As college and university students begin to move in there is already a big mess piling up in one Barrie neighbourhood.
“It’s been pretty much a nightmare”, said parent Linda Ryan, who is helping her daughter move into a rental home geared towards students in Barrie’s east end.
Ryan said they were surprised to see furniture and garbage from the previous tenants and were left with no choice but to move it out.
“My daughters room that she tried to move into had a mattress from hell in it, garbage screens are popped out”, said Ryan. “The students that were here before basically didn’t take care of the place, so it’s a hard thing for everybody to deal with. “
For students who have lived in the neighbourhood near Georgian College before, this isn’t a new problem.
“Always moving in involves clearing out old stuff people leave behind,” said college student Nicole Thorton.
Landlords who rent their properties to students are equally frustrated and say it can be expensive.
“We try to go in ahead of time and make sure that students know they’re responsible for their garbage,” said landlord Doris Maier. “The majority of them are good, but it can cost us $500 to clean a large house.”
Crews cleaning out the old furniture and garbage have been working 11 hours days since Monday.
The old furniture and garbage is piling up on the side of the roads.
“We filled about two trailer loads of stuff yesterday just from the side of the road,” said contractor Kyle Conant.
Some students have just moved in and are now having to deal with the garbage piling up in front of their homes and violations notices the City of Barrie is now issuing.
By-law officials say once a ticket is issued it’s not negotiable and the $180 fine must be paid.
