[sunshineann]

If your a college student, is there no housing on campus? Or even job postings at the school? You can make it work with what little you have you'd be suprised.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Reigin

It doesn't matter if you check an apartment before hand, if they are putting on a show they can fool you.

And, since when is love a temporary thing? Oh i know, we don't have money so I don't love you anymore. I love that guy over there, he has money.

Less than $395 a month with heat and utilities provided is quite cheap - and you generally get what you pay for.

I can't see how anyone would rent rooms out for that little with all bills paid and break even.

If you run him out of business, then you're hurting his other tenants who apparently aren't complaining, so since there's no lease, I think you and the boyfriend should find another place you like better. Just expect to pay a little more.

[tjay]

where exactly do you live? if you look hard you will find something, you've got internet access, and that's all you need. have you tried craigslist? local newspaper ads (online)?
if you don't like the situation you're in, you need to change it. for one thing, you need to work towards being able to drive. one of you needs a job, whether you ride a bike there or whatever. you cannot live in this world without an income. even if you work one day a week at minimum wage its better than not working at all and putting up with this crap. what will you both do once unemployment runs out? if you don't take charge of your life you give other people control over you. sometimes this means working jobs you don't want to work, for a salary that you don't necessarily like, not getting as much sleep as you'd like or other sacrifices. you just need to want it bad enough. eventually things start changing and you find yourself in a better position. stop being picky about everything and do something about your situation. good luck....

[Wingsy]

Even without a lease, you do have rights.

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/docume...ntlandlord.pdf

That gives an excellent overview of the laws in Michigan regarding landlord-tenant relationships, your rights, and the recourses available to you.

Something you might consider as an alternative housing option would be to rent a room in a house instead of a stand-alone apartment, at least until you are done with school and both working full-time. You might check on Craigslist for your local area.

Good luck to you... one day you will look back on this and laugh.

[Squab]

Personally, I'd stop the rent and use that money to move elsewhere. He would have to go to court to get an eviction notice and that takes time. I think you'd have about three months of not paying him to get out. You should check on that as I'm not quite sure on the time limit before you'd be tossed out. This way, you'd have the money to put on another place. And don't expect to get your deposit back. Does anyone?

Your landlord has made a living as a slumlord. He's a scumbag. Make sure you take lots of pic's of the place with the bees and stinky sewage mess, so he can't come back and blame you for leaving it as a pigsty.

Also, I would check with the health dept and register a complaint against him for letting his tenants live in a health hazard of a place....... And show them those pics.....

Lesson here.......if it's renting real cheap, it has real problems...... And check out the property and building before renting the next one.....Flush the toilet and turn on the hot water. This holds true when purchasing a home as well.... Don't make the same mistake the next time....... If it smells like stinky poo is in the air, you can bet there's a leak or plumbing problem somewhere......

Might be wise to get a lease the next time around. Not only for the landlords protection, but renters as well......

[javieh]

I know this is WAY late, but you should contact your city's code enforcement department. They will send someone out to do an inspection of the building, and then your landlord will be notified of code violations and have a set amount of time (usually 14 or 30 days) to fix it. Also, when you don't have basic living amenities (water, electricity, etc), you can pay your rent into an escrow account until your landlord repairs those basic items. Almost all cities have some sort of free assistance for tenants in your type of situation. Find a number for building code enforcement and ask them. If they don't know, contact some sort of welfare-type office (department of family services?) and ask them.

This guy sounds like an absolute slumlord. Don't let him get away with it! If you move out (which you may have already done), some other unsuspecting person will just move in and have to start with him all over again.

[Sparrow_temp]

You could have done that but it would have probably been declared unfit for habitation and you would have had to move until things are fixed. The answer was to move since you were only on a month-to-month lease then sued for any deposit/rent you paid. You could have probably have moved to a hotel when the electric or the heat were turned off and gotten reimbursed via the court later. At least you would have gotten a judgment for that but it really sounds like the landlord had no money -- you can't get blood out of a turnip.

Originally Posted by javieh

I know this is WAY late, but you should contact your city's code enforcement department. They will send someone out to do an inspection of the building, and then your landlord will be notified of code violations and have a set amount of time (usually 14 or 30 days) to fix it. Also, when you don't have basic living amenities (water, electricity, etc), you can pay your rent into an escrow account until your landlord repairs those basic items. Almost all cities have some sort of free assistance for tenants in your type of situation. Find a number for building code enforcement and ask them. If they don't know, contact some sort of welfare-type office (department of family services?) and ask them.

This guy sounds like an absolute slumlord. Don't let him get away with it! If you move out (which you may have already done), some other unsuspecting person will just move in and have to start with him all over again.