landlord tenant question?

Question

i have a lease for 12 months,my landlord refuses to fix problems such as roof leak,rotting walls and floors,electrical problems plus the place is infested with termites and cock roaches.I have sent him a 7 day notice about fixing problem and he still wont fix,i am retaining a lawyer but my question is if he says its going to take too much to fix then what the place is worth can he terminate my lease or will he repay me back rent or damages since i am living in unlivable conditions and paying my rent every month on time,it irks me because i have 2 small children and trying to work this out but hes breaching the lease by not taking care of his responsibilities.Any suggestions or comments i would appreciate

Answer 1

First of all with having kids I would definately move. Roaches can cause asthma problems for kids with asthma. If he is unwilling to fix the problems then I would go ahead and move and then go after him for damages. He should lose based on being a slumlord and not a landlord.
I have watched many of these cases on those afternoon judge shows. A slumlord is a slumlord. Make sure when you take him to court you have all the stuff you need to back up your end of the story. Take tons of pictures to prove. The biggest thing is have your paperwork together such as your lease, receipts, the letter you wrote him and do some research before you get there. We just had this problem with our landlord. We moved into a place and because when we signed the lease it was cold outside and she had all the windows open(mind you this is March in Michigan) but she said she had the carpets cleaned and she was waiting for them to finish drying. So we were like ok not too bad. So once we moved in and started running the heat bam the cat pee smell which as the spring rolled into summer and the humidity set in the smell was horrible. I have 2 daughters with severe allergies to cats as well as have bad asthma, we were told to move by their doctors. So we let her know that the stove broke it wouldn't heat the oven and there was a gas leak from it. She didn't respond but then all of a sudden after the lease was up she served us with an eviction notice because we used a portion of the rent to pay for a stove which she told us she couldn't afford to fix and to do without it. I have 5 kids so doing without a stove is not an option. I called our county court and they stated that I had no right to withhold her rent to buy a stove, that she would have 30 days to fix the thing then we could do something about it. So back to the store the stove went and we did without. We finally just gave up on her fixing any of the problems we were having and moved. We had to throw so much stuff away toys, containger, sewing stuff you name we had to throw it out because everything took on the cat pee smell from the carpet. This is from her personal 3 cats that she let pee everywhere. I was horrible.
Should I mention the squirrel in the basement so my kids were terrified, oh then they was a pack in the attic.

As I stated make sure you check everything out about the time alotment that he legally has to fix the problems so that you are cought in that web. It is sad that these kind of people are allowed to be landlords. But boy make them live in their own problems and they wouldn't do it. They need to do to them like on that one movie with the guy from my cousin vinny where he was a slumlord and was ordered by the judge to live in his own rundown nasty building. Hope this helps some.

Answer 2

You need to check your state statutes regarding what you are calling "problems". You are not clear in describing whether or not some of these issues are actual defects, or that you just don't like certain facets of your premises.

Rotting walls and floors do not occur overnight. Did you not notice these situations before you signed this lease ?

Remember that you cannot force repairs from a landlord. The best you can hope for is a termination of the lease due to unsafe/unhealthy conditions. Since you have lived in the premises, you won't be entitled to any refunds or damages, since you have not incurred any damages thus far.

Answer 3

Depending on which state you live in, you have different options. In Florida you should deposit your rent at the clerk of court (on time) and send the landlord the receipt. He can't evict you and won't get his rent until there is a hearing with a judge. Bring pictures and estimates of the repairs needed to the hearing. The judge willmake him fix the problems or give you your money back. You don't really need a lawyer. They will charge you a lot.

Answer 4

He can't say it costs more to fix than the place is worth. That's his problem. He has a responsibility to provide a habitable dwelling.
He cannot terminate your lease for complaining.
He will not re-pay you back rent.
He has 30 days to make the repairs, then you pay your rent to an escrow account. Your lawyer will walk you through that process.

Answer 5

actually depending on where you live you don't need a lawyer to take him to tenant landlord court. If you send letters and he doesn't respond you can put the rent money in a money order etc. and when you go to court you can show them you have his rent but are holding it due to repairs. I had the same problem and that's what I did. Just check online for tentant /landlord rights in your state. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Your lawyer can give you the best advice. Speaking as a Brit, it seems there are some really crummy landlords in America