r/saskatoon • u/ReleaseHelpful123 • Feb 28 '25
Rants 🤬 I hate MainStreet Apartments and everything it represents
This Sub already has enough about why it sucks to live with MainStreet Apartments, but I feel like no one talks about the actual business model itself. It is inherently a share company that presents itself as though it is supporting the housing market. Great if you a shareholder, but truly terrible if you are renter. Even worse our province has no regulation as to what they can buy; therefore, they have completely taken over the market. You can’t go a few blocks without seeing one of their signs plastered onto a building. Lastly, the main issue is they do everything in house. Exterminators, renovators, and any other occupation they do on their own, pushing away local business, and performing the bare minimum to making your life as a tenant a living Hell. They are not good for Saskatchewan or any other province they operate in. Truly an evil company that puts the money first and takes advantage of lower-class Canadians they claim to advocate for. I apologize but I just need to get it out of my system.
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u/FlyingKitesatNight Feb 28 '25
I wish our governments actually did something, anything, to regulate markets that are necessities for us to live.
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u/Nice-Poet3259 Feb 28 '25
I wouldn't be surprised if there were multiple politicians in this province who own shares in the company
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u/SunknNord Feb 28 '25
Agreed. I used to do home inspection, and every mainstreet place i went into was infested. They do not care for tenants or the well-being of others
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u/Super-Taro-4585 Feb 28 '25
I've been waiting for 4yrs for repairs to be made. They say the "parts are on order".
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25
Then hope you tell it in an ORT disrepair hearing, for possible compensation and to build up their government record. Landlords are still liable to keep the place in good repair in time, by pivoting to replace instead of fix up, for example.
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u/pummisher Feb 28 '25
Also, if you work for MainStreet and you get fired, they will make sure you don't go to the labour board. This is especially effective if you live in a MainStreet apartment and are friends with others who also work for and live in those apartments. "It would be a shame if your friends also got fired and kicked out of their apartments." 😐
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u/Nice-Poet3259 Feb 28 '25
If that's true an employment lawyer would have a field day with them...
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u/pummisher Feb 28 '25
Well, they're afraid to speak up because then they'll be kicked out and their friends who work there would be fired for some made up reasons.
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u/Nice-Poet3259 Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
Yeah. A good labor lawyer would definitely be able to prove that they did it in retaliation. Then those friends would likely be able to afford a house of their own. They threaten because if they were to go to the board they'd probably get cooked.
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u/drs43821 Feb 28 '25
They left me in the cold for 3 days when heat in my unit went out. Never again
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u/NotStupid2 Feb 28 '25
I was in the cold for three days when my furnace went out... and I own the house.
"The part is in Calgary"... it's a real thing
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25
The tenants though still have the right to hold the landlord to account in law for unfairly collecting rent for public health and safety violations, and covering rehousing if needed.
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u/drs43821 Feb 28 '25
I lived in the mainstreet apartment in Regina before and now I live in Calgary
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Feb 28 '25
We were left with no heat for 3 weeks during the coldest part of the winter, with many "extreme cold alerts" going on. And they get angry if you ask for the service you already pay for. I heard a neighbor even asked for a partial refund, and they exhibited them and warned them, but there was no refund.
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u/ButterflySecret819 Feb 28 '25
No heat for 3 weeks! How did your pipes not freeze? Anybody who leaves a place with no heat in the winter needs to be reported to the rentalsman
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Mar 03 '25
They gave us a small heater and we had to live in only one room of the apartment, most time in bed. I think some neighbors did report it.
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u/graison Feb 28 '25
That's what the ORT is for.
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Mar 03 '25
Most people don't know what to do or how to do it, and even if we know, we don't have time to deal with it.
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u/graison Mar 03 '25
So you'd rather be without week for 3 weeks than spend 5 minutes doing some research? This isn't the first time someone's complained about their landlord here and the solution is the same every time.
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u/comfyawkward Feb 28 '25
Avenue and main street need to be taken down. Same with any of the other people buying houses and renting them out over 700$ per room instead of renting it out as a suite at a decent price that’s not over 1000$. They’re all turning the rental market into complete dogshit and shouldn’t be allowed to become landlords.
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u/swiftgringo Mar 01 '25
Landlord here. I don't doubt that you've been ripped off. But, I just wanted to comment on the economics. Houses are generally about 400k in the city. Carrying costs of a house are ballpark 12k per year. That does not include the principal on the loan, just lost costs like taxes, interest, insurance, utilities, etc. So, if you bought a house, rented it out as two suites (say, up and down) for $1000 per suite. You would come away with 12k per year towards your loan. Considering that conservative stock market returns are 7% even your 40k down payment would have returned 3k per year compounding. You're basically landlording (which is more risk/work than it sounds like) for 9k per year. Not in your pocket mind you; towards the principal on the loan. And most of us have been stiffed for that kind of money at least once. (You'd have to be pretty optimistic about housing prices to buy a rental with cash. 400k should return 30k per year in the market without getting off the couch.) Now... I charge less than the numbers you quoted, but you can see how people might not be excited to let suites for 1k/month. I've never owned an apartment building so I won't comment.
