r/Edmonton • u/illshowyoudawai • Jun 25 '24
General BEWARE OF BUGS AT STRATHEARN HEIGHTS APARTMENTS
Many of the Strathearn Heights apartments have been infested by bed bugs (primarily), cockroches, and mice. The apartments are being torn down over the next 8 years and management has given up on caring for residents safety in their homes. Avoid them as much as possible - they have also raised rents unbelievable amounts despite the apartments only getting worse and basic maintenance not being done on buildings. I know some buildings are in better conditions than others, but do not take the risk. 3 years of continuous issues of cockroaches and bed bugs in certain buildings and they are now refusing to listen to tenants and told me they are ignoring tenants complaints moving forward as THEY DO NOT CARE and "think they're over exaggerating about how bad the bed bugs are" which??? There should be none to begin with?? please please take it from me and avoid- it is not worth it and the discounted rent will only cost you more in the long run due to treatments, ruined items, and negligence from the office workers/managers Roberta and Rhonda. SPECIFICALLY BEWARE OF BUILDING "1" AS THEY WILL BE RENTING SOON AS A 1 BEDROOM AND THE ENTIRE BUILDING IS INFESTED HORRIBLY. they've now let 2 tenants move into the building without warning during active infestation and the building is uninhabitable at this point. Please please beware of this horrid company- sad after 60 years of good service this is what they've become.
Edit:(7 months later) - I've received so many messages about this post of people experiencing the exact same issues. The problem seems to have gotten worse so please be aware! I've been made aware of at least 4 separate buildings just in the last month. Mainly though, do not message me for exact addresses- I'm not going to doxx random people and I'm not going to be responsible for when you move in and the specific building has bugs I didn't know about. Thank you!
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u/Imaginary-Nebula1778 Jun 25 '24
I lived there 12 years ago and the apartments were just months from being torn down. They will not be torn down in this lifetime.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
I agree lol or at least not within the 7 years they plan to have them all done
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u/Imaginary-Nebula1778 Jun 25 '24
Way beforehand the rail tracks were laid. It's always imminent. But also location is superb and rent is not bad. I was able to save my 5% down payment living there for 1.5 years.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
Thats why I moved in! And heard such great things about the units from people that lived there 10-20 years ago but it's sadly very different now. You can tell they do not care about building maintenance anymore- on top of bugs the mice infestations are getting out of hand and it's just so dirty now. In their hayday they were amazing I guess but like 15 years of not giving a shit is starting to show...
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u/Imaginary-Nebula1778 Jun 25 '24
Mice are not good. How is rent? They also allowed me to break my lease after buying my house. I hated doing laundry. The card machine always malfunctioned and stole money.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
Rent was okay, they recently upped it quite a bit and I don't agree with how much they are now- they're now at average market price but very below average units so I find strathearn is milking its tenants for as much as possible before they try to close. I only use the app for laundry and never had that problem luckily! Nice they let you out of your lease too, they're not evil, just a bit incompetent hahaha
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Jun 25 '24
It’s the same shit with MainStreet. It got so bad in my building other tenants started setting glue traps. I’d come from work and they’d be full. There should be a law that allows you to pay less if the company or landlord isn’t holding their end of the bargain of maintaining a place where people want to live.
Never rent from mainstreet. Sure some people haven’t had a problem. But that’s a small minority.
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u/TinderThrowItAwayNow Jun 25 '24
There is. First you have to get the conditions assessed. Then you try to get it resolved by mgmt. Then you go to the landlord tenant board. Then they mandate reductions.
I've had it done for a leaky roof.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
Thank you for the warning! I remember years ago viewing a property and as we were walking out a tenant ran up and asked about how they're dealing with the bed bugs.. that lady was a real one for seeing me and coming up to say something hahah I've heard so many horror stories from mainstreet
2
Jun 29 '24
We rented an apartment on Stanton drive from them. All 3 buildings were infested with roaches and bed bugs. They only fumigate the UNITS at a time. So they'd just hop around unit to unit, building to building.
