Tag Archives: Nomadic Currency

What Can I Do About A Slumlord?

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Dealing with a slumlord can be incredibly frustrating and stressful, but there are steps you can take to protect your rights and improve your living situation. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the situation:

1. Know Your Rights

  • Familiarize yourself with local tenant laws and housing codes. These vary by location but generally guarantee your right to a safe and habitable living environment.
  • Common landlord responsibilities include providing:
    • Working utilities (heat, water, electricity).
    • Proper sanitation and waste disposal.
    • Structural integrity (no leaks, mold, or pest infestations).
    • Safe and secure locks on doors and windows.
  • If your landlord is failing to meet these standards, they may be violating the law.

2. Document Everything

  • Keep a detailed record of all issues, including:
    • Photos and videos of unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
    • Written notes about when problems started and how they’ve been ignored.
    • Copies of all communication with your landlord (emails, texts, letters, etc.).
  • This documentation will be critical if you need to take legal action or report the landlord.

3. Communicate with Your Landlord

  • Notify your landlord in writing about the issues and request repairs. Be specific, polite, and keep a copy of the letter or email.
  • If they don’t respond or refuse to make repairs, send a follow-up notice and mention your legal rights.

4. Report Code Violations

  • Contact your local housing authority, health department, or building code enforcement agency to report unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
  • An inspector may visit your property and issue a violation notice to the landlord, forcing them to make repairs.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA – Some abandoned townhouses standing in Uptown district

5. Withhold Rent or Repair and Deduct

  • In some areas, tenants are allowed to withhold rent or pay for repairs themselves and deduct the cost from rent. However, this can be risky, so:
    • Check your local laws to ensure this is allowed.
    • Notify your landlord in writing before taking action.
    • Keep receipts and documentation for all repairs.

6. Join or Organize with Other Tenants

  • If other tenants are experiencing similar issues, consider organizing as a group. Landlords are more likely to respond to collective action.
  • You can also reach out to local tenant unions or advocacy groups for support.

7. Seek Legal Help

  • If your landlord continues to neglect their responsibilities, consult a tenant attorney or legal aid organization.
  • You may be able to:
    • Sue for damages or compensation.
    • Break your lease without penalty.
    • Force the landlord to make repairs through a court order.

8. Consider Moving

  • If the situation doesn’t improve and your health or safety is at risk, it may be best to find a new place to live.
  • Before moving, ensure you’re not violating your lease and that you’ve followed proper legal procedures to protect yourself from retaliation or eviction.

9. Report to Local Media

  • If the situation is severe and widespread, contacting local news outlets can bring attention to the issue and pressure the landlord to act.

10. Stay Safe

  • If you feel threatened or unsafe due to your landlord’s actions, contact local law enforcement or a tenant advocacy group immediately.

Resources to Help You:

  • Local Housing Authority: For reporting code violations or unsafe conditions.
  • Legal Aid Organizations: For free or low-cost legal advice.
  • Tenant Unions: For advocacy and support in organizing with other tenants.
  • State or Local Tenant Rights Websites: For information on your specific rights.

By taking these steps, you can hold your landlord accountable and work toward a safer, healthier living environment.

BC Civil Liberties Association Suing Vancouver Over Daytime Shelter Ban

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Vancouver has been hit with a lawsuit over what human rights advocates call the city’s “cruel, dehumanizing, and deadly” daytime ban on homeless outdoor sheltering. Kier Junos has more.

By Emma Crawford

Posted January 30, 2025 6:34 pm. 

Last Updated January 30, 2025 7:07 pm.

The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) says it is taking the City of Vancouver to court on behalf of unhoused people affected by a ban on daytime shelters.

Calling the ban “cruel, dehumanizing, and deadly,” the association is challenging the city bylaws that make it illegal for unhoused people to shelter outdoors during the day.

“Unhoused people deserve to have their government treat them with dignity and respect,” the BCCLA said. “Instead, many municipalities choose to enforce bans on daytime sheltering with callous cruelty by forcing people to either carry their belongings around all day or be violently decamped if they try to shelter.”

According to the group, unhoused people in Vancouver are subject to constant harassment, surveillance, and violence. In its enforcement of the ban, the association says, the city engages in daily street sweeps that destroy people’s personal belongings, including tents, sleeping bags, and medications.

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The city’s website says unhoused people are permitted to set up temporary shelters in parks from dusk to dawn but they must be removed at sunrise “to make parks available to support the health and well-being of the whole community.”

In a statement, the city says it can’t comment on matters before the courts, but confirmed staff will review the legal documentation once it is received.

The liberties association says it is “impossible” for those with physical or mental disabilities to set up and take down their shelter daily and then carry it throughout the day.

Jason Rondeau, one of the plaintiffs, was living on the streets for five years until recently when he got into social housing in the Downtown Eastside.

“For myself, it’s not really affecting me anymore because I am housed now,” Rondeau said.

“But I’ve got a lot of friends out there who are still in the thick of it, and their life is hard. Without the sweeps, their life is already hard.”

Vibert Jack, litigation director for the BCCLA, says the lawsuit will also address city bylaws that govern tents on the sidewalk.

“The courts have said already that these types of bylaws are unenforceable at night because it makes it impossible for people to sleep overnight in shelter,” Jack said.

“Our position is the same logic applies during the day.”

For three years, CRAB Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside was the only place in the city where unhoused people could legally camp in the daytime. This was closed late last year.

Now if you’re an unhoused person and you want to camp overnight in a Vancouver Park, you have to take down your tent every morning at 8 a.m.

In its claim, the BCCLA says the daytime shelter ban violates three separate sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in that it subjects citizens to “extreme cruelty,” puts peoples’ safety, security, and survival at risk, and threatens equality rights of diverse people, including those with disabilities.

With files from Kier Junos and The Canadian Press.

Originally published on Vancouver City News’ Online site.

Authored By: Emma Crawford