When my boyfriend and I came to check out the apartment in December, everything looked great. Well kept property. Proper garbage disposal. Recycle bins. Clean entry way. Uncluttered mailbox area. Plenty of parking. Working elevators. Polite tenants. Affordable rent. Nice 2 bedrooms. Newly renovated kitchen and bathroom. Plenty of storage. Large balcony. Nice neighbourhood. Close to work. Walking distance to Bayer’s Lake. Everything seemed perfect so we signed the lease and moved in on January 1st. Less than a week later you send us a letter saying we’ve violated the “Scent free policy” of the building and several tenants have complained. “Scent free?” I asked my boyfriend, who looked as bewildered as myself. So we went downstairs to the entry way… nothing around saying “Scent free.” Checking the elevator… again, no signs. Nothing in the halls either. Heck we even went through the entire lease that we signed and nothing mentions this building as being “Scent free.” Still confused, we ask to meet with you and you tell us “Yes, this building is scent free.” When we tell you that you never mentioned anything about the building being “scent free” you flat out deny it. You then become hostile and tell us that if two more tenants complain, we will be evicted. WHAT? One week here and already it’s turning into a case of the holy fuckery of nightmares. Neither my boyfriend or I wear cologne/perfume. The only smell I can imagine would be dryer sheets or the Glade plug-in in the bathroom, and that thing barely fucking works (the commercials lie). You end by saying “Take it or leave it. You signed the lease. Break it if you want.” Where the fuck does that leave us? We are going to live according to the terms and conditions written in the lease that we both signed. If you don’t like it, you can evict us… but not without a fight. So enjoy the latest scented candles we picked up at the store… something we never buy. You’ll notice our mailbox also smells nice… sort of like vanilla. —Spray n’ Scents
This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2012.
If more than one tenant complained about your aroma then chances are you reek of something ……. to purposely scent the mailbox and go out of your way to ensure your neighbours are aggravated prove you are a fuckwad and deserve to be tossed out on your sweet smelling ass!
You should be able to do what you want in your own apartment, but you should really cut down on that shit. It is full of chemicals. Those plug in Glade smelly things are toxic, AND Firefighters will tell you that they start a lot of house fires.
BTW, you are going about moving into a new place the wrong way. Be nice.
Do you smoke, OB?
My building isn’t scent free and many people use scented stuff in their units, but the ONLY thing I can ever smell is the smoke from the smokers. It got SO bad on the first floor and there were so many constant complaints (the air exchangers were always on) that the landlord made the smoking tenants buy those things that slide under the door crack. It’s helped A LOT.
THe only other scents I can ever smell is of food cooking during meal times. And uh…. it’s kind of hard to get scent free food.
Also, contact the residential tenancies board. If it ain’t in yo’ lease, you don’t have to adhere to it and the landlord would just be breaking it for no cause stated in the lease.
But, I’m also inclined to agree with koda — if you’re getting complaints…. I mean seriously — do you smoke? That shit can waft into the hallways and get into other units. Trust me. I used to get migraines because of that until smokey got herself a door pad.
If it was smoke you’d think they’d call it that, and not “scents” scent implies something that is scented, as opposed to something that just smells.
I’m weary of places that start messing with you early in your lease like this and making up rules as they go. If they evict you, you HAVE to take them to small claims court OP. Don’t let them ruin your credit.
how can they evict you for no violations though?
I can’t see scents as falling under:
If you, other residents of your unit or your guest “substantially interferes” with the reasonable enjoyment of the building for other tenants as per Section 64 or in the case of a building with 3 units or less where the landlord also resides under Section 65;
otherwise you could have others written up for smells of cooked food wafting through halls.
(as pk pointed out)
this sounds (and hopefully doesn’t smell) fishy.
Tommy is our resident legal expert.
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2937/to…
lrn2tenanciesAct
http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/resi…
There must be more issues then that, seems like CrazZzed said, Fishy.
OP … I’m trying but I don’t want to believe what you’re saying … unless they’re mixing you up with another tenant? Do you have a pet or something?
