if landlord says the house is ready to move but is not what do i do?

Question

i rented a house on the 4th of month told the repairs would be made. would be ready to move in. But now on the 8th it is not ready. and he refuses to give me a weeks rent back. the rent started on the first. he took 100.00 off deposit for me to clean it, When i asked for the weeks rent back he said no the rent is due on the first. The house is unable to be moved in it does't even have a kitchen sink. The water coming out of the pipes is black. He says if i want prorate then he is adding the 100 back to deposit and have someone clean. I have already clean it. And no he will not pay for what i have done. My rent is 13.33 a day. 8x13.33:106.64.

Answer 1

You need to get a lawyer and get another place to live for now. You do not want to rent from someone who is so untrustworthy.

Answer 2

Did you sign a lease? Read it. You may be able to break it.

Nothing says that a property has to have a kitchen sink. The black water is a problem.

Have you moved in yet? If so, you need to pay. When there are repair issues once you are living in a rental, you do not get rent taken off because something broke. And you must wait a reasonable amount of time for repairs.

Really, he took 100 off deposit for cleaning. That is just normal as most people clean anyway.

Talk to the landlord, ask him when the unit will be ready ---no black water from pipes. Explain you need a viable place to live. If he cannot provide that, you cannot live there.

Then get an attorney and go to city and complain about landlord.

Answer 3

The same thing happened to me before when I was renting from an apartment complex years ago. We went through and they said what all would be repaired/repainted before my move in date and when I got there, nothing at all had been fixed. If you signed a lease, read it and see what you have to do to get out of it (usually it's two months rent). You should have received a sign document that said what all would be repaired before you moved in, if you did then you can legally get out of the lease since the landlord breached the contract.
Your best bet is to tell the landlord that he said everything would be done by this date and it's not so if it's not fixed by a certain date then you will be going somewhere else to rent. Small claims court is always an option too. Also, report him to the housing authority in your area so others will be aware of him.

Answer 4

Wow. You need to contact legal advice asap! You should have never given him the money until the place was brought up to habitable living conditions. You signed the lease, but your landlord is not keeping up his end of the bargain. Do you have to supply your own kitchen sink? Black water comming out of your faucet is not safe, and legally, you can withhold a portion of your rent.

So sad to see that you have to start out this way. Now you know what kind of landlord you have...a slumlord. If I were you, I would start putting my money in an escrow account and call a lawyer. Then I would call the office of license and inspections for homes. Nicely tell him, you will be forced to result to legal matters if he does not work this out fairly.

Someone said a place does not have to have a sink, I don't know about this one. I would think that a kitchen would include a sink-unless you live in the woods. Unless it is in your lease that you have to supply a sink, I would look into that as well. You might even be able to break your lease. Your landlord is a real winner!

If you must stay a year here, I would recommend that you move to a new place the day your lease is up. No one should have to live like that and give their hard earned money to a LL who won't even make necessary repairs.
Good Luck

Answer 5

Can you get into the house to take pictures? I would document everything. Do you have a written lease? You might not want to rent from this landlord since he seems hard to deal with. If you must rent from him you may not want to fight over $100. You can take him to small claims court but it may not be worth it in the end.

Make sure you get a written receipt for your deposit so you can get it back when you move out.

Answer 6

I would be more worried about the condition of the house. It really isn't worth fighting a landlord over $100... although there is for sure something to be said for claiming breech of contract, demanding your money back and finding somewhere else to move... given the landlords attitude, that is what I would do.

Answer 7

If you signed a contract, you might have a case against the landlord. Depending on where you live, you can report him to your local Housing Authority (or the equivalent in your state). If you have to pay for legal representation, however, it might not be worth your while to pursue the matter. Look for a free consultation with a law firm or college for better answers. That landlord should not get away with what he is doing.

Answer 8

If you find something you like better, why not rent it? In the meantime,you have free accommodation. Could you find something and move in by the 27th? They can't do anything about it because they didn't fulfil their part of the lease. Don't ask for your deposit back unless it is a huge amount.

Answer 9

Do you really want to rent from someone like that? Demand your money back and go look elsewhere. If he won't give it to you, snap a few pictures of how bad the place is and take him to small claims court.

Answer 10

I would tell him in a polite way that if he refuses to work with you that you will have to contact an attorney about this..He may be willing to bend a little then..Good luck and I will pray for you..