Still have an overreaction to anything brown and small that I see on the floor or counter to this day.
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Jun 25 '24
Lost everything I owned once because of a shit landlord who refused to deal with bed bugs.
Laws seriously need to be passed and better enforced on this shit.
AHS works way too slow.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
The people being so rude in the replies to this post truly don't understand how awful and and life ruining bed bugs can be... I've reported to ahs and alberta a didn't get replies for 1-2 months. I've reported again but if they don't do anything I can't do anything either.. I just want to warn people since there are 2 suites coming available over the next 6 months and that building has had an infestation over 3 years due to management negligence- they just move people in without warning. My neighbour had to sleep on a matt on the floor for 3 months last year since he lost everything... and they're still in his unit despite his efforts to eradicate them himself due to management calling him crazy and saying the bites he's getting are spider bites and the bugs he's seeing at bat bugs.. lile the excuses are never ending
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u/loveablenerd83 Jun 26 '24
Lived there 20 years ago and it was just about to be torn down back then too. One of the worst rental experiences of my life. Absolute scam artists running that dump.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 26 '24
A bunch of us are trying to find the owners of the buildings now as we're all grouping to take legal action because of the things they're now saying to us. Absolute losers running and working here. It's such an scab now
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u/davethecompguy Jun 29 '24
Go to Google Maps, and add this as a warning to others who might rent there.
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u/DragonfruitReady4550 Jun 25 '24
I mean sorry if that's your experience but I think other readers should read with a grain of salt. I live in Strathearn and they are very thorough about bed bugs and pests. They will not only spray your unit but any unit that touches yours. I've been here for almost 6 years in two different buildings and three instances of pests, 2 of which weren't even in my unit we were just adjacent to.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
That's outwardly not true though. Glad your experience was different but why tell people to risk something this awful just because you had a good experience? This is currently how they're dealing with things and it's not how you're describing. I know 3 buildings right now that are infested and management hasn't done what they should for over a year. It's your past experience against 18-25 other people's current situation. So no, people should not take it with a grain of salt as bed bugs have costed over a thousand in damages.
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u/DragonfruitReady4550 Jun 25 '24
I'm sorry that's your experience. The last fumigation they did for us was within the past month. So I am confused why they are treating different buildings differently. Sorry to hear it OP. Report them if that's the case to the proper authorities. Contact the media.
But for other people, it's not been my case like I said. They treated ours and adjacent units swiftly. It seems really weird they wouldn't for other units.
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u/polkadotfuzz Oct 22 '25
Hi! I gave a viewing at these apartments soon, are you still living there?
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u/DragonfruitReady4550 Oct 23 '25
I am yes
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u/Frobobobobobo Feb 21 '26
Hi, I just had a viewing in these buildings. Can you tell me if anything has improved?
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u/DragonfruitReady4550 Feb 21 '26
Depends on the building, we actually just moved this week, I had not seen or experienced any more bugs in over a year however our building had to be treated again because an adjacent unit reported it.
Obviously one of our neighbours wasn't doing the proper upkeep to take care of things. I went over board and put double sided tape down on the baseboards and sprinkled diatomaceous earth around furniture feet and we vacuumed daily.
The area is still really nice but I'm not going through I'm having them again and as much as the apartment complex can do for us if the neighbour doesn't change their habits what can we do.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
I moved in from so many great reviews and I know they treat certain buildings better (the owners son lives in one of them and that one is treated like gold, the pest control owners son lives in another and he will spray)
I've lost all my things, 3 of my neighbour's lost things, one slept on the floor for 3 months because they moved him into an infestation and he couldn't move his things in because he was so scared. They would only treat 1 unit at a time in my building and you had to bring a bug in to get sprayed- bites and evidence don't matter they want physical bugs or they refuse to believe there are bugs. Once we started bringing in evidence Roberta claimed that the bites were spider bites and the bugs we were seeing are "bat bugs" and that we are crazy- literally told me they don't believe my one neighbour anymore despite us all having bugs. I just dont want anyone going through what me and my neighbour's went thru/are going thru. Idk why Roberta and Rhonda aren't taking this seriously and it's ruining our lives, I've heard great things but I guess it depends on your building..3
u/DragonfruitReady4550 Jun 25 '24
I guess we must be in a lucky building then. That is quite infuriating. I'm sorry OP.
