WINDSOR, ONT. -- Fights, late-night parties, excessive garbage on her property and months of sleepless nights is pushing a Windsor woman to take matters into her own hands.
Michele Daly’s complaints against her upstairs neighbours have drawn police — but in her words, very little action.
She’s hoping her unique approach of posting signs around her property will catch their attention.
The 63-year-old has rented her Walkerville home for 11 years. But over the last year since a new tenant moved in — she says her life has been turned upside down.
“It sucks,” Daly says of her current circumstances, which really picked up over the past six months.
“There’s been needles, meth pipes, the baggies that the drug comes in in my backyard at my patio table,” Daly recounts, noting mounds of garbage piled on the upper balcony spill over into her yard.
Daly says there’s non-stop noise at all hours of the night — prompting her to call police more than 100 times. According to documents obtained by CTV News, police have responded to calls for domestic violence, disorderlies, and possession of stolen property, to list a few.
Police would not speak to specific events — but say Daly’s response is appropriate.
“Please report any incidence any concerns to the police so we can investigate and allocate our resources accordingly,” says Sgt. Steve Betteridge, a Windsor police spokesperson.
But Daly says the problems persist. She says she suffers from heart problems and hasn’t had more than two-to-three hours of sleep in months.
“It’s insane! I can’t take it anymore and I just said, enough is enough,” she says. “Not anymore. Not anymore. I’m fed up.”
To fight back, Daly and her daughter Kyle have launched a Facebook group called: “I want my life back.” She’s been listing her neighbour’s activities, complete with pictures.
They’ve also pounded signs all around her house, highlighting issues she claims plague her well-being in an attempt to expose the problem.
“They don’t care, well you know what, I’m tired of being Mrs. Nice Guy, I don’t care,” she says. “I’m going to let people know what you’re doing to me.”
CTV Windsor called and left a voicemail with the tenant and even knocked on the door to the second unit but neither attempt received a response.
The landlord, Jean-Marc Basque, indicates he’s already incurred $2,000 in clean-up costs and has been fined three times by bylaw enforcement for having a dirty yard. He also estimates there is at least $20,000 damage to the upstairs unit.
Basque tells CTV Windsor he’s also running into roadblocks evicting the tenant — because of the temporary suspension of landlord-tenant board hearings during the COVID-19 crisis.
Daly says she’s unwilling to move and will keep her “shame campaign” going until she gets action.
“I’m fighting this for me, I’m fighting it for my landlord, and I’m fighting it for my neighborhood,” says Daly.
CTV Windsor will look into why the landlord is having difficulties bringing the case before a hearing to resolve the matter.
