brenda klassen, a reaaal class act.

i probably won't get my damage deposit back, but at least my crazy old (as in previous, and also as in OLD) landlord got a giant fine. ha ha. i happened to be googling her yesterday and found this article from last month:

Despite claims she would rather die than see her tenants hurt, a Calgary landlady was convicted yesterday of jeopardizing their safety.

Provincial court Judge Les Grieve fined Brenda Klassen's Sonchris Developments Ltd. $40,000, for four safety code violations involving fire security breaches.

Grieve convicted the company, which is solely owned by Klassen, of not having its fire alarms and extinguishers checked within the required 12-month period.

Klassen was also found to have not posted signage telling people to call 911 if they triggered a building alarm and had inadequate emergency lighting at her property at 312 3 Ave. N.E.

Klassen was ticketed by fire inspector Jim Heynen after he discovered the violations during an April 17, 2006, check of the property.

In testimony, Klassen said she was having trouble maintaining her equipment after the individual who did the work in all four of her Calgary buildings retired, leaving her scrambling to find someone else. She said she would never intentionally put any of her tenants at risk.

"If anybody came to any harm because of me I don't think I'd want to live," said Klassen, who has owned rental properties for five decades.

But Grieve rejected her claim, finding Klassen's only motivation for not getting the work done was to save a buck.

"Mrs. Klassen clearly longs for the days gone by when one person could do this for little cost," the judge said.