Who would be responsible, me or the landlord?

Question

I moved into a retail strip. My lease specifies that I am responsible for any indoor electrical repairs/problems. Everything was working fine when I moved in and still is. The thing is that I recently had to have my boyfriend who is a construction contractor replace a fallen ceiling tile. When he looked in the ceiling above the tiles. He said that the wiring was horrible and none of it was up to code. He said if there was an electrical inspection it would fail. I did not check above the ceiling when I moved in and didn't think to since everything worked and another business had just moved out (because her husband in the army was transferred). My question is if some electrical work needs to be done that requires rewiring since it is not up to code, am I or the landlord responsible?

Answer 1

hmmmm...I wondery why they put that in the lease?? To me that's something that should be the responsibility of the owner, that's going to stay with the building forever and could affect any adjacent property.

But, it's in the lease, so it will be your responsibility. You could bring it up to the landlord though and see if maybe you could meet in the middle with the repairs??

Answer 2

Well, your landlord either doesn't know about the shoddy work or he's a schmuck. Rental properties don't usually demand that you make repairs to the property, since it's NOT YOUR PROPERTY. You shouldn't be held accountable for anything that belongs to your landlord. Hun, that shouldn't even be in the contract. So, I would try to renegotiate that part of the lease, to where the landlord is responsible for ALL REPAIRS. If he doesn't agree, have a pro look at it, or ask your boyfriend approximately how much it would cost to have fixed. Then, at that point, you can weigh your options. Option A. Make repairs and claim them on your tax returns, keep copy of lease agreement and reciept for about 7 years.
B. If landlord refuses to change the lease, contact a lawyer. DO NOT contact a government agency to help you, because they won't. All that will do is tick off the landlord.
C. Put an ad in the paper for a rental property, sublet if landlord will be agreeable.
D. Last resort type thing. If the electrical is a fire hazard, find another location, get another lease going, and then report the issue to the local fire chief. If the building was a fire hazard when you moved in, that's considered breach of contract. You can move out, not have to pay the landlord a dime, he has a certain amount of time to fix it, he WILL get fined for it, and it'll make the building SAFER for everyone. In the end, option D is my pick. I'm just dirty like that I guess hahaha
The jist of it is, you don't want to put thousands of dollars into repairing something that isn't yours. Good luck

Answer 3

You need to get the documentation on the wiring for the building. See if you can find if their has been any modifications done that were documented by the city. Commercial buildings have to keep specific documentation on that sort of thing. Also, call the city building inspector and have him do a courtesy check for you. See what he says, he will have a lot of information on this subject, let him know what is going on and get his advice. Usually in contracts there is an "as is" clause or a "going forward" clause, meaning that you are responsible for wiring problems going forward...not pre-move in.

Answer 4

i would call the inspector and when he comes and checks it out (or fails it) have him contact the landlord. the landlord will get in trouble for it. most cities (99%) say that anything as far as being up to code is the responsibility of the owner (landlord) and they could fine him for allowing someone to rent and not having it in the right safe kind of shape

Answer 5

i dont think your still responsible that dosent seem right in the lease be stern with the land lord the only way your responsible is if your in a rent to own situation if you moved somewhere and it wasent up to code when you moved in it is there problem tell him to fix it or you will have a contractor red tag the house and you will move out dont take a bunch of crap your not responsible

Answer 6

If you haven't touched the wiring or done any remodeling, then the landlord is responsible for code violations.

Don't be surprised if he tries to say you made changes.

Answer 7

hi there, it depends on where you live, different states and provinces have a landlord/tennant code to follow. If you google search your "state/province" and then "landlord responibilites" you should come up with a document that lists exactly what your landlord is responsible for.
Good luck

Answer 8

since you signed the lease without looking into the wiring first you are stuck being responsible for the bad job you inherited

Answer 9

You signed the lease, code violations are your problem, unless otherwise noted in the lease. Good luck.