Being a tenant and having someone to call for help with your home can be great, but sometimes landlords make choices you may not like. One tenant took to Reddit for help on dealing with a landlord cutting down all their trees.
On the forum page r/legaladvicecanada, an upset tenant asked if they have any recourse for a landlord's behavior. In the post, they wrote about renting a house with a large backyard that was lined with trees. They noted that each tree was at least 50 years old and over 15 feet tall.
When someone knocked on their door one day saying they were there to cut down a tree, they noted: "I asked which one and he said 'looks like all of them'. Within 15 minutes he started and 8 hours later every tree, shrub, and flower bed was removed ... I'm speechless. I'm an avid gardener and rented the property because of the greenery. We also rented thinking there would be shade in the summer to help with heat. … So my question is, is what he did legal?"
This Redditor seemed to have neighbors who were on their side. For those who live under an HOA or are tenants under a landlord, they can try to band together to advocate for rule changes. Restrictions by HOAs often impact folks' abilities to make eco-friendly choices. Many HOAs impose strict rules about traditional grass lawns and often encourage water usage to keep yards green, even in droughts.
This loss of greenspace makes the OP's home less enjoyable, and it may be detrimental to their whole neighborhood. New Scientist wrote about a study in 2021 detailing how increased tree cover can keep certain cities across Europe up to 12 degrees Celsius (about 21.6 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler.
The helpful folks on Reddit had a lot of ideas for the OP. "In Alberta you can get in big trouble for pouring concrete over a previously grassed or gravelled area without a permit. Concrete causes major water drainage issues," suggested one person. Other commenters replied that the rules might vary depending on your city or municipality.
Someone else commiserated: "That's horrible. I'd literally be in tears over something like this."
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