To the Editor,
A few years ago I wrote a letter to the editor about the housing crisis after a duplex half burned and people lost their homes. The message remains the same even today, as I read about the plight of Harbourview Apartments.
Low-cost housing continues to see bad treatment. How can one make someone see that a $100,000 rental house or apartment is just as much a “home” as a million-dollar building is a home? Both parties (landlord and tenant) have to take care of the property, and the tenant is equally responsible. Maybe a court could be established to appear before prior to renting?
I have had tenants, one couple for 13 years and another for three years who were very good. I have also had some tenants who were a pain, and then some—when one group left it took a good part of the week to clean the cookstove. One tenant destroyed the curtains and another shot three bullets through the roof, needing new shingles. Some tenants think that all the rent is profit for the landlord, but there is property tax, home insurance, water bills and repairs to pay for, and at the end income tax.
To keep a house takes effort, and it has to come from more than just the landlord. To keep a house a home, all must help.
Jan Jansma,
Port Alberni
