Question
why dont my LL fix this?
my two daughters and husband and i have been living here for 3 months... there is lots of problems in this home , we have asked owner to pls fix problems , only one thing out of many have been repaired..the owners responce to this is i payed the repair guy the money to fix the problems ,the repair man dosent do anything thats all she says , its been 3 months and still there is mildew building up outside my front door from a leaky water outlet there is roted out dry wall in the house i have not one single smoke detector in the house or a fire extinguisher outside of the duplex. the counter tops are falling apart they move easly there is moldings around the house that need to be installed to help keep the bugs out, the water heater is not tied down properly i have 2 brocken windows, the carpet needs aluminum base covers on the edges to keep the nails in the floor from sticking into your feet, i have lights that do not work,the bathroom sink is still leaking and there is rodent decafetation under our sink and some drawers , she has promissed to have a pest control company every month and so far I only seen them once. we offred to fix whats wrong woth the house as long as she deducts from rent she said ok , but when we told her how much they said it would be she said oh never mind i'll find some one else..so we wrote a email to tell her that if she dont fix we dont pay , or let us fix. when we were looking the place was being remodeled , my place was not done yet , i live in duplex and the place next to me was very nice , they had just finished it . We had lived 150+ miles away from here , so we were not able to be coming to check on place, dumb us belived that everything was gonna be done like the home next door,its like they fix what was noticeable we had already gave deposit and first.
3 weeks ago - 2 answers
Best Answer
Chosen by Asker
when a unit is UNINHABITABLE, you have what in law is called a "constructive eviction." When that occurs, you inform the landlord of the situation, and you move out. YOUR lease has expired as of that moment. IF, on the other hand, he is getting it repaired in 1-2 days, and you wish to tolerate it till then, that is another matter. YOU have to decide and courts don't like wishy washy. YOU either are EVICTED by the condition of the unit or you are inconvenienced. IF the LL goes to court to sue you for future lease payments or to answer YOUR suit for UNEARNED prepaid rent, you need to explain the situation. 2 mo is not acceptable. [also, in any circumstances, if the small claims court judges against you, you can appeal to the superior court but i have never ever known anyone who has been Constructively evicted to lose his case. Maintenance Issues with the landlord a; Needs must be put into writing to make them “official.” B; the Landlord needs to be given 30 days unless they are emergency needs like water or ac/or heat or roof falling in/window/door out. C; if the LL does not perform the repairs- after 30 days, [non emergency ones] call 3 licensed contractors who perform this type of work. Hire one of them. Make sure you are happy with their work. Pay them when they are finished and get a receipt which shows what they did. D; when rent is next due, pay it MINUS the amount paid for repairs]. E; send a copy of the paid invoice. F; if the landlord complains about non payment of rent [or insufficient rent], and sues you, go to court and show the judge your paid receipts. If you win [in 99% of all cases, the tenant wins these cases], you get your filing fees back and 3x what you pay in rent for DAMAGES in a RETALIATION eviction. G; IF this is not a regular repair, but one that makes the unit uninhabitable–that is called a “constructive eviction” and it permits the tenant to call the landlord and inform him that you are leaving, having been thusly evicted by the condition of the unit. HE must return unearned rent [the rent for that day and all the rest of the month] to you no later than 15 days if you wish any more help, get hold of me.
Source(s)
RE broker, landlord-tenant specialist [only for the US] kkemper1@mindspring.com
by kemperk
3 weeks ago
Asker's Rating: 
Other Answers
You have children..why on earth are you still living in this dump? Why on earth would you live in a place that has NO smoke detectors (especially if some of the electrical is not working?) You do realize that the fire department will give you a smoke detector or 2 FREE of charge! They don't want to have to come to your place and put out a fire! I hate to say this, but you are being a horrible parent by not going and buying smoke detectors that are cheaper than dirt! Your kids safety should be first and foremost. Look, it is obvious this landlord either: doesn't care, can't afford to fix things or is just lazy. This place is going to be the same 6 mos from now. I would move. Your kids safety is more important than waiting on this slumlord to fix something. What would make you take a place like this after seeing it? Were you that desperate?
by My Take on It- 3 weeks ago