They’re trying to stay positive for their son, but an Alberta couple say they’re in an Avenue Living nightmare.
Issues like a hanging smoke detector outside their apartment, an off-kilter drain in the laundry room and a vehicle that’s been in their parking spot since they moved in.
“I want my son to be safe where he lives,” says Lania Cook, a resident of Flamborough Garden in Lethbridge.
The family lives in Flamborough Garden and says they’ve made multiple complaints to Avenue Living and haven’t received a response.
“This is a communal area and it’s not being taken care of. There’s only so much one person can do. This is supposed to be taken care of by a corporation and they’re not taking care of us,” added Cook.
Nick Lund also lives in Flamborough Garden and says he feels like he’s being forced out of his apartment by the company.
“I have my keys, but anyone could just walk on into my apartment building. This is supposed to be a secure building,” says Lund. “We found houseless people in the building. We found feces on the floor. I found houseless people sleeping in our foyer and doing drugs in the foyer.”
Lund says Avenue Living sent his January rent payment back, claiming he didn’t pay, which has since been sorted out.
He even had a maintenance worker try to come into his apartment unannounced.
“I was even getting changed one day before my class and I had an Avenue Living employee knock three times and didn’t even wait 10 seconds before trying the door with keys and I had to quickly get my pants on and scurry to the door and confront the man,” added Lund.
Lund is now hoping to get out of his lease.
Just a few days ago, he filed a complaint to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service.
“If anybody is considering renting off of Avenue Living, I’d suggest you turn your tail and run the other way,” Lund said.
Avenue Living declined an interview request, but sent a statement that says, in part: “Our service standards have been followed, and we continue to communicate proactively with our residents to ensure their needs are met.”
The company is urging residents to contact it directly with any concerns they have, something Lund and Cook insist they’ve already done.