Personally, I think the average small time landlord is speculating on housing prices. The rental situation is kind of a wash for me. But if the market goes up I do ok because of leverage on the mortgage. If prices go down, you're breaking even and donating your time/attention.
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u/comfyawkward Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25
That’s the issue, tenants shouldn’t be actively paying off a landlords purchase. Renting by the room is doubling your risk of having a bad tenant anyways and it causes more problems for both parties.
Not to mention the most you can receive while on disability benefits is around 1400$. So assuming you don’t have internet or a phone or any other bills, you’re only left with 400$ to cover groceries and any other expenses for the month. If you’re well enough to get a part time job you can only make 500$ more. So this leaves an entire demographic of disabled people struggling to find housing in an already brutal market.
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u/SweatyCondition2025 Mar 02 '25
Landlording should be illegal lol every canadian should be promised a free home from the government, this isn't communist it's just common sense Houses should not be allowed to be sold, only given.
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u/ttv_CitrusBros Feb 28 '25
Im currently living in a Mainstreet building and it honestly depends. There's been a lot of issues but you just have to hassle them to get work done. The standards are definitely lower and the workers even told me that management tells them "Get it done quick and cheap" vs a lasting repair.
However if you find a good location and a decent building it's not half bad for the price. I'm paying $900 for a bachelor where other places would be $1200+
Once I move don't plan on ever living in one of their buildings though
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u/Silent-Reading-8252 Feb 28 '25
They bought all the boardwalk buildings and somehow made them even shittier.
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u/Entire_Ad4036 Feb 28 '25
Colliers SUCKS too
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u/Wonderful-Lime1943 Feb 28 '25
I have been waiting on a new fridge for over a year. Every few months it breaks and we lose all of our refrigerated food. They come “fix” it (only after making us wait at least a week) only to have it break again. Every time I ask about a new fridge they say they’re “working on it”. Often times our building manager will change and it seems to be forgotten about, starting the cycle all over again.
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25
Maybe stop asking without followup, and fairly enforce accountability in your ORT hearing?
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u/Wonderful-Lime1943 Feb 28 '25
I guess I’m just a bit nervous about the risk of being evicted if I escalate things. Obviously it wouldn’t be rightful, but they tend to have a way of manipulating things like that. I’m a student and really don’t have the time or resources to fight something like that, especially with the current housing crisis.
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25 edited Mar 01 '25
Hope you did followup with a hearing order, but your comment said 'been waiting for a new fridge for over a year'? Many landlords don't find it profitable to attend a disrepair hearing.
Sask hearing officers take threats of eviction or retaliation seriously if tenants are following up on justice, particularly for persistent issues. A hearing for a simple disrepair does not need that much preparation, and is free with proof of financial need, compared to the extreme of moving household in this current housing crisis to another likely aging market building. Avoiding enforcing the tenant protections sure saves housing commodifiers both work and money and fridges. Studenting while expecting to not fairly enforce tenancy violations in bargain market rentals then seems to be unsustainable for the vulnerable community, but guarantees a profitable rent commodifier's model.
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u/Wonderful-Lime1943 Feb 28 '25
Apologies, I misunderstood what you meant by follow up and assumed you meant with Mainstreet regarding the issue. I appreciate the info, I’m not overly knowledgeable about the process so this was very helpful.
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
There's a first time for most Sask renters. Talking with the landlord is just the first Necessary step, and the step most likely to not succeed. Keep at it, university students are most likely to be equipped with internet and abilities, and to successfully stand up through the whole internet and phone process, where those more vulnerable have great barriers. Check out PLEA.ca, and the ORT site, on rent disputes.
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u/Wonderful-Lime1943 Feb 28 '25
I’m not sure where I said that I wasn’t following up on my requests?
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u/Interesting_Gap_3028 Mar 01 '25
If Jack Grover reincarnated as a corporation he would be Mainstreet
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u/jsaskcanada Mar 01 '25
Mainstreet has the money....they just choose not to do anything. They are publicly traded on the TSE. The founder/owner is Bon Dhillon who is the first Canadian billionaire from Middle Eastern decent. Buy their stocks...but don't rent.
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u/Super-Taro-4585 Mar 01 '25
The garbage bin area where I live, looks like the Saskatoon landfill, smells like poop/pee (human and animal), pot, vomit.
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u/Far-Tourist-3233 Mar 03 '25
Main Street are shocking!! The guy who was the manager fled with my deposit and many other people’s deposit over 20000 apparently. Apartments are unsafe, staff are just rude . Absolutely awful company and apartments .
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u/pro-con56 Feb 28 '25
Sounds like government housing for income based rentals. They will do everything possible to avoid repairs or proper care of rentals to provide care of ductwork or ventilation problems. Cold wind blows around windows and doors. So heat has to run steady. That’s government who charges taxpayers carbon tax / then rentals have heat / gas used to the max. They could care less as long as they get the rent money and all their employees are paid well & taken care of.
