not in the right headspace
first the bad news:
there’s going to be no new comic this week and maybe next week as well.
now the good news:
it looks like it’s rendo week at kukuburi! not only have i added a few words about our favourite quatropus to the CAST PAGE but last week i received a wonderful email containing a 3d modelling of rendo by australian artist tim streets! i’ve posted the piece to the FAN ART GALLERY with links to more images and a video (!) turnaround of rendo as well!
as i write this update i just received an awesome rendition of nadia entering the inbetween by michael maglio! though i’m going to save that one for next week :)
i can’t tell you how awesome it feels to receive these great pieces of art in my inbox. it’s like christmas!
and now the why:
just shy of 10 years ago i moved into the loft i live in now. when i moved in no one told me the building was zoned commercial. so technically i couldn’t live there. though i quickly found out, along with the 60 other tenants, when the city started posting eviction notices on our doors. the landlord appealed to us to fight with him and get the building rezoned for what they call live/work, an r4 zoning here in toronto. it took two appeals to the city committee but the minor variance was approved. we were now to be protected under the residential tenancies act.
or so i thought.
10 years and not a peep.
last month a received a new lease taped to my door. i’ve been leaseless for the 10 years i’ve been here. the lease was a commercial lease stating that i must be operating a business on the premises and not residing within them. well i knew this was wrong so i approached the superintendent. he told me this was a way the landlord was getting around tenants whose rent was in arrears as it is quite easy to evict someone under a commercial lease, even easier if they are living on the premises which the lease states they cannot live upon.
he told me this wouldn’t apply to me since i am a good tenant and always pay my rent.
i laughed and said i’m not going to take your word over a signed piece of paper. i sign that lease and i’m putting the noose around my neck and just waiting for the landlord to push!
so i refused to sign.
and now they are trying to terminate my tenancy at the end of this month since i am unwilling to sign their lease.
so i’m fighting.
but it’s taking a lot of my time and killing my creative headspace. i’ve tried to sit and work on kukuburi but my heart is just not in it as i fight to maintain my home. i don’t want to produce pages in a half-hearted way just to fill up the webspace. if i’m going to do it i want to do it right.
so for the next few weeks, depending on how things go, i will not be producing new pages. i will however produce new cast pages which add some insight into the world of kukuburi and post new gallery art from you the readers. i know it’s not the same, but it’s the best i can offer due to my current circumstances.
my apologies.
i’ll keep you all posted on how things are going.
till next week my friends.
Good luck.
Ramon take all the time you need to protect your nest.
Don’t sweat it. I’d say you having a place to live is more important than a web comic
No apologies needed Ramon! Do what you need to protect your home. We’ll wait until you have the headspace to get back into the story.
You have more important things to do than a web comic right now!
We will still be here when you feel like going back to drawing the comic.
Good luck and lots of fighting spirit vibes!
/D
Hey, I’d much rather Kukuburi were done right than done quick. Take all the time you need — we’ll wait…
Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve been quitely reading Kuku for several months now. I’ve read some of the comments too, and from what I’ve seen of your fanbase, you need not worry about kukuburi, your fans are patient, and most of us would be willing to help (some of us financially as well). I hope that either you get your home to stay, or that you have an easy time finding a new home. But I wish you the best of luck my friend.
Also, side note: Today’s my 19th birthday. Woo.
Good luck in your battle with “the man”! We’ll all send as much good karma your way as we can!
Ive been a fan of BNS for a long while, and only just started reading kukuburi. The fact is I dont care if you dont produce for a while, its worth the wait.
Good luck with the fight and to take enough time off to get your head in the right space before posting again. The navigation isnt fantastic so having to go back and re-check the pages you re do because of your anal retention to detail is worth it but irritating
thank you all.
and thomas have a happy birthday!!
mine’s tomorrow ;)
Don’t worry about it, love.
Go out there and fight the power!
Oh dear, best of like fighting for your home!
Sending luck and happy thoughts your way!
Good luck and best wishes.
my brain itches…
Yikes. I was going to gush about how the BSS crew over at Somethingawful turned me on to your beautiful comic, and how I tore through the archive with wide-eyed delight, but then I saw the update. Cripes.
As a fellow Canuckistanian (Londoner, though I love T.O.), I wish you the best of luck getting through all of this. There’s got to be somewhere you can turn for advice– some sort of city Ombuds office or housing mediator.
Um. Anyway, yeah. Best of luck with everything.
hey there Ramon,
You made the right decision in not signing that lease. Keep fighting it and take as long as you need to sort things out. Both of your webcomics are fantastically drawn and expertly written. I came onboard about two months ago and miss the delicious (time-consuming) thrill I had of catching up to the present when I first clicked onto your site.
