HALIFAX, N.S.— Halifax landlords have once again found new and creative ways to scam unsuspecting students, with some landlords increasing rent prices on units with ‘undeclared tenants.’
Wilbur Barrett, a local landlord, was one of the first to initiate the changes. Barrett believes it is unfair for houses to have living creatures under the roof of his property if he does not know it.
“I have one unit that took complete advantage of my kindness. I gave this group of students an amazing deal: seven bedrooms, one bath- which doubles as the kitchen- for only $1,650 each every month! Now I find out they have mice just freeloading in there? It’s unacceptable. I don’t care if there is an infestation, that’s how I feel about the students living there anyways,” Barrett said in a statement to The Mackerel.
According to one resident, the tenants have made the best of a bad situation.
“I actually wound up paying less for rent now, I traded rooms with one of the mice to pay $1,300 for a smaller room. I mean, it sort of sucks living in the mouse-sized hole in the wall, but I’m only 5-3 so I feel like I am well equipped,” said Roger MacFlaherty, a tenant of Barrett’s unit.
Barrett reportedly feels for the financial circumstances of his tenants, as he was seen by eyewitnesses wiping tears out of his eyes with hundred dollar bills.
By Sam Creighton