In May my landlord agreed to my neighbourās request to replace the fence between our homes. My garden lines this fence. Yesterday he texted me to tell me a construction crew would be coming today to dig out the old fence and replace it.
This is what my fence line looks like right now:
Iāve sunk a ton of money ā and, more importantly, a ton of time and effort ā into my garden this year.
But instead of informing me back in May ā when I could have chosen not to cover this area with plants ā my landlord waited until the day before, giving me the minimum 24hrs notice.
When I spoke to my neighbour about it yesterday, his wife berated me for 20min on her front porch, saying I was ājust a tenant,ā and calling me a pain in the ass. Her husband was slightly more reasonable, attempting to show me text messages from my landlord. After all it was my landlordās fault for not telling me sooner.
But when I asked my neighbour why he didnāt come over himself and talk to me about the fence, his rationale was that I ākept to myself.ā He basically claimed that me being an introvert was good reason for him not to be a decent human being. His wife also tried to tell me about ātheir financial situation.ā I cut her off saying āYou have a pool in your backyard and own your home. Iām not concerned about your financial situation.ā
When I spoke to my landlord he pretended he was on my side and lied about ājust finding outā yesterday. Of course my neighbour put all the blame back on my landlord. So neither will take any accountability, but in the end Iām getting fucked. I have the most to lose and the least to gain in this situation.
The thing is I worked in permits for 4yrs before I became a nurse. I know bylaws. My neighbour has a pool. You need a permit to touch any fence enclosing a pool for safety reasons.
As it stands, the fence does not meet code for a pool enclosure because itās broken. I havenāt reported it because I donāt give a fuck; it doesnāt impact me. But the decision to replace the fence in the middle of the growing season does impact me, significantly-so. Iām going to lose at least half my crop if they tear down that fence.
So I took the only option I was given and called the city yesterday. They will have an inspector on-site today to issue a stop-work order. Since the fence currently doesnāt meet code, my neighbour will likely be forced to drain his pool until the fence can be replaced. And that wonāt happen until a permit is approved. With Covid closures still lingering, my hope is the fence gets delayed until September so I can at least harvest my corn.
The problem with shitting on the people whose backs you use to build your wealth is thereās no incentive for us to play fairly. We get fucked whether landlords play by the rules or not. So when the little we do own is threatened, you better believe weāll fight tooth and nail to protect it.
germansingergirl
dailybridgerton
theartofmadeline
izzy806
romaincrisis
ellievsbear
