In 16 days I will come to a big milestone. I first moved into this apartment April 1, 2002. I had been living in a semi-homeless state for a long time prior to that.
The building was sold not long after that to a new business man. It has not always been an easy situation with the new owner. For a long time he called me by another name, and frequently yelled at me for no reason. I have always been a good tenant, but he would sometimes pound on my door, saying "we don't need the police to throw you out", even though there was no reason to throw me out.
He is sometimes confused and acts in a way that tells me that senility is not far away. He showed up one day to tell me that my rent was being increased by $40 immediately, or else he would throw me out. His behaviour was not rational, but I was afraid of him, so I agreed. If I was to make a complaint with the rental board it would cost me $200 to open a file, and there might not be any action for 4 years.
Now he has converted the apartment across the hall into an "air b&b". Last night some very drunk 20somethings came in at 3:30 a.m. and told everybody to go to hell if we wanted to sleep. Someone very drunk was knocking on my door, but I did not answer. I said nothing.
My suspicion is that he will suddenly announce that we all have to leave so that he can convert the 8 apartments to "air b&b" units. He does not see people when he comes here - he sees only dollar signs. It is not legal what he is doing, but so many landlords are trying the same thing that the rentals board cannot stop it.
I have never been so afraid that I might some day coming back from walking on the mountain of love see his goons throwing all my stuff out on the street. It is a real fear, not an imaginary one.
17 years living right beside Mt. Royal, the mountain of love, which is my church, my sanctuary, my true home. I want to stay here for another 17 years. |