Moving into a new home as a student can be a stressful time: juggling dealing with landlords, living with roommates, and managing all the responsibilities that comes with being a renter. But if things start to go awry, it can make for a horror story life.
Wessel Miedema, a third-year commerce student at Carleton University, had struggled to find a house during his first year at Carleton. Miedema said in an email he and his friend were looking for a two-bedroom home throughout the summer before his second-year at Carleton.
“We eventually found a place that was well-priced and in a good location near the O-Train and our landlord would be living with us,” Miedema said.
However, Miedema said when he and his dad went to go take a look around the house the day he was supposed to move in, he found something he would never forget.
“The day we moved in, my dad and I found my bedroom and decided to take a look around the house and found a room that, when we opened it, felt unusually hot and humid. What we found out was that someone was breeding pythons in the basement.” – Wessel Miedema, third-year commerce
Miedema said as soon as he and his roommates found out they might be living with unexpected guests, they left and never returned.
For students with terrible roommates or frightening living arrangements, spooky season doesn’t just end in October—the nightmares can live on.
Terror roommates
Victoria Brown, a fourth-year journalism student, said she came to Carleton looking for a new start, such as bonding with a roommate. However, Brown said that from the beginning, she could tell they were very different people, and this led to conflict later on.
Her roommate was one to stay at home, go to bed early and not want Brown to bring any friends over, Brown said.
“I would love having people over and I remember she got really mad when people would sit on her bed,” she said. “She wouldn’t tell me . . . she would just give me the silent treatment and I would have to confront her.”
Brown also said her roommate never cleaned when they were living together and it would annoy her to have a mess around.
“Whenever I asked her to clean it up, she would just kind of laugh at me. She enjoyed making me frustrated.”
Finally, Brown said she stopped speaking to her roommate all together and the tension began to build.
It all came to a head for Brown after the first reading week, when Brown and her roommate confronted each other.
“We were yelling at each other outside in the hall. Then, she ran down to get our residence fellow and so our residence fellow had to mediate a conversation with us,” she said.
The residence fellow asked both Brown and her roommate to sign a roommate agreement form, in which roommates must compromise on certain guidelines, such as quiet times and when to go to sleep. However, Brown said they couldn’t agree on any rules, including a cleaning schedule and times for Brown to bring her friends to the room.
Brown said eventually the residence fellow decided the situation wasn’t working for the two of them and put in a request for them to switch roommates.
“I loved my floor, so I was sad to move and she would not [move out of the room]. I ended up going to the residence manager and talking to him, and my mom called in because I was just so miserable. I never wanted to be in my room.” – Victoria Brown, fourth-year journalism
Living with roommates can be a delicate situation, and may not be a desirable one for everyone. Carleton’s residence offers a limited number of single rooms. Some students might think managing their own place off-campus would breed less conflict.
David Chernushenko, former councillor for Capital ward, the ward which contains Carleton’s campus and much of the surrounding area, said new housing developments that are being built tend to have more bachelor and smaller apartments, which would mean residents would be living alone or with fewer people.
“I sense that if students could find affordable housing with a bachelor apartment or only one or two other roommates, I feel like people would prefer that, compared to managing a big house full of people, with all the hassle that comes with that.” – David Chernushenko, former councillor for Ward 17
Affordability is the main issue when finding a single-person apartment. According to a study done by PadMapper, Ottawa saw rental prices rise by 15.7 per cent from last year on average. The median price of a one-bedroom apartment in the capital in July is $1,250.
Resurrecting roommate relationships
Sissi De Flaviis, current Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) vice-president (administration) and a former Carleton residence fellow, said there are certain steps when dealing with issues between roommates.
Flaviis said the first step is to assess the situation and how severe the conflict is between two or more roommates.
“The second step would be the residence fellow approaching the roommates and having a mediation between both roommates to find a middle ground,” Flaviis said. “Let’s just say a conversation doesn’t solve the problem. Then, the residence fellow would bring the issue to [housing services] and the student has to complete a request form to change rooms.”
Another Carleton student, Melissa Mansbridge, found very quickly the incompatibilities between her and her roommate. She said while her roommate liked to wake up early in the morning, Mansbridge would sleep in until later, and Mansbridge preferred a quiet space, while her roommate blasted music.
Mansbridge praised Housing Services for their quick response when she requested to switch rooms away from her roommate.
“The residence fellows were absolutely amazing. They helped me out throughout the year because I didn’t want to move rooms (at first) and didn’t want to start drama,” Mansbridge said. “[After I decided to move], I went down to Housing and Residence Life . . . and they dealt with it within a day. They put me in a holding room in Glengarry and then they had a room for me in first [floor] Dundas within four hours.”
Haunted housing problems
Housing and Residence Life Services at Carleton has information on their website, including a resource sheet and questions to ask yourself before renting.
The website also recommends contacting the Carleton Legal Clinic if students require legal advice.
Director of Housing Services Laura Storey said in an email that Housing Services doesn’t track off-campus complaints, but have a few students come to them each year with questions.
The website also encouraged students to make sure they’re aware of their tenant rights on the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) page on Social Justice Tribunals Ontario.
The LTB answers questions about what the tenant and the landlord’s responsibilities are.
For instance, If the landlord provides any “vital services”, such as water, or electricity, they cannot withhold them, even if the tenant is late with their rent or has damaged the property.
If there is a situation where the landlord would not perform required maintenance on the house, tenants are encouraged to ask the local municipal government to inspect the house to enforce any bylaws, and file an application with the LTB.
Cherunshenko said in his time in office he has rarely had students come to him with problems.
He also says that he thinks most students are not aware of their tenant rights.
“I think there is a sort of general tendency to not rock the boat,” he said. “That’s unfortunate because any tenant and their landlords are obliged to act respectfully, so if students do find themselves in that situation they should feel free to contact the provincial, municipal or their school board.”
Graphic by Paloma Callo
