By Brittney Matejka

Leaky roof causes frustrations for Medicine Hat renter

Jan 19, 2018 | 4:24 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB. – For most of the month it has been raining inside the kitchen of one Medicine Hat family’s home.

Nicole Uhle has been struggling to get the roof repaired on her rental home after water poured in from melting snow on January 6th.

“The first day within 20 minutes we had 5 buckets, all kinds of containers and pots across the kitchen table and we dumped them 7 times in the first hour,” she said.

The mother of three said she contacted her landlord immediately after the water began leaking and he came to her residence right away. She explained he said someone would look at the damage 3 days later.

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“Is there anyway you can come sooner?” she said. “It’s raining in our kitchen, it’s raining in our son’s room and he said if you don’t like it, move.”

The property manager denied an interview with CHAT News.

Uhle said no one has come to repair the damage. She called a health inspector to do an assesment and he said there was work needing to be done. He set a target completion date for interior repairs to be made by the landlord on January 15th.

When CHAT News visited the property early Friday afternoon, work had not been started on any repairs.

Uhle has concerns over the safety of her home, and is worried there could be damage to the electrical wiring. Currently, there isn’t a working light in her kitchen. She explained she has to make dinner for her family with a flashlight.

“We’re scared that our kids are going to turn on a light and get hurt,” she said.

Uhle said she has reached out to a variety of agencies for help including the province’s Landlord and Tenants Advisory Board, but has ran into difficulties as they do not have an office in Medicine Hat.

“It would of been nice for them to have an office here,” she said. “Show them this is happening here with our pictures and videos.”

The City of Medicine Hat did have a Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board until 1994. Since then, the service has been provided by the province to handle any disputes between a tenant and their landlord.

Uhle said she hopes by sharing her story she can highlight the lack of local support for tenants and landlords struggling with property issues.