weather system makes its way across the region.
The co-owners of a new liquidation store in North Bay, Samuel Quesnel and Chloé Boivenue, say they want to bring a treasure hunt shopping experience to the city.
The new provincial budget features items specific to southwestern Ontario, including a new English public elementary school in London, Ont. that will serve 556 students and include 88 licensed childcare spaces.
A young Strathroy, Ont. man believes there's a promising way forward in the effort to fight his disease. But, he's being told, right now, that path isn't open to him. Friends and family are stepping up to try and make a case for Kyle McPhee to receive immunotherapy treatments.