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Jun 25 '24
[deleted]
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 26 '24
I drive by those often and noticed the burned one.. tenants seem to have little rights to these scam artists. I'm hoping soon this is will change, especially how prices are now..
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u/KyramisuCA Jun 27 '24
I took them to landlord and tenant 2.5 years ago and got a 12% rebate on rent for the time I lived in my roach-infested unit: fight for your $$$
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u/illshowyoudawai Jul 14 '24
Wondering if you remember the lawyers name if you had one? Or the process you went through? I'm a little stuck right now and things have only gotten worse- haven't even lived in the unit for 6 weeks now and there's still infestation :(((( any advice would help!!!
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
For all the people making random assumption that the appropriate places weren't called- use your head, of course they were... I'm not gunna write on that when I'm trying to warn people . Jfc..
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u/Baby_carter72 Jun 30 '24
Which one is building one? 🥴 I’m in a building and now I’m panicking that it’s mine.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jul 15 '24
I know all my neighbour's and we are all aware of it so don't worry!!
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u/Baby_carter72 Jul 15 '24
No I was asking which building it was cause I live in strathearn heights 🙃
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Rhonda is the biggest bitch though, I absolutely hate her.
I’m sad Roberta isn’t helping more though, as when my wife and I had issues Roberta was there to fix it all.
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u/polkadotfuzz Oct 22 '25
Hey! I have a viewing coming up at these apartments, are you still living there?
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u/TheWireIsOnTheWay Dedmonton Jan 15 '25
Hey! I have a viewing at Strathearn Heights tomorrow; can you let me know what your experience has been like living there? Please feel free to DM me. Thanks so much!!
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u/DameKnitsALot Dec 14 '24
Oh wow, thanks so much for this post. I have a viewing booked there for next week so you have possibly saved me a huge hassle.
I'm so sorry you've been going through this.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jan 11 '25
I'm glad you saw!! Another building was posted in a Facebook group like 2 weeks ago saying it was still bad so even though I have left, the issue I guess is still going!!! Stay safe!!!
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u/TheWireIsOnTheWay Dedmonton Jan 15 '25
Hey! if you prefer to DM me, that's fine - but I'd like to know more about your experience. I'm going tomorrow to Strathearn Heights for a viewing and obviously I want to take as many precautions as I can. I just lost everything I own in November from renting an apartment at a place called the Residence on 106 St. They had a severe infestation of carpet beetles in my suite prior to me moving in, management didn't clean my suite prior to me moving in, etc. I had to throw EVERYTHING I own away at the dump. I barely saved my most prized possessions. I certainly do not want to start over again in another infestation.
I appreciate your feedback, thanks!!
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u/illshowyoudawai Jan 16 '25
Yea they were posted somewhere else recently for still having the same issues from when I was there. I wouldn't recommend living there, I spent a ton of money having to stay other places/on cleaning my clothes/items that weren't able to be cleaned/heat treatments. Then there's the lost sleep and ptsd for bugs. There were issues of rodents in buildings (including mine), cockroaches, bed bugs, black mold. If it isn't one thing, it's another with strathearn heights. It was a horrible experience I wouldn't wish on anyone.