B. Doe has good advice — ombudsmen or a tenant advocacy agency should be available in your city. Check them out and gather as much docuemtation of your payment of timely rent as possible. However, it’s not a bad idea to have a backup plan — start scoping out the loft buildings near you if things go pear-shaped, so you’re not caught up in couch surfing for the next six months.
Best of luck, we’re rooting for ya!
Ramon,
In light of your update I know this may not help but;
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Best wishes headed your way from the UK.
Ahh, you live in ontario. That’s good.
Here’s a website that may come in handy.
I don’t know how knowledgable you are on the subject so I offer the website.
http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/law.phtml#Q9
it’s an faq on the landlord/tenants act in ontario.
Also, from what I’ve been reading, the landlord will not beable to evict you because you do not sign a lease.
Also, straight from the act site:
“Deemed renewal where no notice
38 . (1) If a tenancy agreement for a fixed term ends and has not been renewed or terminated, the landlord and tenant shall be deemed to have renewed it as a monthly tenancy agreement containing the same terms and conditions that are in the expired tenancy agreement and subject to any increases in rent charged in accordance with this Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 38 (1).
Same
(2) If the period of a daily, weekly or monthly tenancy ends and the tenancy has not been renewed or terminated, the landlord and tenant shall be deemed to have renewed it for another day, week or month, as the case may be, with the same terms and conditions that are in the expired tenancy agreement and subject to any increases in rent charged in accordance with this Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 38 (2).
Same
(3) If the period of a periodic tenancy ends, the tenancy has not been renewed or terminated and subsection (2) does not apply, the landlord and tenant shall be deemed to have renewed it as a monthly tenancy, with the same terms and conditions that are in the expired tenancy agreement and subject to any increases in rent charged in accordance with this Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 38 (3).”
The webiste if you wish. http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/act.phtml
Good luck. If you can afford it, seek out some legal advice/representation.
Y’know, there have been delays before, and every time the fans react in exactly the same way. I think Kukuburi may have the world’s nicest webcomic fans. I mean, I’ve read the comments on other late webcomics, and those guys can be _evil_.
You put the comic up for free, Ramon. No one here is paying for it, unless it’s by voluntary donation. You have absolutely no need to apologize when things turn sideways. But you always do, and you’re a sweetie for it. Know that we all love you, bud, and wish you the absolute best of luck in your tenancy negotiations. I’ll cast a little spell for you. ^_^
Ramon,
Wishing you all the best of luck with fighting for your place. First things first and so on. Looking at all the comments, we are a patient lot, so take your time & keep up the good spirits.
Ans as I understand it is your birthday: Have a great one !
Also, happy birthday. ^_^
Ah…. the wonderful world we live in. Anything we can do to help? And Happy Birthday ^^
Bummer Ramon – good luck and stick to your guns! And HB.
Good Luck man. I truly hope it all works out.
Happy Birthday!
I would rather you focus on your home than on your webcomic. Priorities. I love this comic, and look forward to it, but I would rather you have a home than read it. I wish you the best and keep on fighting. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Good luck.
You go kick ass, and stave off the blimey nutbags that are trying to run you out!
Good luck, Ramon! We’re all hoping the best for you. Please don’t apologize – take the time needed to fight for your home! We’ll wait patiently! :)
Please take care, and keep us informed!
And happy birthday as well! :D
Kick some ass, Ramón.
Oh Ramon! That’s terrible!
Good luck, and I hope he gets his commupance (sp?).
::hugs!:: We’re all here for you!
Ramon,
I’m a landlord and if I can keep the blood of the innocents from driping off my fangs and into the keyboard, I’d like to add my two cents.
I’d sign that lease. If you don’t he can have you out in 30 days, with the force of law behind him. From what you’ve said you have no lease. Likely he could care less about how you use the property. If he wanted you out, he’d be evicting you, not sending you a lease to sign. It’s easy enough to evict someone without a lease. Regardless, you will not be able to stay in his property against his will. Sounds like he’s sideways with the city/county or whoever governs such things in Canada and by sending you a commercial lease to sign he can prevent having a vacancy in your space, space that he likely couldn’t fill with a commercial tenant if he wanted to. He would also get the city/county off his back.
Anyway that would be my motavation…. keep the money flowing…. keep the unit filled. He can kick you out anytime as things stand…. why send you a lease unless he’d like you to stay?
Try talking to the man. Landlords are human… well, at least we remember being human…
As others have no doubt said, “bollocks to the ‘toons”. We *love* the strip, but your life outside of the comic realms is far, far more important and needs to take precedence above all else. We will still be here when things are sorted out.
