STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

wicked · Coach

Question for the lawyers..others

honey · Gucci

you could pm esquiress. and i think detroit knows about this sort of thing too. i'm inclined to think that you would need to notify the landlord first before contacting a lawyer. the lawyer will probably ask if you contacted the landlord.

i'd get a camera and document the problem, and then ask the board of health person for a written report. then send copies of both to the landlord (use certified mail or something were you can get confirmation that it's been received) and ask for an early termination. if he doesn't agree then talk to a lawyer.

Hedvig · Coach

I'm not a lawyer but I have some experience in getting rid of a rental apartment. We wanted to end our lease early, after living in our apartment for just one month, last fall because the building had a roach problem.

We just contacted the landlord who didn't really have a problem with letting us go. Of course, we lost our deposit plus a $250 early termination fee but we just wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible and that's what we did.

Hermes

This could be as simple as referring to the lease. It should state that the landlord is to provide a safe living envirionment, in which case they are not upholding their end of the contract. Although, for that argument to hold up, you must allow the landlord "reasonable time" to remedy the problem (this should be detailed in your lease, I hope).

In addition, the costs that you incurred from storage due to this situation should be deducted from your rent as well as your rent prorated to reflect any days that you were not able to live in the apartment.

You may choose to place your rent into an escrow account until the problem is fixed (provided you can do this in your state).

Those are just my first thoughts, and I may be wrong - hard to know without knowing what your state laws are and not having the lease in front of me.

Here's what I would do. I would find out if you have a renter's advocacy group in your area. I found an advocacy group list for Temple University students that includes a national resource: http://www.temple.edu/housing/offcampus/resource_documents/OCL_Advocacy_Groups.pdf

An advocacy group should be able to tell you what your next steps should be at least.

HTH

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

I would talk to the landlord before the lawyer because, well, once lawyers get involved things take longer. Also, if your landlord digs in, he could cause you a lot of inconvenience. And because a lawyer can only do so much - you're not going to recover damages for the annoyance (at least not in my state). Anyway, your state is a lot more liberal than mine, so I'm not quite sure what you'll have to do. But I do represent people in court for this sort of thing in a free clinic. Here's what I wish clients would do:

1) Document everything: calls to the health department, calls to the landlord, what was said, who you dealt with at the health department. Everything.

2) Keep paper records of everything, the costs for storage, your lease, any repairs you've made - even replacement pots for the moldy ones - any paper the landlord gave you, your electric bill for the month he ran the fans. Everything.

3) Try your darndest to have a good relationship with the landlord. Don't yell at him, don't criticize him, just keep asking him why he's doing what he's doing, and CLEARLY state your expectations.

Good luck! Oh, and start with your lease. It should spell out under what circumstances you can break the lease...

-- Edited by Dizzy at 10:55, 2006-06-15

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Please please please take pictures. I have a water leak in my bathroom (nothing bad just every now and then) and their response to fixing it was painting over the water line and the rotting baseboard instead of fixing it. I didn't think about taking a picture because I thought they would do something besides repainting over the evidence. So now I have nothing to show the front office its just my word against the maintenance guy who claims its fixed. I am documenting my calls and complaints on the issue in case it comes back on me.

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

i think you should talk to the landlord before you talk to a lawyer but if/when you do talk to a lawyer, make sure you talk to one who specializes in (or is familiar with) landlord/tenant law. when you talk to the landlord, make sure to say in unequivocal terms that you want to move out. say you can't live in these conditions, show him the pictures, board of health report, etc. since you know your main goal is to move, don't let him derail you by saying he'll "get to it" when he can. your description of him makes me think of a bumbling, not necessarily ill-intentioned, kinda lazy, head-in-the-sand, drags his feet, type of guy. so be firm and say you're moving and that's final. if he says he has a problem with it, say your lawyer will be contacting him directly. i know that part sucks and i know you're worried about the expense of a lawyer but i'm not kidding when i say that mold is a HUGE issue...your health is at risk and so is your personal property. so if you have to, get the lawyer. i know it's inconvenient and scary but the alternative could be so much more inconvenient and scary. don't fret, just be brave and go talk to your landlord first. be very clear and very firm. it'll be ok. we're rooting for you.

mirbear · BCBG

If you have already asked him to fix these problems, and he hasn't done this, your landlord is most definitely in breach of contract. If you have a "normal" lease...

I would tell him your specific reasons for moving, that you gave him ample time to fix the issues, that the lease should be ended early and you should get your deposit back. How long have you lived there?

Renter's have a lot of rights, so this whole thing probably falls into your favor. It really depends on if the landlord is going to fight this or not?

wicked · Coach

So the landlord finally offered to replace the carpet. My calling the board of health and their subsequent call to him lit him into action. I called the board of health again yesterday and they said they wouldn't be able to send an inspector until monday ( I was worried about the possibility of potential mold spores becoming airborne when the carpet is removed). I had a lengthy conversation with the woman on the phone and she urged me to let the landlord in to get the carpet out and also reminded me that many, many people got flooded and we had a record breaking amount of rain.

So the landlord kept calling trying to get in to remove the carpet and I kept saying I want a professional to come in first and evaluate the apt. and see if there's a potential for it to ruin our stuff or make us sick.

So he called again this morning and I shouted and chewed him out, which is not in my nature. I couldn't help myself because I was frustrated at my inability to get through to him and panicing at the prospect of our health or possesions becoming damaged.

He told my husband pretty much "I'm stupid" referring to himself. He told me "i'm oblivious, I don't get this mold thing, who do I call." I told him "Just google Massachusetts+mold inspection, there are tons of places that can do this!!!" Then he asked "Could you give me one of the phone numbers?"

So he called a professional that said it is best to get the carpet out asap. So he cut out a big chunk leaving a U-shape piece of carpet where our bookshelves, furniture etc are standing.

It looks like we live in a dungeon now and we have plastic on three walls hanging over our stuff.

He gave us a $50 gift certificate to a chinese restaurant.

Esquiress- Your description is so right on! He kind of reminds me of "Earnest" from the Earnest Goes To.....movies. He needs alot of coaching. Also when he came by with the dehumidifier he goes "I'll do anything you want me to do."

Someone is coming monday to give a professional opinion before the rest of the carpet is removed and replaced with a new one. I'm hoping that the situation isn't bad. I don't know if the mold on my flower pots was an abberation (sp?) or what.