[QUOTE=Eonwe]
Except this is a far cry from what NYC-ers complain about when they talk about rent control. Using the term ‘rent control’ evokes a situation where landlords are not allowed to raise rents to match market value based on the location of said building/apartment.
The OPs landlord is allowed to raise the rent as much as he wants, but only on a yearly basis. Frankly, this sounds perfectly reasonable. If I’ve signed a lease for a year at x dollars a month, it’s pretty ridiculous for the landlord to expect to be able to raise that rent at his or her whim. How could a tenant trust a landlord who would do such a thing? The law in Alberta as cited protects tenants from moving into a place at one rent, and then having the landlord turn around and change the rent after the tenant is ‘locked in’ to the lease.
Rent control it is not.
[/QUOTE]
Good post, but I’d like to clear up an error here.
Rent control in New York City is not based on the location of a builiding.
It is based on certain rules, set up mainly the '40s, then revised and added to in the '70s, that outline certain conditions under which a building became and/or remains rent controlled (or stabilized – a different animal). These are mainly building size, number of registered apartments, etc.
This can change under certain carefully delineated conditions, i.e., reduction of number of apartments, controlled apartments remaining empty for a certain amount of time, etc.
If it appears to be based location *my guess * is that in areas where it is financially lucrative to create the conditions that cause the building to be removed from rent control/stabilization conditions, developers will do so.
[QUOTE=DanBlather]
Hey turd for brains, if the govt controls how often the rent can be increased then it’s rent control.
[/QUOTE]
The term “rent control” seems only ever to be used to describe situations in which the price is controlled, not simply the frequency of rent inreases.. [Note that I’m not claiming that the Wikipedia page is a reliable cite in itself, but the links given therein all describe price control.]. Mirriam Webster Online agrees:
Of course you’re entitled to have your own unique definition, DanBlather, but it probably doesn’t help your argument any.
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal]
Whether he breaks the law or not? Would it be OK for non hardworking immigrants to break the law? How about natives? When can they break the law?
[/QUOTE]
If the landlord is breaking the law, then pit that, not the fact that he is from a funny country where you think they fuck goats.
[QUOTE=Eonwe]
Frankly, this sounds perfectly reasonable. If I’ve signed a lease for a year at x dollars a month, it’s pretty ridiculous for the landlord to expect to be able to raise that rent at his or her whim. How could a tenant trust a landlord who would do such a thing? The law in Alberta as cited protects tenants from moving into a place at one rent, and then having the landlord turn around and change the rent after the tenant is ‘locked in’ to the lease.
[/QUOTE]
Isn’t that the purpose of a lease? It specifies the rent for a specific period of time. Are you saying that in Canada you can have a two year lease at $1,000 a month and the landlord can raise it after the first year?
[QUOTE=DanBlather]
If the landlord is breaking the law, then pit that, not the fact that he is from a funny country where you think they fuck goats.
[/QUOTE]
You don’t see where the OP is pitting the landlord for breaking the law? Really?
Okay, but to clarify, Baffle has a monthly tenancy, correct?
So, what made you think that the particular apartment was promised for a year anyway? It wasn’t as if you yourself have committed for 12 months, have you? You could leave at any month you felt like?
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal]
You don’t see where the OP is pitting the landlord for breaking the law? Really?
[/QUOTE]
I saw it all right, though it was hidden by calling the landlord:
an ignorant flake of dandruff from a Czechoslovakian slut-whore’s sandpaper cunt,
that crawled out of whatever backwater, inbred-sister-loving peasant town his parents dropped his ugly ass in,
who doesn’t realize that out here in the real world it takes a little more than a third grade education and a working knowledge of where chickens like to be touched to run a business governed by strict regulations and laws,
an ignorant bitch,
a vile, disgusting cunt-rocket, and
a fascist cock gobbler.
Lot’s of sexist, racist, and homophobic slurs that don’t seem to have much to do with anything.
[QUOTE=DanBlather]
Hey turd for brains, if the govt controls how often the rent can be increased then it’s rent control.
[/QUOTE]
According to our government that’s not really rent control since they refuse to bring in rent control. I understand why they don’t, but as someone making ends meet in boomtown I also understand why people are pissed off they won’t.