If I have one suggestion it is Silverman @ City News. Might be worth emailing him and pointing out the plight of a great TO artist. If you have done any work for the media and have contacts therein, might be worth tapping them and seeing if they fancy a bite of the story too, sometimes the media does work wonders to help out those getting the shaft from others.
Good luck to you man and no rush, we’d rather have good Kukuburi than rushed.
Good luck, and happy birthday.
Good Luck to you, and we can wait for more kukuburi. oh yes, and Feliz Cumpleaños, from Mexico City.
Good luck! I hope everything works out for you. And happy birthday!
Happy birthday!! In light of your domicile problems I took it upon myself to inform Batman of the situation. Unfortunately every time I tried to tell him the problem he’d chirp in with, “I am the Bat” or “Fear ME” until I had to thank him for his time and leave. But I tried! Best wishes and looking forward to more of this amazing story when you’re really feeling the juices flow
Go “stick it to the man!” @Ramon.
Local councils really NEED a good kick in the…
[LOL]
Oh – and good luck!
I am an Ontario lawyer. I have read and enjoy your strip. No landlord can evict a residential tenant in 30 days unless there is something illegal going on or the rent has not been paid. The quickest it can be done is 60 days, but then only in very specific circumstances. I have done my share of Landlord & Tenant law and I know it is difficult for a landlord to evict an alert tenant. You are right about that lease, it destroys the “residential” indicator in the tenancy changing the entire legal procedure to one much more friendly to the landlord.
My best advise, given that your are not finacially well off, is to seek our your local community legal clinic. There are also legal clinics at the U. of T. Law School and at O’sgoode Law School. Without knowing specifically in Toronto where yuou live I can’t direct you any better. But the legal clinics are in the Yellow Pages under Lawyers. They are free if you meet their income criteria and they have more expereince than anyone in the legal field on residential tenancies. There are very tenant friendly.
If you are served with an eviction notice check out the website of the Landlord & Tenant Board at http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/index.html.
Good luck
Fight the Man, man! Good luck.
todd,
the property were i reside is zoned residential, more specifically R4 live/work as designated by the city of toronto and has been since the year 1999. the landlord has also raised my rent under the residential tenancies act, which governs the rights of residential tenants in ontario.
to then suddenly flip and hand me a commercial lease is very very shady. especially since everybody who is living in the building is a residential occupant and is being forced to sign a commercial lease. i smell an attempt at a quick route to eviction and conversion into condos….
jim, thanks for the info, i’ve tried contacting the legal clinic in my district, and get this, they’re away on a retreat! haha! but anyway, i’ve been communicating with city officials here and they seem to be coming in on our side…
keep your fingers crossed :)
Your work is absolutly spectacular! Hope all goes well with the living situation!
You can be sure we’ll keep our fingers crossed for ya! You’ve been giving us one of the most awesome and intriguing comic around, and I (and many others, I’d bet!) would wait months if it was needed.
Good luck with the house problems, and happy birthday (although I believe I am late, as it’s past midnight. XD)
-tightens eyes-
Okay, this is so a world of not cool.
Hope you can beat this bozo at his own game, mate.
…What do your fellow tenants have to say about all this? There may be cause for banding together here and pooling resources. Just a thought.
Go get ‘em, Ramon. Also, Happy Birthday ^_^. If you need some kind of post support or digtal signitures or some radcal sort of thng like that set a page up and we can get to it, or someone do it for him for goodness sake. Let’s take back our Ramon! From your U.S (continental) fanbase, Timothy.
Sorry for the double post, but I was late on the Birthday :(. Happy belated Birthday anyways.
Stick it to the man bro! Hope this resolves to your satisfaction ASAP and brings you back into the zone.
Phill
Sleeping, eating, washing, watching the TV… that’s all business as far as I’m concerned.
Do it whilst wearing a T-shirt advertising yourself and it’s commerce.
Ramon,
Eh… I may have overspoke. I live in Denver Colorado and here the laws are very much in the landlords favor. Evictions can take as little as ten days. If a tenant is outside of lease they can be evicted with 30 days notice… by simply not renewing the lease. Here it would help him in no way to have you under a commercial lease. He’d just give you a “notice to quit” and you’d have to move or the sherif would come knocking. Actually the commercial lease would make it much more difficult, because he would have to prove you were sleeping there. Doable, but a pain in the ass in court.
Condo conversion sounds very likely in this case. However in Denver, having tenants wouldn’t prevent or even slow that process. Units can be subdivided regardless of wether they are tenant occupided or not.
It looks like we are dealing with very different systems.
Good luck… I wish I had some usefull advice.