I would think it would be damned near impossible for them to evict you over something that was never discussed, disclosed or otherwise put in writing in your lease agreement; not without violating the tenancy act, anyway. With nothing in writing and no signage or notices put in place stating that the building is scent free, it’s essentially your super’s word against yours and something that could, IMO, be quite easily fought and won.
That being said, I DON’T think your tactics of buying scented candles or spraying your mailbox was a wise course of action, either. Now you’ve given him/her ammunition. I’m curious as to whether you inquired specifically as to what scent(s) they were complaining about? What exactly was the issue? Had you done this, it may have been determined that the offending scent(s) were actually coming from somewhere else, (neighbor’s apartment), in which case, your super would be the one with egg on his face. This is especially true if you are, as you state in your bitch, scent free with regards to perfume/cologne/air fresheners,etc. The super wouldn’t have a leg to stand on then. I also would have asked for a list of exactly what constitutes an infraction of this alleged scent free policy. Are they talking the use of detergents in the laundry room or cleaners or the use of colognes/perfumes on your person, your deoderant or what? (Like you, I find it hard to believe that the use of a plug in air freshner in your bathroom would be cause for complaints.) They have to provide you with something in writing with regards to corrective action otherwise, how are you supposed to know what to correct? All they have essentially done is said, “You smell. Stop it or you’ll be kicked out.” Plus, if I’m not mistaken, they have to provide you sufficient time to adequately correct these alleged infractions. Just arbitrarily stating that if they get 2 more complaints, you’re out, won’t cut it. Supers don’t have as much power as a lot of people think. I’d seriously get a copy of the NS Tenancy Act and read up on it. If they were any type of rental agency worth their salt, they should have given you a copy of it with your lease anyway.
this is a common thig where old mexican flowertop is smoked. that shit stinks to hell. but seriously, scent free is cool to some, but don’t you think he would have at least some leeway.
i have an aversion to some of the shitty perfumes and sprays out there, axe being one. that stuff fucking reeks. and no guys, dumping a gallon over yourself, won’t bring any females at all. unless they are bitching about the stink of it. but in general, most oder free units and apartment buildings, have this fine print shit in them now. we are raising a bunch of nuerotic morons these days, that get the sniffles at a breeze of fresh air.
gone are the hearty folks of long ago. and have been replaced by fucking sookie babies.
Well, this stinks
uh, it’s not just for guys anymore…
http://jezebel.com/5874216/in-step-forward…
now women can stink just as bad….
thanks Axe.
:-S
OB, are you Asian or East Indian? A lot of people complain buildings smell bad because of their cooking. Are you fat? Maybe it’s your obese body odor.
Seb has a great recipe for Coq au Vin.
He sucks your c*** in the back of his van.
OB, it’s time to change the kitty litter!
There is NOTHING they can do to enforce such a policy, given it’s not in your lease, etc. Tell them too bad, so sad, fuck you!
As someone who has dealt with the Tenancy board on more than one occassion…if it isn’t spelled out in your lease…they haven’t got a leg to stand on.
Give ’em hell & bring on the incense sticks…go for the whole zen buddah 24 pack at a time deal.
You’ll have them howling around the door.
ALso thanks for the bitch OB ,reading this bitch just gave me another FANTASTIC reason to own your own home !
I don’t get this. Haven’t you asked them specifically what the odor is? How can you affect a change if you don’t know where the problem is? Several tenants (could be an exaggeration to add emphasis) complained? Where’s there’s smoke OP (pun intended).
Don’t exacerbate the situation with scented candles or any of that silliness, get to the bottom of it.
OB, I can understand why you’d want to give them an FU by adding scents … but isn’t that just playing into the hand that you believe you’ve been dealt unfairly? If there is nothing in your lease about ‘scent free’ and you don’t have substantiated claims … you should have nothing to worry about. Go to the tenancy board now and tell them what is happening before it goes further than it already has. But … I’d also be looking for a new place to live … too much of a headache in such a short span of time.