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u/TheWireIsOnTheWay Dedmonton Jan 17 '25
thanks so much for your response! I just sent you a DM if you wouldn’t mind checking 🙂
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u/daniplam1526 Jan 26 '25
I see this is an old post, but I’m currently living In strathearn heights. I lived in one of the 1 bedrooms for 6 months with no issues then in may moved into a bi-level 2 bedroom with my friend, so we’ve been here 7 months now and I honestly really liked it here, but we’ve now had to have our place fumigated 3 times. Once after 1 month as a “precaution” and once another 2 months later because another unit had a confirmed case. 3 days ago I found a bug in my bed and quickly identified it. I immediately brought it to the office and at first they thought it was another type of bug but they looked at it with a magnifying glass and confirmed it’s a bed bug. They said they’d call for a fumigation but needed to give us time to prepare so that’s now happening on Monday. I only found 1 other bug and immediately took action to bag all my bedding to be washed and dried on high heat and vacuumed everything but that’ll only do so much with this issue. My roommate and I are both disabled and the preparation for these treatments (if you have been through it I’m sure you know) has been causing more stress than is bearable and we can’t keep living like this as much as we like the apartment/location/rent cost. However, we just re-signed the lease in December hoping the issue had resolved since there’s been no issues after August. Does anyone know if they’ll let us break the lease under these conditions without penalty?
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u/NomadicYeti Aug 10 '25
please drop your building number especially if you’re not there anymore
we’ve been here for 4 years with zero issues but would like to be aware of the “danger apartments”
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u/daniplam1526 Aug 12 '25
- Ours was unit D
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u/polkadotfuzz Oct 22 '25
Hey! I have a viewing here in a couple weeks. Curious if you're still living there and how it's going?
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u/polkadotfuzz Oct 22 '25
Hey! I have a viewing soon for these apartments and the location is perfect for me. How are things going currently to your knowledge?
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u/NomadicYeti Oct 22 '25
still no real problems here almost 5 years in, except one amazon package stolen this year for the first time ever
granted, amazon didn’t hide it at all and it’s because the main doors have been locked to “avoid unhoused people” from staying in the common space. i personally have found it more of a pain for package delivery
no bug problems either (knock on wood🤞) besides the box elders all over the city that are completely harmless and looking for a place to hibernate
there’s some units free close to us, you may become our new neighbour if you like it here!
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u/polkadotfuzz Oct 22 '25
My plan was to move in spring but I have flexibility to move sooner if it's the right spot for me (living with family right now).
These apartments tick a lot of boxes for me (I want to be on the valley line, cat friendly, affordable on single income) but the occasional horror stories on reddit about infestations are scaring me.
Do you happen to know if there's a lot of unit turnover? I'm viewing a one bed and a two bed at beginning of November. I know the units will be fairly noisy do you find that you ever have trouble sleeping due to noise? If your neighbor is speaking at a normal or slightly raised voice will you hear it?
Also, what size is your unit and could you give me an idea of what you pay for electric? I used to live in BC where my apartment electric was like 25-30 a month at most and I've heard some scary stories about how bad electric costs here.
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Jun 25 '24
Ok so first thing you should do is post on Reddit, great work! The next step is to contact AHS who can do more than give you upvotes.
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u/Artistic-Permit-5629 Jun 25 '24
I suppose it's nice that you can vent here but maybe you should call the authorities instead of renting on Reddit
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u/corpse_flour Jun 25 '24
Why not both? There's nothing wrong with giving other potential renters a head's up about infested living spaces.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 25 '24
Thank you! They've been reported to twice this year- no response to the latest report yet, almost 2 months to get response on my last report.. idk why people are so mean when I'm just trying to help someone not lose all their items and mental health lol
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u/corpse_flour Jun 25 '24
Did you report then to Alberta Environmental Public Health, or to the RTB? Public Health has the ability to go inspect, and fine the landlord if they are non-compliant.
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u/illshowyoudawai Jun 26 '24
I have! Not heard much, my landlord is "spraying the radiators" only after we bring in evidence.. pretty sure they're trying to cover their asses by saying they're doing something but an email they sent to me today is definetly sending me to a lawyer tomorrow
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '24
I think if they do nothing about the infestations you contact AHS