Landlord mistook a couple's farts for indoor smoking and served them an eviction notice. Now they're fighting back with a GoFundMe
'When we moved into our current home, we felt we finally had found a home base,' Creepy Boy said
Most tenants get evicted because of noise complaints, unpaid rent, and disputes with their landlords. But a Toronto couple, S.E. Grummett (Grumms) and Sam Kruger (Sam), aka Creepy Boys (@thecreepyboys), were threatened with eviction because of their natural bodily function. Their landlord was concerned about the air quality in her duplex because she shared air ducts with the couple. After a thorough investigation, they found the source of the "bad" air quality. But she wasn't convinced and gave them a notice of eviction. The couple believed the eviction was done in "bad faith" and wanted to fight for their tenant rights. So, they requested financial help for their attorney fees. Their Instagram post on October 8, 2026, got 625 likes and 40 comments.
'Found a home base'
Grumms and Sam are a queer couple who perform queer theatre and are currently on a three-month tour. Their work falls under the genres of comedy, theater, and performance art, which is why they put a disclaimer: "This is not a joke. We wish we were joking." They lived on the main floor and in the basement of the converted duplex, and their landlord lived right above them. Before they moved in, the couple spent five years Airbnb-hopping.
They wrote on their GoFundMe, "When we moved into our current home, we felt we finally had found a home base," which was why the unit meant a lot to them. They added, "This apartment has been a lifeline, and moving out will realistically increase our costs by $800 - $1000 a month for a similar level of space and storage."
High VOCs
It all began in December 2025, when Grumms and Sam's landlord was diagnosed with a chronic lung condition. She was concerned about "the level of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) the monitor was periodically showing." The couple cooperated with her investigation and did everything to find the source of the VOCs. They stopped cooking, showering, turning on the lights, and even stopped using devices in the house, but nothing seemed to be the problem. "No matter what we did, the VOC level would periodically spike. Especially overnight... Further, the readings on the monitor show spikes in VOCs six to seven times a day, often at 3 or 4 a.m," they explained. The landlord even asked if they smoked in their unit, but they told her they didn't.
You're the source
Grumms and Sam even suggested she hire an air quality specialist to figure out the issue, but she refused because of the expense. They decided to do their own research and read an FAQ that mentioned the monitor could pick up "build-up of breath and results of other bodily functions in the room during the night." They contacted a Public Health Specialist, who said, "People drive themselves crazy looking for a source, when the source is in fact them." That was when they realized their farts were causing the spikes.
The couple reached out to their landlord to tell her they'd discovered the source of the VOCs, but she refused to listen. She even accused them of using a wax diffuser and smoking cannabis inside the unit. The problem was that she had no sense of smell and accused them blindly. When they refused to leave, she sent them an N12 notice for eviction. Her reason was "personal use." She planned to turn the unit into a single-family home again. However, Grumms and Sam believed she was evicting them unfairly and were ready to fight her legally. So far, they've raised $3,503 of $2.8K CAD ($2,464 of $1,969 USD).
Going to court
Threatening tenants with eviction is usually not the best way to get rid of someone, but it has worked for some. A U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, cited by Urban Wire, found that 42% of tenants were threatened with eviction by their landlords, which led them to move out. Another LendingTree survey found that 68% of residents who were evicted believed it was done unfairly.
As for the reason why they were evicted, 24% reported that their landlords wanted to use the property for "personal use," similar to Grumms and Sam's landlord's claim. Since the couple decided to go to court, the data also showed that 8% of tenants who took their landlord to court won, while 6% lost. The couple wrote, "In Ontario, such evictions have to be heard by the Landlord Tenant Board. So, we are going to court."
'An awesome show'
Grumms and Sam had invited their community to watch the hearing via a Zoom call, since they were still on tour, and people in the comment section supported them. @k8herriot wrote, "I am so bummed the smoker allegations have continued for so long, it's wild!" @wakely added, "I'm so there."
You can follow Creepy Boys (@thecreepyboys) on Instagram for more updates.
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