What are my rights as a renter?

Question

The hot water heater is leaking all over the basement, the pilot light will not stay lit, so I've had no hot water for going on 3 days now.
I notified the landlord of the problem 2 weeks ago when I first noticed the leak, she is aware I have no hot water.
She refuses to hire anyone reputable and gets "friends" to do her rental repairs rather poorly at that.
She even wants to take a heater from an empty rental and put it in my home to save her some $. She claims she can't find anyone available to do the work.
Help-I want to take a shower!

(I live in Iowa)

Answer 1

yes you need a shower

Answer 2

Here's the scoop from the University of Iowa Landlord Tenant Off-Campus Housing Service (Same rules will apply to you)

When a landlord fails to provide an essential service, the tenant has the option to give the landlord a written notice stating what the problem is, and then the tenant may do one of the following:

1. Get the essential service working again and deduct the costs from rent (See: Repair and Deduct)

2. Obtain the essential service from other sources and sue the landlord in small claims court to recover those costs/damages based on the fact that the apartment or home was not worth the full amount of the regular rent during that time or sue for money already paid as rent for the period of the time the landlord did not provide the essential service.

3. Terminate the rental agreement if the problem is not fixed within 7 days (See: 7 Day Procedure)

Answer 3

First, remind her that your rent includes maintenance, and that you have reported the issue a few times.

Ask if she'd like YOU to locate a repair person, because you are concerned that the leak may cause structural damage to 'her' property, and you "wouldn't want that to happen".

You would be "happy to have a repair person come over right away, and then deduct the cost from next month's rent -- providing her a reciept, of course."

You can't, however, have a repair person come in unauthorized and then expect her to pay the full amount. She has to agree to it.

(in writing)
DATED!
Mrs Smith,
I am sure that you are aware that the water heater in my unit has been leaking. Since the pilot light has failed to stay lit, the unit is not providing hot water. I am concerned about the safety risk of both a gas leak from the failed pilot light and the water leaks -- and of the possibility that the water will cause structural damage or encourage mold growth. I am sure that either of those repairs would be costly, and time consuming.

I would like your assurance that the water heater is repaired or replaced promptly (within the next 2 days) so that I can once again have hot water in my unit. If you are unable to locate a contractor, I would be happy to call a repairman to come in right away, and then submit the reciept with my rent check (reduced by that total).

If you can't find a contractor, and prefer that I not hire one on your behalf, let me know how I can charge the cost of a hotel stay against my rent obligation until the necessary repairs are completed.

Please let me know today what your plan is for repair.

Signed,
Your Name

Answer 4

The Legal Standard for Repairs: Warranties of Habitability

The traditional concept of landlord-tenant law was that unless the lease explicitly provided for the landlord to maintain the property and make repairs, the tenant accepted the premises "as is." The landlord had no duty to make the property fit for habitation before the tenant moved in or to repair the premises if they became defective while tenant was living there.

Beginning in the late 1960s, courts ruled that the lease of every residential tenant contained an implied (that is, unwritten but understood) warranty that the property was in good condition and the landlord would keep it that way. Lease clauses in which the tenant waived the right to maintenance were declared illegal and unenforceable. Almost all of the state courts have made such rulings. By passing laws requiring the landlord to maintain the property, state legislatures and municipalities have also created an implied warranty in leases.

Habitability is sometimes defined as the minimum standard for decent, safe, sanitary housing specified in the state or local housing code.

This implied warranty of habitability gives tenants the right to withhold rent if the landlord fails to comply with the state or local housing code. Tenants can also sue landlords and can defend themselves against eviction for nonpayment of rent by arguing that the landlord violated the implied warranty of habitability.

The Right to "Repair and Deduct" and Reduced Rent:

Repair and deduct is a law that permits the tenant to hire someone to make essential repairs and then to deduct the cost from the rent. In many places, state or local law covers only repairs that are required to keep the premises habitable, such as repair of a broken furnace or leaking roof. Local laws may place a maximum dollar amount that the tenant can spend on repairs. For example, a Chicago ordinance limits a tenant's repairs to five hundred dollars. Some laws limit repair costs to one month's rent.

However, in jurisdictions that have no explicit repair and deduct legislation and rely on the implied warranty of habitability, the right to use repair and deduct is limited only by the reasonableness of the repairs. A tenant may even be able to buy a new furnace and deduct the cost from the rent.

The tenant would serve a written notice on the landlord. This notice would list specifically what repairs the tenant needs, provide a period of time for the landlord to comply, and state that if the landlord fails to do so, the tenant will hire someone to make the repairs and will deduct that cost from the rent.

I hope this is of some help.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any further questions! :-)

Sincerely,

[e-mail]

Answer 5

I doubt you have any right to choosing how she does the repairs, as long as she does them.

If the unit you are renting has defects that prevent your substantial enjoyment of it, I would imagine you may have a right to a rent abatement of some sort. You would have to check with the regulator of tenants and landlords in your jurisdiction to see what your specific rights are. (Where I live, Saskatchewan, the provincial government has an Office of the Rentalsman for these sorts of situations.)

I'd try to find that department, contact it, and get specific advice to where you live, but I imagine that yes, you have some recourse if the landlord takes more than a couple of days to fix this problem.

Answer 6

She is allowed to use whoever she wants and also use her other heater.

Tell her to look at Sears, even online. She can pick up a hot water heater for 200-300, and they deliver it. They are super easy to install, you could do, as I can. The hard part is lifting them into place, they weigh a 100 pounds or so, but after that it is a piece of cake.

Answer 7

You are contributing to your own problem.

What difference does it make if it's a quality repair or not? Do you own the property? Are you paying for the repair?

If she wants to take a heater from an empty rental and put it in your unit, that is absolutely none of your business.

I hope you are enjoying the cold showers.

Answer 8

Well with all this information have you called the cops or thought about suing her because that's not very professional to let her friends do it you need to demand your water and if she doesn't you should tell her i'm taking a shower at your house.Ha Ha Ha

Answer 9

1. Fix it and submit the bill with that deducted from the rent.

2. better buy not easier - move
Sounds like this might be the first of many things that will go wrong and not be fixed.

Good Luck.

Answer 10

You can always get a lawyer, and take her to court. It is her responsibility to take care of things like that immediately unless otherwise .defined in the lease agreement

Answer 11

call the city hall and ask to speak to a zoning officer and explain the problem they should help. I had this problem in illinois but now i moved to iowa as well.