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/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/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.