Bit of an update

[silken90]

First off it's my mom's birthday today. Even though she doesn't read this; Hurray! Happy Birthday

Comments

[loganberrybunny]

$900 a month at least

I'm envious... that's just about £400, and the absolute cheapest I can find in central Birmingham (not the most expensive city in the UK) is about £450 a month. Not to mention a couple of months' rent in advance and probably a damage deposit too (entirely legal demands in Britain). =:S

[silken90]

Yes, here in BC you only need to put down a damage deposit equal to half a months rent (plus first months of course). When I was living in Ontario I think it was first and last months rent without a damage deposit. In some provinces damage deposit has to go to a third party to be held and then it's up to the landlord to prove damage has been done if he wants to claim that money. Not so in BC though where landlords often just pocket it and then it becomes hard to get back when you move out. Of the three places I've rented from in Vancouver I've had a dispute with one and had to take another to arbitration to get my damage deposit back. The landlord never did show up to the hearing so I won by default and as a result got both the damage deposit and legal fees back. It ended up costing the guy double what he owed me in the first place.

[loganberrybunny]

Well, yeah: whatever the law in any given place, a sizeable minority of landlords aren't going to keep to it anyway. =:S