Great big dilemma

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

The problem with not paying them one thin dime is that according to tenants rights, for the tenant to have a chance at winning, they must be caught up on rent.

True, if they had a way to enforce anything... which I don't believe they do. "Throwing good money after bad" is a saying that comes to mind.

[Kracer]

Sure hope you documented the conditions with plenty of digital photos......

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

The problem with not paying them one thin dime is that according to tenants rights, for the tenant to have a chance at winning, they must be caught up on rent.

I'd be willing to bet that this out-of-state landlord isn't willing to spend a great deal of money pursuing the issue.

And, if the tenant is renting a house, it must be habitable (and this one seems to be not be).

If the place was misrepresented (as it appears to be) the last thing that landlord would ever want would be the for the town code enforcement officer to pay a little visit.

From the sounds of the place, this isn't a situation where a responsible landlord is renting to a tenant.

Each situation is different - this I know. I know many landlords who've definitely gotten the dirty end of the stick, but judging by the reply to the letter, this one doesn't really seem to care about much beyond getting the $300 deposited in his/her account IMO.

Either way, I'd find another place and move as soon as is I was able to. It sounds like even if this was ironed out, you'll be in for more misery down the road.

Good luck.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The clock could be ticking and you could come home to find a foreclosure notice stapled to the front door. At that point you don't have much to stand on. It's a simple thing to find out if a property has any liens on it.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by reloop

I'd be willing to bet that this out-of-state landlord isn't willing to spend a great deal of money pursuing the issue.

And, if the tenant is renting a house, it must be habitable (and this one seems to be not be).

If the place was misrepresented (as it appears to be) the last thing that landlord would ever want would be the for the town code enforcement officer to pay a little visit.

From the sounds of the place, this isn't a situation where a responsible landlord is renting to a tenant.

Each situation is different - this I know. I know many landlords who've definitely gotten the dirty end of the stick, but judging by the reply to the letter, this one doesn't really seem to care about much beyond getting the $300 deposited in his/her account IMO.

Either way, I'd find another place and move as soon as is I was able to. It sounds like even if this was ironed out, you'll be in for more misery down the road.

Good luck.

I understand that and I agree, they probably don't want to put a lot of money in to this but they can, if they wanted to, trash her credit record.

As I stated in a previous post to her, providing links, section 4 of that last link did discuss "habitable", (as I pointed out), but, if you read further, it states that you MUST be paid up on rent regardless.

Granted, a lawyer is the BEST person to go to for interpretations and scenarios and I truly hope the OP has done that.

I also agree, even IF this did get "worked out", I don't see this landlord apologizing and trying to make it up to these tenants. I see them being a big old pain in the hind quarters for the duration of their time there, hence why I suggest, just get out. But document EVERY thing before they do that.

[cebdark]

Yes, documenting everything goes without saying.

I guess I'm missing something. Did the OP pay a security deposit or not?

I would consider that deposit going toward any rent due. The deal was that 2 weeks rent for December would be deducted correct? What was the security deposit amount - the whole rent?

Either way, I'd get the heck out before you end up held liable for someone else's damage (which is entirely possible given the behavior of the landlord in this case IMO) but not before I called the code enforcement officer of the town. It sounds like the place needs to be condemned.


"I'm not happy about giving a security deposit for this place. We agreed to pay rent for December on the 1st before we actually saw the place. The owners seem PO-ed that we were upset over the condition of the place. We asked them to disregard rent for December, expecting the security should go toward it, as I can't imagine someone asking for a security deposit for this place. They're refusing to consider it & refuse to fix anything until we give them money."

I really hope this works out for you.