Tales of A Tenant

So, about a week and a half ago, my landlord phones me, and tells me that the plumbing under my toilet has been leaking into the suite below (take that, Mr Party-Of-One!), and that he needs to have a plumber in. I tell him that of course he can have access to my apartment, just please don't leave me without a toilet over night, or anything like that.

Late last week Wednesday I came home to find this in my hallway:

(yes, that is branches from the Christmas tree you see, but I can assure you that it is indeed taken care of now), and this in the bathroom:

So I gave my dad a call, and talked him into taking me out for dinner. ;)

When I got home, the toilet was no longer in the hall, but I was less than pleased with the condition of my bathroom. The plumber hadn't made a huge mess, but neither had he cleaned up the mess he had made. Plus, the toilet was now in a new position, exposing disgusting filth:

and not only that, but it wasn't even sitting on the floor! There was a significant gap between it and the floor:

It rocked a bit too.

So, I contacted my landlord, expressing my concerns. He said the plumber would be back next week with longer screws (to fix the rocking), and asked if the stuff could be cleaned. I told him I hadn't tried... that between Wednesday and then that I had been alternately busy, exhausted, and sick... and was it fair to expect me to clean up the results of someone else's work? (Work that I hadn't requested, or cause to be required, although it did relate to old plumbing from my suite.)

Yes, the plumber did come back with longer screws, and the toilet does seem to be more firmly anchored... although it still is quite high off the floor. But the caretaker, who was apparently given the task of dealing with the mess... didn't. He didn't clean up any of the grit or waxy/oily smears, and the ancient crud got an icing of caulk:

Grrr.

The landlord was over today, so I showed him the mess. He was disappointed with the work he had paid for. Then he asked if I thought a dremel would take off the crud?!?! (Yeah, but it would also destroy the linoleum tiles!!!)

So, at some point, when I have time, I'll be cleaning up the mess. *sigh*

It's stuff like this that makes me want to own my own place! (At least then I'll have pride of ownership, and of improving the value of the place I own!)