Landlord problem, tenants how would you handle this?

Question

We have been living in the same small apartment for near 3.5 years now and new Management just took over and they are no offense Nazi's, well in their tactics that is. This 5 apartment complex has just been infested by cockroaches which have never been here before until the new tenants upstairs moved in and they are dirty people, not very clean.

Neither of my propane heaters work correctly and one has a dead thermostat. We have holes in the ceiling that are falling down as the upstairs people stomp and stomp as they care less that there are people below them.

Our stove has a broken button, the insulation is shot and windows have no storm windows IN VERMONT.

YET they expect us to pay $100 more starting the 1st of the month and they have yet to fix anything.

I have verbally warned them, written them once and am about to write a third time and call the health inspector and start putting our rent into a savings till they repair it, is this the right way to handle this? Talking is...

talking has been tried several times and they seem content in hiring no offence again but HICK fumigators who's idea of a proffesional cleaning is using raid cans. sorry I could do that. That is what you get here in Vermont, too many thick headed hicks and we need real proffesionals in this state that know what they are doing!!

How would you handle a landlord like this legally so that you were not legally evicted and had the law and health inspectors to support you? I am also disabled too!! They give us next to no warnings if any, they just stop over and i asked them to please call me ahead of time due to my disability.

The previous Management was not great but at leat they were not pushy and act like Nazi's.

Any legal suggestions for someone in Vermont beyond calling the health inspector and putting our rent into a savings until either they repair it or we find a new place?

I am open to other ideas. TY.

Craig, actually they worstened each year and have had a management change to the fight is starting all over again. These problems did not exist in the beginnging DUH, only an idiot maybe such yourself would be stupid enough to move into a place like that. The insects came when neighbors moved in this year. if you have nothing positive to say then say nothing at all.

I NEVER thumb people down all got a thumb up except craig, he is the only thumb down.

TY all for your responses.

We are going to put our rent into escrow, and not pay. this is different than just not paying. SO if they place is fixed within the time limit the health inspector gives them then they have that money released to them, but if we move before they fix all the errors than we get to keep that plus they stil owe us security and last month and pet despost. OH and craig, the heaters worked till the end of this last winter. SPEAK when you know what your talking about. the rest of you thank you!!

Answer 1

Cover yourself with paperwork. Put your complaints/issues in writing and deliver them to the landlord via registered mail, that way they cannot say they didn't know there was a problem. Call the police anytime that is necessary and ask for a copy of the reports. Once you have notified the landlord, they must make necessary repairs within a "reasonable" time limit. I don't know how the laws of your state work, but in California, once a tenant has made written request for repairs and the landlord does not make the repairs within a reasonable time, the tenant may pay to have the repairs made himself and deduct the amount of the repairs from the rent. This includes pest control costs.

If you can provide enough documentation and demonstrate that the landlord is forcing you to live in dangerous or unhealthy conditions and that the landlord has taken no steps to correct the issues you presented, you could sue the landlord and possibly win a judgement so large that the landlord has to either sell the building or sign it over to you in order to fulfill the judgement against him. Check to see if this is possible in your state. Sometimes you can tell the landlord that if he does not do something about the problems, you are going to end up owning the building. They know exactly what that implies and they will realize that you are not some country bumpkin that don't know nothin.

Answer 2

Craig you must be some sort of moron or something.

I hardly doubt they existed for three and a half years. he already stated it was a new problem with most of this. so you are way off in your approach. I happen to agree with some of what he says.

NO not all Vermonters are hicks and i do not think he means that. I think he means the mind set of a person.

To answer the question, YES you can legally withhold rent and put it into an escrow or a savings account, you just have to prove that the funds are available to pay the rent.

first though you have to give them one verbal warning, then after 30 days a written warning, and then 30 days later you can send the second and last letter and with hold rent.

YOU MUST contact the health inspector as you seem to already know and document and photgraph everything you can and even see if any proffesionals will give you estimates that you can use to prove that the work needs to be done. It their is a roach problem that is brand new and they are not handling it, the Health inspector can close the building down and make them pay for every tennant to stay at a Hotel.

DO not let them push you around, you have rights. Only stop paying if they do not do the work, but make sure the funds can be proven to be available to pay and that they legally know why they are not receiving payment, get the letter notorized when you send it and or certified mail.

the health inspector will take charge too if their is an infestation from the neighbors house creeping into your place.

Ignore Craig he obviously is a Landlord and not a tenant. Otherwise the other's ideas are ok, but do not jump to small claims until you have too. sometime you can even repair the things yourself and just send them a copy of the receipt and deduct it from your rent.

good luck

Answer 3

If you have a written lease and the term of the lease is month to month, give them a 30 day notice and move. If there is a one year lease, and they have given you a notice of a rent increase in the middle of the lease period, this is illegal and you do not have to pay the increase until the end of the lease. The $100 is a very large increase. It is possible that they want everyone out of the building so they can remodel. Some landlords use this method rather than giving everyone a 30 day notice to move.

Answer 4

Is there an apartment association in VT? I live in Texas where there is one and there are stringent standards that apartments are "supposed" to uphold...problem is a lot of them don't because a lot of people are scared to report them, by fear of repercussion or them not doing anything anyways. The most I can say is be persistant, even without an apartment association I know there is a health and safety board and that they HAVE to be in violation of some kind of health code. Persistance is the only way to solve this problem, trust me we are just now getting out of an apartment that is infested with ants. They are 30 year old apartments and they threw a fresh coat of paint on it and felt it justified raising the rent three hundred bucks a month, yet their solution to pests is ant motels....I feel your pain! Good Luck.

Answer 5

Go to your city hall and tell then that you would like to put your rent money into an escrow account. They will ask you why and you will need to explain to them the situation. They will act as a third party that will hold the money. The landlord then cannot legaly evict you or withdraw that money. You can continually put rent in the account until the landord fixes the issues. Once the issues are fixed you can appoint the money to the landlord.

Answer 6

If you stop paying your rent, you can get evicted, so please don't stop paying, o.k.?

There are three problems: one- the poor condition of your unit, and two- the insect infestation, and three- weatherization. All of these problems need to be remied, regardless of the rise in your rental fee.

You need to call the housing authority, health or what ever department at the city or county level and tell them about what is happening in your apartment. You'll have to show them copies of the letter you sent to your landlord as well as allow them to inspect your apartment for the problems you have described.

Good luck.

Answer 7

If you have a lease, they cannot raise the rent until the lease is up for renewal. You should not renew the lease under the conditions that you describe.

Even if you get them to fix the physical issues, the problem of noisy upstairs neighbors will remain. Your best option may be to move.

Answer 8

the other people who have posted here have good ideas and I would follow up with those ideas. The main thing is to document EVERYTHING and take pictures that are date stamped! I've been to court for tenant/landlord disputes as a landlord and I will tell you that in court, it's not what's true or correct that matters, it's what can be proven through proper documentation! BOTTOM LINE.

Answer 9

I find it interesting that you make broad overarching insults of people in Vermont yet you by your own admission have lived in this "same small apartment for near 3.5 years" which would encompass 3 winters and just now after new management realize the insulation is shot, the windows have no storms and you are in Vermont. Did these same conditions not exist for the last 3.5 years?????

Answer 10

I would take them to small claims court take photos and date them of everything wrong. Write them a letter complaining and make a copy of that letter possible even have it notorized that you had it sent to them.. Them take them to court they can not by law make you live under those conditions.... Good Luck..