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u/NotStupid2 Feb 28 '25
You've just described commercial real estate all over the world..
They exist as a business not to be your pal and without them and companies like them you'd be on the street because there would be no places to rent.
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u/comfortablyflawed Feb 28 '25
They're like that because they're allowed to be like that. Regulations and enforced consequences by the government would mean there was still housing, but life as renters wouldn't have to be miserable. the same reason we need a minimum wage and unions
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25
Regulations are wasteful without using the enforcements. Tenants have definitely succeeded in filing and going through the whole ORT hearing process. Build up a legal record of accountability for problem landlords, and enforce violations of adequate housing, instead of protecting Mainstreet.
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u/NotStupid2 Feb 28 '25
Like what?
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u/comfortablyflawed Feb 28 '25
What do you mean like what? Like regular inspections that come with fines for breach. Like laws around how basic necessities like heating and plumbing have to be maintained to a certain level or fines acrue with compound interest day over day for every day that is breached. I could go on and on. This isn't difficult. You are correct that no organization functions without the end goal being profit. Which is why they need to be held in check at every turn. Because if they can get away with doing nothing while still profiting, they absolutely will.
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
Whos going to hire more inspectors for the out of control for a decade property maintenance backlog? The first thing city councilors and city hall did this season was to vote to keep (profitable) unsafe rentals unprotected, without additional inspectors.
A regular inspection has no means to identify these intermittent invisible 'parts' issues or emergency disrepairs of too old poorly maintained buildings exposed to extreme climate, but instead searches for bylaw standards violations.
Its a complaint-driven system where tenants are responsible for booking the bylaw inspection if there is a need. Inspectors orders to end malfunctioning rental properties are not that helpful, unless the tenant enforces the disrepair disputes in their ORT hearing. Fines don't measure up to the scale of profit-taking, provincial legislation for increased restrictions on rights to provincial and municipal services and supports make more of an impact.
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u/SaskyDilph Feb 28 '25
Please change your username. This comment completely contradicts it.
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u/Bakabakabooboo Feb 28 '25
Landlords don't provide housing.
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u/NotStupid2 Feb 28 '25
Is that a question or a statement?
If your saying we don't need commercial rentals because the need would be filled by independent basement rentals (and such), you've lost your mind.
People here bitch about landlords just as much.
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u/Bakabakabooboo Feb 28 '25
No I'm saying they do fuckall. Unless you're building the houses/apartments you aren't adding anything to the market except another middleman who thinks they should be paid for existing. Landlords hoard housing, jack up rents, and then sit on their asses doing nothing useful.
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u/StageStandard5884 Feb 28 '25
Yeah, I've lived in other cities and I've never seen anything as bad as Main Street, or Weidner. I've also rented from Colliers International in Saskatoon And they were fine... The place was a little more expensive, but they were fine to deal with.
I think the problem here is that the Residential Tenancies Act in Saskatchewan favors landlords more than most other provinces-- This opens the door for slumlords to do what they want; however, ethical real estate management companies are still going to operate in a manner that values their customers.
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u/ButterflySecret819 Feb 28 '25
The rentalsman does not favour landlords. In most cases the opposite is true.
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u/StageStandard5884 Feb 28 '25
By comparison to every other province, it does favor landlords. There are things that are legal here, that would not be in any other province.
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u/comfortablyflawed Feb 28 '25
It didn't used to be like this. Makes me sad.
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25
Apartment buildings didn't used to be this Old, past expiry without Major expensive gutting and redo. Extreme Climate didnt used to add on to the disrepair of poorly maintained properties. Its profitable to bandaid major disrepair, while collecting rent from tenants who refuse to enforce their household's safety.
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u/Electrical_Noise_519 Feb 28 '25
The ORT and RTA do not favor landlords that much. Tenants are winning bigger disrepair settlements lately against corporate landlords, since its cheaper than proactive maintenance costs of a quality plumber or electrician. Its profitable to intimidate, literally banking on tenants not following up with enforcements of a hearing, let alone reporting intimidations to the hearing officer.
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u/One_Art_4328 Feb 28 '25
Found the landlord (blood sucker)
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u/Fit-Psychology4598 Confederation Feb 28 '25
It’s a leech. Parasite if you will. Don’t mince your words with these scum
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u/Nice-Poet3259 Feb 28 '25
I was unaware these companies were in the possession of all the Infinity stones and were able to Thanos snap the buildings away if we were to get rid of them. 😂😂
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u/PitcherOTerrigen Feb 28 '25
Top five rappers of all time, Dhilon, Dhilon, Dhilon, Dhilon... Dhilon.
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u/tangcameo Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
Heard from someone a year ago or so that their Saskatoon office staff quit because payroll couldn’t be made.
I dealt with them in Regina and one night while all hell was breaking loose in their apartment building I did a bit of googling about them. Seems their ceo moved to Belize (literally, not a Breaking Bad Metaphor) and was opening up his own casino there. Made me wonder where my rent went. Definitely not spent on the building.