In mid August, 2007 I signed a one year lease effective September 1, 2007 with Westland Townhomes, a property owned and managed by Nacel Properties Ltd. I was asked if I could hold off moving in till the 2nd or 3rd so that the carpets could be cleaned and the unit painted. I was fortunate in that I was able to hold off taking occupancy and was willing to do so. Much to my chagrin, I was advised on day of move in (September 5th, 2007) that the unit had not been painted and that the painters would not be able to paint the unit for several days. As most children, mine were eager to set up their rooms and get settled, as such I chose not to have the unit painted because of the disruption it would cause in the long run, and since they had 5 full days to do so, I was not willing to put my family in further disruption than they were already in with the move.
One September 7th, 2007, we suffered our first flood. About 7pm that evening my son stepped into about 3 inches of water. Where the leak came from was unknown except that it "appeared" to come from the upstairs bathroom, as reported by the resident maintenance person, who also tried to imply that the flood was a result of someone not being "careful while taking a shower". Strange thing with that is that no one had taken a shower at the time of the flood or anytime that day. Nothing further was done, and the promise for a new stove never came to pass.
On December 4th, 2007 at about 10pm I noticed a strong smell of something burning. The closer to the stairwell I got the stronger the odor. When I reached to top of the stairs (where the furnace closet is situated) the odor was so strong that I began choking. I quickly ran down the stairs, turned off the thermostat, went next door to the resident manager, reported what I had observed and requested that she come to take a look... she never did!
On the morning of December 5th, 2007 I turned on the thermostat and didn't hear the tell tale click that the furnace had started. I went up to the furnace, the pilot light was on, there was no reason that I could see why it wouldn't turn on. I contact Terasen Gas and asked for their advice, they suggested that I contact the property management as there was no apparent reason on their end as to why the furnace would not start. I did so and over the course of the next 2 days (left with no heat in the dead of winter) the maintenance person finally repaired the furnace. As it turns out the filter had not been changed in over a year according to his records, as a result it caught fire, burning through the transformer and several other components. My quick forethought of shutting off the thermostat prevented further damage not only to the furnace but to my residence and perhaps the three adjacent residences. I finally had heat on December 7th, 2007. I should also note here that the gas fireplace also failed to work during this time. All that was done to get it to work, was a couple of hits with a screwdriver across the burner.
On February 1st, 2008, we were hit with a second flood, a hot water pipe under the front hall had burst. This was immediately reported. As this occurred in the evening, nothing could be done till the next morning. Once again the resident maintenance person came in to "assess the situation". A plumber was called in and after several hours of jack-hammering, the pipe was eventually fixed. However, I was once again left with a horrendous amount of laundry to do (towels used to soak up the water and clothing that had been soaked by the water filling the main floor bathroom (where the laundry machines are also housed) and cleanup following the repairs (floors and walls to wash). At this time I requested to be moved to another unit, I was asked to reconsider, I did so reluctantly (hind sight, that was not a bright thing to do).
At 2 am on February 29th, 2008, I was woken with the sound of running water. When I got up to investigate, I stepped solidly into about 6" of ice cold water, with a urine odor. I ran upstairs only to step into another 6" of water in the upper hall way and the bathroom fully covered in water that was bubbling out from under the toilet. The toilet, which had been reported prior to this, failed to stop flushing yet again. I hit the flush handle and eventually the water stopped running, however the odor in the bathroom, hall way and throughout the main floor (kitchen, hallway, livingroom) was evident that it was from the toilet (septic). The water had poured through my cupboards, into light fixtures, through the ceiling, down walls, onto my furniture, into my appliances on the counter, literally everywhere. I lost untold amounts of food as a result, in addition to the cost of clean up which I bore in order to salvage what I could salvage of my belongings and clothing, etc. I have to wonder now if the first "unknown origin" flood of September 7th, 2007 and this last flood are related.
Since this flood, I have requested to be moved to another unit, withheld the rent for March, as a means of recouping my costs (cleaning and increased utility). I have been told that I will not be permitted to move to another unit until the rent for March is paid in full, and on March 15th, 2008 was served with a 10 day eviction notice.
Nacel Properties Ltd. is a poor excuse for a residential management company that fails consistently to provide safe and healthy rental units, be they apartments or townhouses... Lord knows what the properties they sell are like, from my own research, they're not to be touched either. Beware of renting from Nacel Properties Ltd. They treat good tenants like garbage!
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