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06_V1_WAT_Oct26 30 Weber St., N., Waterloo | Design Centre: 266 Marsland Dr., Waterloo 519.746.4268 • www.snugglersfurniture.com 15% OFF all custom orders + SAVE THE TAX! ExclusivE HONDA ONE FOcus ONE REsPONsiBiliTY 519-746-7900 www.kwhonda.com 465 CONESTOGO RD., WATERLOO Limite d Tim e Offe r 22 King St. South waterloo • www.allmynails.ca • 519-883-0882 and Advanced Foot CareSalon and Advanced Foot CareSalon All My Nails We offer exceptional products that are both safe and natural looking 6 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • Thursday, October 26, 2017 Serving your community since 1856 By Adam Jackson Chronicle Staff Four residents of a stu-dent-geared apartment in Waterloo are frustrat- ed with a cockroach issue that isn't going away. The four women -- three of which are third-year students in the middle of midterms -- noticed the issue immediately upon moving in at the begin- ning of September; they saw cockroaches big and small all over the apartment. They informed property management, Marq Student Housing, who -- after being provided with photographic evidence -- sent an extermi- nator. According to those liv- ing at the apartment, the treat- ment was supposed to elimi- nate all of the cockroaches within 14 days. Fourteen days came and passed on Oct. 13. While the students in the unit claim they keep their space clean -- on Tuesday, the apartment looked like it hadn't been moved into yet -- there could be mitigating cir- cumstances. The issue might have been exacerbated by the summer tenants -- a group of male stu- dents, who left the place in a mess for the beginning of the school year. But, according to other tenants on the same floor of the building, it has become a building wide issue, said ten- ant Sharon Amon. Other tenants have come to her saying that pest control personnel have been spray- ing in their apartments during "furniture inspection" entries by Marq employees. Amon, one of two new tenants in the infested apart- ment, said the situation has been unbearable. The three other renters have been liv- ing elsewhere until the situa- tion can be rectified. They are unnerved by their encounters with the cockroaches. " T h e y ' r e e v e r y w h e r e . Sometimes when you get into the shower they're in there," said Amon. The four students, who pay $560 each plus hydro ($2,240), have suggested two possible solutions for Marq. One solu- tion is to have them moved to a different apartment while theirs is cleaned, while the other is to allow them to break their lease free of penalty and move to another unit. Amon said Marq has denied both requests. While in communication with Paul Reifenstein, the gen- eral manager of Marq for the Waterloo area, Amon said she was considering approach- ing the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board -- a quasi- judicial board that deals with landlord-tenant disputes. According to Amon, Reifen- stein told her not to do so. The Chronicle reached out to Reif- enstein, but did not hear back by press time. While noting that Marq has been fairly responsive in getting treatment done in the apartment, Amon hasn't been satisfied with the results. Shayne Turner, director of bylaw enforcement with the City of Waterloo, told the Chronicle on Wednesday that they had not received a com- plaint from anyone within the building. If the city does receive a complaint, it would fall under the property standards bylaw. If the landlord or property owner fails to comply with a request to deal with the issue, the city will send investigators to determine whether or not there is merit to the complaint. If there is an issue with any pests, the city can mandate the cleanup and give the landlord or property owner a deadline to deal with it. Alternatively, the city can do the work and charge the property owner. Turner said with suspected infestations, it's often difficult to determine the scope of the problem, especially if there are not multiple calls. "We go by the number of calls. We can't force our way into other people's apartments unless we get a request," said Turner. But, if it is determined that it is a multi-unit infestation, they would direct the landlord or property owner to treat all units around those affected in an attempts to contain the ver- min. AdAm JAckson Photo Luxna Ramanoorthy, Abina naganathan, Winnet Runhare and sharon Amon, tenants of 173 king street n., are frustrated by a cockroach issue they say is plaguing their entire floor. Cockroaches a problem for tenants at local student-geared apartments "They're everywhere. Sometimes when you get into the shower they're in there." Sharon Amon Resident of local student=geared apartment building