I know this may not be the best place to post this because I don't live with my landlord but I think I will find a sympathetic ear here. r/badlandlords is not very active.

I live with my partner and she may be a bit of a bad roommate but this is about my landlord. We live in an apartment building and our landlord lives on the same street a few doors down in a house. We've lived here since September 2018.

When we moved in our landlord did a walk through inspection with us and noted any issues in the apartment. He noted that there was an issue with the light in our dining room. He also noted that one of the windows in our bedroom was missing a bug screen. Time went on and we didn't hear about the issues for a while, but we figured we were on the list and would hear about it in due course. Neither of the issues were a big deal to us.

Fast forward to April of 2019, we've been living in the apartment for about 7 months. We get an email from our landlord which read in part "we can only fix what we know about" and that there would be inspection conducted in the coming weeks. I was a bit worried they had forgotten about the issues in the apartment and we might be blamed for the damage during the inspection.

I decided to send a "work order" form to my landlord (which is what they have you do to report issues) to remind him about the missing bug screen and the broken light switch in the dining room and I also let him know that the bug screen on our sliding balcony door was in tatters after some very windy winter storms. In the email I wrote that the light and the bedroom window had been noted at our initial walk through and we wanted to make sure they "knew about it". Right after I send the email, my landlord immediately calls me in a huff about the work orders. He wanted to come up to our apartment right that minute to look at the light. I told him was at work, my partner was at home and I could see if that was alright. He was very rude and I felt a lot of pressure to allow him to come in and look at the light issue. Neither my partner nor I wanted him to come over, our place was in disarray from moving a bookshelf and a lazy weekend which had left our kitchen in a bit of a state. He was very persistent so we reluctantly allowed him to come in. He yelled at my partner for the mess and was a complete jerk. We were beyond upset.

He sent two of his staff to do the inspection in May 2019 and they noted that our tub was having issues with draining slowly (this has only gotten worse since then). They said a professional plumber would need to come in. They noted the missing bug screen, and my partner explained that it was noted at our move-in inspection as well as in the recent work order I had put in. A few weeks later the landlord sent someone to fix the light switch, albiet after a stupid back and forth because he didn't read my email properly and again showed up on short notice.

Me and my partner are both left with a bad taste in our mouths after this incident and decide to live with the issues with our apartment because the idea of having this man come through our space again is just too much to handle. My partner has severe anxiety and it's just not worth it. We deal with the slow draining tub with Draino every month (which I suspect is a common problem for units in our building because the corner store right downstairs always stocks Draino). I have put in probably three or four work orders since then but only about things in common areas (laundry room, elevators, lobby). I only ever heard back about one of those, the landlord called to ask a question about what was wrong with the elevator when I submitted a work order about it breaking down. This is the only time I've had a pleasant conversation with him.

After the light repair in June of 2019, we barely hear from our landlord or his staff at all really. Things were okay until May of 2020 where some random person contacts me and tells me they need to paint the unit. I was very defensive because they were not a staff member I was familiar with, come to find out that no one from before works there anymore and this person has replaced them (I'll call them E as they come up again). They start emailing all the time about COVID restrictions and gym closures (which previously had just said CLOSED DUE TO COVID on the door to let tenants know). E tries to schedule the painting with us but we basically don't respond and they stop trying.

In October of 2020 they tell us they are conducting inspections again. We never actually see them come through this time and my partner works from home. We truly don't believe my partner just missed them coming through but we have no idea what happened there.

They contact us at the beginning of January 2021 and are conducting inspections again... They actually come through this time but it doesn't seem to be to deal with issues/repairs needed in the apartment. They seem to be checking what renovations have been done in which units. My partner said they were in and out within 2 minutes. I was hoping we would be able to bring up the tub drain again.

The tub drain was really getting to me so I reluctantly enter a work order about it. I get a response from someome else who apparently is in charge of repairs now. Another staff member with 0 introductions. I respond with some possible times they could come by and don't hear back.

The same week, we are inundated with emails and notices from E about smoking odours in the building. They post notices all over the common areas about this. They are cracking down with people smoking on balconies because that's against the rules which was never enforced before. Keep in mind this building is kind of run down. The elevators have been under repairs for 4 months now so only 1 works and they hired the cheapest company in town to recaulk the exterior windows and paint the exterior which looks horrible and is still not complete. I also feel like the cold comes through the windows even worse since they've done this. I sort of feel like the tenants respect the building as much as the landlord does, which isn't much. Lots of people smoke on balconies and the common laundry area often has garbage/lint/spilled laundry detergent on the floor. The elevator floors are disgusting and spills aren't cleaned for weeks. The cleaning crew looks like Motley Crue after a night performing at MSG on a good day and reek of cigarettes (I'm not judging, I'm just trying to paint a picture for you readers). This place is not well maintained or cared about from what I've observed.

I write to E and say I think it's funny they have all this time to post smoking notices but my tub hasn't drained since 2019. This elicits a response from landlord and he writes to me that he can have someone over to look at it right then or they could be there at 8AM the next morning and that we were not permitted to be in our apartment during the repair due to COVID (which I find odd since this was never an issue when it came to the inspections in October and earlier this month). He comes off quite insistent and disrespectful and I start getting flashbacks from the first work order I put in. I wait a bit to let him cool down and an hour or so later I respond to I say my partner works from home but she could shut into the bedroom and wear a mask if they wanted, or they could come in the evening if we had to be out. He replies that his "team" only works from 7AM -3PM Monday to Friday but he'll allow for my partner to shut in the bedroom while they work and he'll let me know what time they'll be coming the next day. I write back and acknowledge that.

We don't hear back from him into the evening but are half expecting his repair team to be at our door right at 8 AM the next morning, because he did say that in his first email. We get my girlfriend shut into the bedroom with a mask and I take off to work a bit early so I'm gone before 8 AM. At 10 AM she texts me and says no one has shown up and I tell her she can leave the bedroom. I email the landlord asking if he knows what time his team may be available and to text my partner before they arrive so she can duck into the bedroom.

No response from the landlord at all.

My partner does not want me to contact them again because it's always so much drama and stress. I'd like a tub that drains properly because it's so hard to keep clean as is. Kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. I also would like the bug screens replaced in my bedroom and on my balcony door so I can open them up this summer without letting in the bugs.

If you got this far, thanks. I just needed to get this off my chest. I'm so frustrated about this and I'm sure a few of you can relate. I hate dealing with this man and his "team". Landlord tenancy act says that a landlord would need to reimburse you for repairs, half debating hiring my own plumber and sending the landlord the bill. I can only imagine how that would go over. Like a tonne of bricks no doubt. Ugh.

TL;DR: landlord is explosive and moody when asked about repairs but then never actually repairs anything. Any time we contact him he is so abrasive and awful so we don't want to deal with him, but also want a tub that drains.