If Chad got a note on a piece of paper telling him not to park on the street, he would at least listen to it.
But what one of the people in his Burnaby neighbourhood is doing goes way, way too far.
Instead of a note on the windshield, this nosy neighbour is taking a felt pen and writing vaguely threatening messages on the doors of vehicles on the street if they park in front of her house.
“I’m not the only one,” said Chad, who rents a basement suite in South Burnaby. “I know some of the renters and they’ve had it happen to them. It’ll say ‘no parking’ or ‘move your car’ or something like that. Nobody ever sees her do it, but it always happens in front of the same house so it’s not just a coincidence.”
Thankfully, the ink washes off but Chad worries that one day she’ll use something a little more potent.
The problem is that not all of the landlords on this street offer parking to all of their tenants. That forces these renters to park on the street. It’s a public street and so that shouldn’t be a problem, but this homeowner has an issue about people parking in front of her house. She’s had words with Chad and other renters to keep the space open in front of her house in case she is visited by friends of relatives.
“But she doesn’t own the space in front of her house,” Chad said. “She can’t just tell people the spot it hers but she seems to think so. She’s told people that renters don’t pay taxes so they have fewer rights. Well, I pay the property tax for my landlord through my rent so get over it.”
I’ve heard from so many renters with the same story about being treated as lesser citizens simply because they don’t fill out a property tax form each year. Life is rough for renters. The money they pay each month is insanely high. Burnaby is often ranked as the third highest rents in all of Canada after Vancouver and Toronto.
And what they get for that money would shock you. I’ve seen landlords charging $1,600 a month for a studio unit that is just slightly larger than a shoebox.
Many people are paying at least half of their monthly income just on rent. So maybe just cut them some slack and not hassle them for parking on the street when they literally don’t have any other choice.
“You think I want to park on the street,” Chad asks. “I’ve had my car broken into several times over the years. All because landlords won’t follow the rules and supply some parking.”
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
