What to do about a landlord who won't do their job?

Question

My landlord is aware of serious black mold growing on our ceiling and wall in our upstairs bathroom, the green mold on the outside of our duplex, unfixed holey screens, and a dishwasher that leaks bad water and doesn't work. We have told her 100 times about these issues and she says we have to fix them and then she will reimburse us a certain percentage of what we paid. She keeps saying she will send a guy to look at the dishwasher and no one ever comes. We have to move in october but cant handle waiting any longer. What can we do?

Answer 1

it is either fix the probs yourself and deduct them from the rent and or take her to court and expose her as the slum lord that she is . I have dealt with this same issue over and over again . call the repairman for the d/w and then pay it and send her a copy of the bill and do the same with the other repairs . send her copies and tell her you are deducting it form the rent . good luck .

Answer 2

Contact the landlord/tenant authority in your area. You are living in unhealthy conditions and should not have to fix these problems yourself. Call the health department, if you don't have a specific landlord/tenant board. Document every conversation you have with the landlord. Do you have a formal lease agreement? You have grounds to vacate the property at once. Take pictures of everything that is wrong and write down your attempts to have things fixed. Then get out. You should not be living there with mold growing on the interior.

Answer 3

I am a landlord and I sympathize. Whatever you do, get the advice of a lawyer. These people that say deduct the repairs from your rent have no idea what they are talking about. You might still owe the rent even after paying for repairs.

My advice, call health inspector and get a written opinion, than go to a lawyer.

Just do not pay for repairs and than deduct rent. If your landlord takes you to court, she may still win.

Each state has different laws in the matter.

Answer 4

Have you tried talking to your housing board? Actually, you can check out your town or city's website to see what you can do. If you do not find anything there, check out the state's website. There are things you can do to force action. I would start locally and then move up from there. Before the state, you might want to check it out on the county level. I live in Massachusetts and I believe the county level here isn't used much if at all nowadays.

Answer 5

Mold inside your house can be deadly. Call someone to inspect it (health department or a home inspector) to make sure it isn't hurting your health. You will probably have to pay for this, but it is worth it. If they tell you you need to leave, do so and quit paying rent. The health department in extreme cases could condemn the house, but that is not your problem.

Answer 6

We have told her 100 times
How in hell do you prove that?
Damn! Write a letter and send it to her registered.
Tell her that the apt. is unhealthy and you are withholding future rent, and you are sending copies to the Health Board and the Apartment Association. Those do not have to be registered.
Screens are meant to keep out insects, particularly mosquitos. Can you say,"West Nile Virus"?

Answer 7

with your next months rent check, include a letter, by certified mail, tell her your not sure of the right way to go about cleaning up the mold, so your going to ask the health dept. almost sure you cant clean it, and it will cost more than one months rent.
this way you have proof of paying rent
and putting her on notice, so she cannot evict you for calling health dept. make copies of everything........

Answer 8

pay to have the problems fixed and deduct the cost from ur rent, provide reciepts.