SMOKER WITH PET

This column is dedicated to all those out there renting out beautiful, luxury Salt Spring apartments. After ten years of renting on Salt Spring, this year in particular has shown some interesting shifts. Let me introduce myself to you as your worst nightmare. Yes, it is I, the smoker with pet. The antithesis of your NS NP. I have resigned my home hunting to a quick scan of the paper, hoping to catch just one ad missing those dreaded capitals. Often, I’ll spot an “NS, NP, cat okay”. I don’t quite get this. I stare over at my friendly love mongrel of a lab and internally compare her to a cat. Am I missing something here? Cat’s like to scratch, and cat urine is one of the hardest odours to remove from anything, including floors. Cat’s like to honour your rented home by bringing in such things as slaughtered rodents and birds. I tried to think of attributes of her that were damaging to a home. I imagined her chewing on the corner of a wall. It made me laugh. That stuff doesn’t happen. I suppose being hairy and shedding can be an unwanted quality in her, but the same goes for cats. I suppose it gets on the furniture, but it’s my furniture.  Any responsible tenant with a pet, including myself, takes responsibility for their animal. Isn’t this the sort of thing damage deposits are for? I’ve seen more damage done to homes by children than pets. Myself, I have an artistic ink sketch on my once flawless coffee table compliments of a visiting toddler “Picasso”. Ever try painting over crayon?  Or patching up holes after Mr. And Mrs. Smith left town and the kids had a party?

Now to smoking. Smoking is a big one. I mean, I get it. It’s a horrible habit. It smells foul, and can be an insurance issue for the homeowners. Fair enough.

We all know this as smokers and most of us try to respect the rights of others in terms of the habit.  But what is the harm of agreeing to smoke outdoors? It’s actually a term in my current lease. I don’t know many smokers who smoke in their own homes nowadays. It’s pretty rare.

And what about all these ritzy rentals these days with their high end hardwood floors and french doors for ridiculous prices. How does anyone expect a single person, with an average income, to afford to rent a space for $1200 + utilities?

I don’t want a luxury suite. I want a long term home.

People with that kind of income shouldn’t even be renting, they might as well buy. If there was actually a realistic way for younger first time home buyers to make a go of it, it would probably happen more. But that’s just not the way it is at all right now.

There are many of us here who call Salt Spring our home. We work regular jobs, often more than one, and forsake high income opportunities in order to live in this beautiful place and do the things we love. People who work hard pay their rent, and love their pets and their children.

It seems to me when I read all these rental ads that they are missing one thing. An “NL”. No living. You might as well just say it because that’s what you mean. You want a tenant to live on your property, sometimes even attached to you, pay top dollar, not have pets, sometimes even children though it’s not said out loud, and be happy paying out our asses to live in your dream. But no living! No living allowed!  People need a home more than a house. They need to feel that the space is theirs. And when they do they are even more inclined to take good care of it.

It’s unfortunate that you don’t hold more stock in finding the right person for the space. A cigarette and a dog at their side don’t make them the enemy. People who don’t smoke can also be bad renters. And people with no pets can also damage your property.

Stephanie Rhodes

Smoker with Pet

This Saltspring post has had 965 views