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn]
Does your university have a housing office? They may be able to help you locate another apartment or they may be able to advise you how to fight the illegal rent increase. And at my college the housing office kept track of which were the good and bad landlords and wouldn’t recommend the bad ones to students.
[/QUOTE]
As I recall, there were about 1200 students still in need of housing at UofC, 2000+ for SAIT at the end of August (the reason for the high number of SAIT students needing housing is because the residence they are building wasn’t finished on time). They can’t do much when the housing isn’t there.
My rent is going to take a big jump as of January 1 also. Luckily I can afford it (barely) it just means cutting back on some things and doing more shopping around for cheap stuff.
For the record - the reason for the extremely low vacancy rates here are
unprecedented population growth - the metro has grown from a little less than 900k to 1.1M in the past six years, with no signs of slowing down
a booming real estate market that has pushed the value of an average single family home to over 500k and has emphasized condo development over rental properties (understandable from a developer standpoint, since they can sell a condo for $300k and get their money back immediately, as opposed to waiting to get it month by month)
an oil boom that has made the city flush with cash and made everyone in the city into a real estate speculator
labour shortages, which delay construction and push prices even higher
a head-in-its-ass city council/provincial government, which failed to see any of these factors coming and is woefully behind in infrastructure
…not any rent control/lack of it (which as others have pointed out, does not exist in any meaningful form here).
[QUOTE=DanBlather]
If the landlord is breaking the law, then pit that, not the fact that he is from a funny country where you think they fuck goats.
[/QUOTE]
Just throwing in my 2 cents in defence of the original rant in hopes that the poetic license taken by the op not be regarded as an actual disparagement of any nationality, but rather an incendiary and entertaining pitting of an individual brought forth with an inspired invective and using normally sanctioned pit hyperbole.
But I am so with you on the language part, **Baffle ** thats just a mean nasty way to talk. You know some people from Eastern Europe actually can read, did it occur to you some of them may be on these boards?
[/QUOTE]
Oh, gee, somebody said something nasty about a goddamned motherfucking piece of shit bitchhole of a landlord in the PIT. I am so APPALLED! Alert the FUCKING media!
[QUOTE=Antonius Block]
Of course you’re entitled to have your own unique definition, DanBlather, but it probably doesn’t help your argument any.
[/QUOTE]
It’s particularly unhelpful for him to have his own personal definition of “rent control” and at the same time call the OP names for advocating laws that only apply in the case of his own personal definition. Makes DanBlather look like a dumbass.
[QUOTE=Evil Captor]
It’s particularly unhelpful for him to have his own personal definition of “rent control” and at the same time call the OP names for advocating laws that only apply in the case of his own personal definition.
[/QUOTE]
???
[QUOTE=Quint]
Just throwing in my 2 cents in defence of the original rant in hopes that the poetic license taken by the op not be regarded as an actual disparagement of any nationality, but rather an incendiary and entertaining pitting of an individual brought forth with an inspired invective and using normally sanctioned pit hyperbole.
Good show all around from these cheap seats .
Bravo.
[/QUOTE]
Yup.
I have nothing but sympathy for people renting in Calgary (or trying to get on the real estate bus). Baffle is posting from true frustration at a situation beyond his control, I would say, and I understand where he’s coming from. There are downsides to a boom - big downsides. And he’s about to get steamrolled by one.
Let us know if you need us to network to find you a new living situation, Baffle.
Am I reading this right? You are going to become homeless on principle? You could scrape up the extra money while you fight it out with the landlord in some court, but you refuse to because you’d have to take out a bigger loan? And you have no other options so you will be putting yourself, literally, out on the street?
You’re an idiot!
Jeez, think about some legal options… in this country, at least, eviction papers have to be filed in a court and you have a chance to respond. Do you really think the landlord can, with no legal backing, simply throw your stuff out on the street and lock you out?
Hyperbole, mate. I’m not going to be on the street. I am, however, almost certainly going to be without a home of my own, as I’d probably end up having to stay with friends or family.
I’ll fight tooth and nail, I’ll fight in court, I’ll fight in the street if I have to. That post about money was explaining why I can’t just sit down and take it.
.
.