(by Margot Grant)
Starr Rousseaux (35) and Sean Jackson (36) are willing to spend $1,250 per month on rent, including utilities, for a one- or two-bedroom cottage or suite. But they have not been able to find a permanent place to live on the Coast.
Their joint income is $3,400 a month. Jackson works fulltime at Salish Soils and Rousseaux is on disability.
Rousseaux is at Sechelt hospital, suffering from a brain injury she sustained in a car accident in 2015. She has trouble concentrating and is forgetful and easily distracted. Things seem chaotic at times. Not having a home is stressful. “I need a routine to recover, I need quiet,” she says.
Rousseaux and Jackson were living with relatives when they started looking for a place in December.
In February, they rented a one-bedroom cottage in West Sechelt. The landlord wanted $900 in rent plus $100 for cable and a $400 damage deposit.
Bricks blocked the driveway but they were told they would be removed. The bathroom was not finished; the shower did not work and somebody was tiling. The landlord claimed the work would be done before they moved in, and the place would be thoroughly cleaned.
But when moving day came, they said the bricks were still in the driveway, the shower did not work, the tiling job was not finished, and the place was filthy.
And something was odd, they thought. Computer parts and a printer seemed strategically placed at certain locations near the floor. They soon found out why: they covered big rat holes. They said there were suspicious-looking holes higher up in the living room walls as well.
Also, the cable did not work.
They got very sick living in the cottage, they said. And the rats got to them. When they saw one at the fridge, they began packing. They had lived in the cottage for three weeks.
Rousseaux ended up in the hospital; Jackson moved in with a relative. Because of confusion and illness, they forgot to stop the automatic payment of the rent so they ended up paying for March as well. Because they had not cleaned the cottage when they left, they did not expect to get their damage deposit back.
Jackson stayed with relatives until a former employer came to his rescue. She offered them the temporary use of her three-bedroom house in Sechelt for $800 a month; she is rarely there and wants somebody to look after it for a while.
Rousseaux says she will be discharged from the hospital this week. The couple is looking for a permanent place to live.
The landlord could not be reached for comment.