From your landlord? You will have to check on the local laws, but generally it’s considered a form of harassment. Yelling at or threatening tenants, withholding services, defacing or damaging properties, entering the unit except for maintenance or reasonable inspections, any of that stuff.
I’m pretty sure you can’t just go start yelling at and insulting your neighbors either. It’s called “disturbing the peace”.
Plus, failing to finish that repair job in a timely manner definitely affects the place’s habitability and I suspect is in direct violation of the law and your lease.
My actual thought regarding the towel involved a bit more direct action than I suggested, but we’re not supposed to suggest illegal activities here (however richly deserved) 
I am just so sad that this JACKASS is getting away with abusing you so badly, taking advantage of your disability. You’re a NICE person (and I speak with firsthand knowledge!). I’d offer you a place here but there’s that “wrong country” thing…
Landlord irritated by keyboard sounds: Does he have a microphone planted in your apartment? (God forbid a camera too?!?)
No, it’s just a very not-soundproof building.
My landlord says, “It’s an old building.” Though I don’t know if that can be used as an excuse. I used to live in an even older building, with a roommate who would sometimes practice singing at 1 AM and we didn’t get any noise complaints.
I looked at a new apartment today. I had to give that landlord the number of my current landlord 
, so we’ll see if that works out.
If your current landlord really wants you out, they will sing your praises to the new one. 
No, I wouldn’t count on that. He specifically said he wouldn’t give me a recommendation.
There are landlords who seem to believe that the tenant’s responsibility is to pay the rent on time and otherwise not exist. These people should not be landlords.
It seems very clear that Emily is involved with such a person, and for a variety of practical reasons, does not have the resources to hold this person to account.
The system has ways to do that, but they’re mostly (1) slow and (2) financial, and they’re not going to change the person anyway. BUT— Effectively, you’re being illegally harassed and illegally evicted, and it doesn’t matter that you’ve signed a paper agreeing to it—if you were bullied and harrassed into doing so, that’s not binding. Don’t feel that you have to move until you’ve run that by a lawyer.
But equally, staying in such a place is harmful, too, and I totally understand that you don’t have the resources to fight this or deal with it. But seriously, a lot of the pressure you’re feeling is 100% down to the illegal tactics your landlord is using, and some of the agencies suggested above might be able to use that information to help you find a place, or at least be more motivated to help.
EmilyG, I’m encouraged by how many people here want to help, but I think you need someone who 's knowledgeable about autism to advocate for you. I can’t imagine a room in a house would work well for you. A woman’s shelter might have resources to deal with homelessness, but I doubt they’d understand the particular needs of people with autism. And homelessness involves a LOT of noise and stimulation–sheer hell for someone with autism.
Have you heard of {Autisme Montréal](Autisme Montréal » Our Services)? They have supportive services that might be of use–or at the very least, they should be able to point you toward help.
I hope it’s an apartment you can live with and the new landlord recognizes there is something wrong with the old one.
They have blue puzzle pieces all over their website, which are things that are immediate red flags, and show that they don’t know much about actually-autistic people. But maybe I can see if any of their services might be of use to me.
I hope they can help despite the puzzle pieces. I was amazed to see how few services Montreal has for people with autism. I hope something comes through for you soon. You deserve better living conditions than you’ve had.
What is it about the puzzle pieces, Emily?
Even if they are not of help, they might know of others who can be. I hope so.
(see post #62 above about the Autism Speaks! organization, whose logo is a blue or multicolor puzzle piece)
Actual autistic people tend not to like the puzzle piece being used as a symbol for autism, as it was chosen without our input and initially represented a “broken” person. So seeing this on a website or being used by an organization, is pretty much a signal to autistic people that the organization is not going to be super-respectful towards actually-autistic people.
Might as well update. I’m still looking for a place to live. The hole in the ceiling here seems to maybe be getting bigger.
It’s really hard to find somewhere soundproof and affordable. I found an ad for such a place, and visited, but the person never answered my phone calls after that. And I found some similar apartment ads, but they all seem to be rented by that one person.
Good luck, I hope something shows up in time.
As someone on the autism / Asperger’s spectrum myself, I’d say there’s no question that the puzzle piece symbol is patronising. It’s been a matter of controversy for several years in the autistic spectrum community.
I would assume that that organization is a bit out of touch and lacks some insight into the people they are trying to help.
However, in a practical matter like housing they may still be able to provide real help, whether they’re patronising or not.
So they may be worth approaching anyway. If they can’t help, they may be able to suggest someone who can.
Without wishing to be patronising, and sorry if I missed this detail, but are you looking for something soundproof because you do not wish to be disturbed by noise from others, or because your current landlord has given you a complex about the sounds you make? If the former, that’s perfectly understandable. If the latter, we’re all here to tell you that it doesn’t matter how thin the walls/ceilings are, typing on a laptop and playing music quietly are completely acceptable (anywhere really, but especially in your own home) and no-one should be even raising that as an issue. It’s just your current landlord is a complete asshole.
not sure what that is about, but I have been answering rental ads on Craigslist myself and some of them are BS, wanting you to go to another site and too good to be true rent and such. I guess there are scams but I don’t understand it all.
so you have my sympathy! finding housing shouldn’t be this hard.
and I learned something about the puzzle pieces. 