157 Queen Street

The property manager was a pain to deal with, and while the place is pretty cute, the massive rooms and high ceilings made it cold and dark even in summer. There were significant issues before moving in, including attempts to make us share power with a separate studio and leftover items not listed on the chattels list, which the landlord refused to remove. Although things were fixed relatively quickly, communication was lacking, and the landlord was quite rude, often calling in response to emails to avoid documentation. On the plus side, the water pressure is great, all rooms have en-suites, the kitchen is nice and recently renovated, and the balcony gets good sun for drying laundry.

The flat has its perks, like each room having an ensuite with great water pressure and plenty of storage space, plus a nice view and a sunny deck. However, it can be quite cold, especially with large rooms prone to mould, and one room gets little light. Access is inconvenient with no road access, and the lack of a communal living area is a downside. The landlord is fairly responsive, and the maintenance guy is great, but the cold, uphill walk, and noise from upstairs can be annoying. Overall, it's just OK.

The house is very mouldy and damp, and it doesn't get much sunlight, which makes it cold. The heat pump is awkwardly placed in the hallway, and while the landlord suggests using the moisture master system, it would drive up the power bill, so we avoid it. On the plus side, the rooms are spacious with big glass windows, and I appreciate the people I live with. However, the property manager is quite unprofessional, showing up randomly for inspections without proper notice, which is frustrating. Overall, I pay low rent for the area, so I can't really complain too much.

The flat had a heat pump located in the spacious hallway, which wasn't an efficient way to heat the communal areas. While the price for the location was reasonable at $106 per room, it was set to increase to $112 in 2015, which I felt wasn't worth it. The flat was not very clean when we moved in, and one room had a terrible smell at the beginning of the year, with an unsatisfactory response from the landlord; I even had to pay for a rug doctor myself to fix it. Additionally, there was no sunlight, no insulation, and it took 4-5 minutes to get hot water through the taps or shower, making it quite uncomfortable.

The heat pump in the hallway keeps that area warm but doesn't heat the other rooms, and the Moisture Master system only works for a week before needing repairs that take two months. The landlord is very slow to respond and doesn't resolve issues. The best part of living here has been the flatmates, but the worst part is definitely the cold.