Landlord legal help please part .2?

Question

A few weeks ago I had a problem with my landlord trying to evict me from my apartment in PA which I posted here ( http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlPYnCPZWiSiwEND5NGTmLbsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071018134002AAMWUef ). Since posting that question I have been to court with my landlord and won. The judge granted me a summery judgment. Based on the fact the landlord could not provide evidence to back up his claims. I also think the judge knew that the landlord was just trying to toss me out for no other reason then he did not like me. This angered my landlord to no end in fact he had a slight outburst in court after the judge made his decision. Now my problem is my landlord is not providing me any kind of service. Well I do have the basics he has ignored my requests for work orders. When I contacted the office they told me they were no longer going to maintenance my apartment. I had expected there to be some animosity after winning the court case however I did not expect it to go this far.

At this point I am looking for suggestions on how I can resolve this problem short of taking this guy back to court. Well I know taking him back would be the most direct way to solve this problem. I like to keep legal action as a last resort as its time consuming, and can get expensive. I am almost certain what he is doing is against the law, but would like some advice on what would be the best approach to this issue.

Answer 1

If I were you and I lived in your state (I live in Los Angeles), I would first contact the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. (www.palegalservices.org) by phone and discuss this issue with them. They will be familiar with the laws in your state and advise you appropriately. You might discuss with them writing certified return receipt letters to the landlord listing the items that require repair and writing out what happened when you called the office and were told repairs would no longer be made. This will legally officialize your requests which you will need if you decide to continue living there. You might also discuss with them NeighborLady's advice to pay your rent to a court escrow account together with the letters. It seems to me that if you continue living there, you just might have to bring this guy back to court.

After some landlord trouble in my past, I was advised NEVER TO WITHHOLD RENT because then my landlord would have excellent cause to take me to court. In court, it's up to the judge and you know there would be a 50/50 chance you would lose. It's not worth it. If you don't want to pay your landlord directly, you should contact the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. before you make a risky move like that.

Most people would advise you to move, but I have to be honest - I am always up for a good fight. If I went through this with this guy, I'd want to be sure I could fight him legally and WIN just to make a point. I would only consider moving once I got this guy to make the repairs he's avoiding or if I had some life change and chose to move to accomodate it, so I don't blame you for wanting to stay.

You're obviously a pretty smart person as evidenced by your earlier legal victory with this guy, so I'm sure whatever choice you make it will all turn out well for you. I wish you the best and keep us posted!

Answer 2

The best approach is definately to move out!! You don't want to have problems with your landlord. You can keep taking him to court but there are alot of thing he can do to make your life miserable legally. Why live in a drama? When does your lease expire? He will definately not renew it when it does so you'll be leaving at that point anyway. Start looking for a new apartment/home

Answer 3

The property manager cannot refuse work orders that might leave your home out of code or create a hazard to yourself (ie: leaking toilet, faulty electric outlet). There are two ways to go about it. One - the long way - send the property management company a certified letter citing your complaints and issues, also send a copy to your landlord (also certified). Two - the fast way - stop paying rent until the issues are resolved, the landlord will probably send you a pay or eviction notice that you will need to reply to, you reply that your needs aren't being met. If it continues, you will end up in court again with your certified letters in hand and you will probably win again

Answer 4

If he is unwilling to do what he's supposed to do, your only recourse is going back to court over this.
Are you renting from a small building? Lots of small-time landlords really don't understand landlord tenant law, which is infuriating for tenants. I rented from this crazy old lady, my employer paid the rent (because I was working out of town), they accidentally kept sending her rent checks for several months after I moved out, and she of course kept them all. When my employer realized their mistake and contacted her she said I 'trashed' the home and she needed to keep the money for repairs - all 25,000$ that she was overpaid!!!!!!! They are still trying to get the money back, the lady doesn't understand that you can't just keep money like that. She also kept the deposit without sending any notification as to why she was keeping it or an itemized list of things she needed to fix and the cost. She still thinks she's right. It's nuts.
Anyway, I hope things work out for you. I know that it goes against the principle of the matter, but your life will be much easier if you can rent elsewhere. Sometimes it's just not worth renting from a psycho - it lowers your quality of life.

Answer 5

Go back to the courthouse, not necessarily back to court. Open an escrow account. Pay your rent there. Now he has show documentation that your maintenance repairs were addressed in order to retrieve your rent money. Also, he has no recourse to evict you for non-payment.
Get the name of this office person. Share it with the BBB.
You are not the 1st person this has happened to; there are systems already in place to deal with this type of businessman. Don't be pressed- use these available resources.

Answer 6

Sadly, many tenants consider that fingerprints on partitions, and so on. are average 'put on and tear'. They aren't. If you had fingerprints you might no longer take away, it might had been sensible to inquire of the owner if he might furnish any paint so that you can use to redo the affected partitions. If you had been accountable for external upkeep as I count on you had been, the owner is entitled to cost you to convey the garden again to the equal situation it used to be in whilst you first occupied the premises. Whether or no longer you wiped clean the carpet, the owner is permitted to do extra cleansing in an try to go back the carpets to the situation they had been in upon occupancy, much less any average put on and tear. You will have to ask for receipts to validate those bills Given what you state, it does no longer sound as despite the fact that this landlord used to be immoderate in his deposit withholding.

Answer 7

1. An apartment must be habitable to be rentable. If they don't maintain the apartment so that it's uninhabitable you have just cause to vacate and the landlord would be liable for any of your relocation expenses.
2. If you are on a month to month lease #1 may not matter.