Blakeslee bought the building I lived in from my previous landlord. I had a month-to-month lease, and so when the landlord sold the building, I had no rights and no room to complain. A man came to my door and told me that my new landlord needed me to sign a new rental agreement, and fill out a rental application.
The roof was leaking and pipes were clogged when he bought the building, and he *did* make an effort to begin repairs. The repairmen he hired were surly and rude, but when I complained to Blakeslee, he blamed me, saying that I was being difficult.
Blakeslee started to send the tenants notices, telling us when we could open or close our windows, and saying that we would be charged extra if we left a window open when the temperature was below a certain number.
I paid my rent on time, but Blakeslee never gave me any receipts. Within a few months of buying the
building, Blakeslee decided to raise the rents he was collecting from everyone in the building, supposedly because the utility bills were higher than he expected. Again, because of the month-to-month rental agreement, I had no way to contest this.
On June 15, he sent an employee to my apartment, claiming that he had not been paid for the month of June. I had mailed the rent on time, and told his employee that. The employee left, but Blakeslee called two days later to say that he had not receive the rent. I suspected that he or one of his employees at Blakeslee Restaurant Supply had misplaced the check. A few days later, Blakeslee showed up at the apartment unannounced and once again said that the rent had not been paid.
I conceded it was possible that the check had been lost in the mail. I called my bank to void the initial check, and wrote a new check for Blakeslee. I did this to make sure that Blakeslee would not find the first check later and cash it, charging the same rent twice.
When Blakeslee's employee arrived to collect the check, he insisted that I pay a $50 late fee. Blakeslee had not mentioned this "late fee" in our earlier discussions. Since I was not at fault, I declined to pay the "late fee" and Blakeslee told me that I could expect a "three-day eviction notice". Fed up, I said that I would be moving out.
The next day, I discovered a bill for *another* $500. The gist seemed to be that because I was moving out without giving 30 days notice, I owed Blakeslee another month's rent - even though he was the one who told us to move out and that he was evicting us! His note also said that he would be filing a lawsuit in small claims court. I moved out before the end of the month.
Since I moved out, Blakeslee has harassed me over the phone and online, and has also harassed my friends and my former employer. He has tried to threaten and intimidate me by claiming that he will sue me. So far, I have received no notice from any authorized official or court that this "lawsuit" is anything but an empty threat intended to scare me.
I would strongly advise against renting an apartment from Barry Blakeslee, or having any business dealings with Blakeslee Real Properties or Blakeslee Restaurant Supply. Many landlords are disrespectful and greedy, but there is no excuse for behavior like his.
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