Should I continute to pay rent?

Question

Hello all. I do apologize if I am on the wrong site for this. Should I continue to pay rent? It has been raining inside my apartment for sometime now, of course, when it rains outside. My landlord keeps putting off fixing it and sometimes says he just can't find the problem. I put several buckets around the apt. as it is not a major problem for me yet. I do not have to run back and forth emptying the buckets but it has gotten a lot worse. Someone told me to withhold rent until it is fixed. Believe it or not, someone at the health dept. said they didn't know. Landlord took pictures 2 months ago for his ins. (he believes my apt. falls under his house insurance.) Sorry again if I am in the wrong area here. Appreciate any input. Thank you.

Answer 1

First of all I would report him to the rental/landlord board thing. Second if you own a building you do not live in it does not fall under your own homeowners insurance. He needs to have insurance on that building. also you need to purchase renters insurance it only cost about ten bucks a month, and in case of a flood, fire, robbery,etc.... your insurance would cover you and your possessions. I too would not pay rent until the problem was solved. If you wanted to get rained on you could live on the streets in a cardboard box and it would have the same effect and it is free to live there. I rent my home and my land lord almost killed us from putting our furnace pipes in backwards he paid my medical bills and fixed the furnace and also paid for my hotel and he fixed the problem in 2 days, not 2 months. what is wrong with people?

Answer 2

Ok, imma helps you out cause I been throught this a million times. Your landlord is just being cheap. If his ins co. had your apt covered any repairs should be done in a week or less. They put a new 3 ton ac unit in my house in 2 days. If he is insured he will have just a deductible to pay which is usually low.
Your Problem is he hasn't done anything. Most states here is how it goes. You have to give him a registered letter 14 days in advance to rent telling him about the problems in the house. That is when you can hold rent back. Keep copys of all documents. Send him the letter 14 days or more before rent is due. He might try to evict you but you will be protected by that letter you sent. You may have to take a trip to the city but hey. When you rent from a slumlord.

Answer 3

Don't withhold rent without forewarning him....you want to get this fixed at the end of the day, not aggrevate the situation....

Your landlord should have buildings insurance for your apartment. In deciding whether to pay the claim the insurers will request proof of how much it will cost to fix (by way of a contractor's quote)......has your landlord sent contractors round to view the problem? He should have done this straight away! As winter is approaching you should ensure this matter is resolved now without further delay. Call your landlord, daily if you have to, and see if you can hassle him into action.....it is after all in his best interests to get this sorted before the problem gets worse (certainly it won't fix itself!) Also check your lease. Provided that you have signed a standard lease, there should be a clause in there whereby the landlord has agreed to undertake any necessary maintenance to the property. If he has not sent a contractor round in the next week or so to get this fixed for you, I would then advise him that you will intend to withhold rent until it is fixed, on the grounds that he is in breach of covenant.

Answer 4

I would write to the landlord immediately and send the letter recorded delivery.

I would tell him - what he already knows - how long this has been going on etc. etc. - times/dates/photos.

I would then tell him that IF any part of his property collapses on me or any visitors at the apartment, I will be holding him liable for any injuries. I would also tell him that I would be paying a revised amount of rent until the problem is fixed.

So, not all of it, just say half or whatever - and don't say you are witholding it - tell him you are NOT paying it as the apartment is not fit to live in.

Not sure what country you are in but try some search engines for local councils and government rules on landlords and their responsibilities. Or try Citizens Advice Bureau.

Once you start hitting him in his pocket he might actually be keen to repair/restore and revalue his property.

Good luck.

Answer 5

you cannot withhold rent until you have given in writing all your problems, certified mailed it, and given sufficient time for landlord to fix.
Also, you have to let him know in the letter you will withold rent.

re your renters insurance, this covers your personal property, not the apt or anything to do with it, only your personal items the water may have destroyed. ( rugs, stereos, etc. )
if its the carpet or floor its on the landlord, Id have someone from the city come and inspect too, just so theres some legal documentation!

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

Believe it or not, leaks can be detected when it rains, however, the repairs are normally done during dry weather - unless your landlord can find someone to place a tent over the place (depending on the length of your rainy season) and do the repairs. Before witholding your rent I would get advice from a local 'renters association' - they will let you know what your legal rights are and if you can legally withhold your rent payments or not.

Answer 7

NEVER withold rent - you will be in breach of your rental agreement and you could be evicted, believe it or not! (no matter how badly your landlord has behaved!)

Instead, you can put your rent into escrow. It's like witholding your rent, but in a legal way. In essence, you pay your rent to a bank account that your landlord can not access.

This usually motivates your landlord very quickly, for the following reasons: Legally, your rent is paid. But he doesn't have it. The only way he can get it is to go to court. (or you release it once the complaint is resloved.) And most landlords like yours don't want to go to court.

You could also try organizing the tenants and working with your local government's housing department to get the problem resolved. They won't let you do anything illegal, and they will probably be able to put legal pressure on your landlord to resolve your problem.

Good luck!

Answer 8

You cannot just with hold your rent check. You need to contact the housing authority. The rent can be put into an escrow account, that way it shows that you are willing to pay the rent but not until the repairs are done. If you just withhold rent, your landlord can start eviction procedures. With the money in an escrow account it shows that you have the money and are willing to pay but you need him to fix the roof.

Contact the local housing authority and they can lead you in the right direction.

Answer 9

I used to be a Property Management Consultant and can tell you that under these circumstances you must not withold rent! Its a pain when you cant get landlords to fix things but witholding rent can have all sorts of consequences for you as he will have grounds for eviction.There is a website you can look this up on but im sorry I cant remember it.

Answer 10

What a gool your Landlord! Yes this is his responsibility to take care of !Yes you need not to pay rent for the time being until this problem is fixed! You need to make him aware of it !Do you have rentersinsurrance? That way your stuff is coverd from damage .
Sounds like a leaky roof to me !
If it does noit get fixe in a certain amount of time you should concider movimg