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I have been in my lease since feb 15, 1013. Within 1.5 weeks of moving in, there were severe issues with my rental. I called the zoning officer for advice and he said he had to inspect it due to the laws in PA. It was found uninhabitable and he created 13 issues with the place that had to be fixed. There was no proper heat source, broken windows, no house numbers, questions of the electrical safety, and plumbing concerns, etc. I was shown the place with a Realtor so I did not think there were such problems with the rental. We were forced to leave and bounced to houses of family for a month. Eventually I got the landlord to fill out the paperwork and get started on repairs. We moved back in but we still have problems here.
The problems are:
1) the wood stove as well as the two heats vents for propane on one side of the house do nothing. There is no change of temperature in the house and we have to wear our winter coats indoors. We tried running some portable heaters but then the circuits trips from too much electricity being run. Obviously, even being able to use them isnt what we want to do.
2) we have a large amount of mold on the bedroom ceiling that is below the upstairs' bedrooms.
3) we have serious leaks from possible plumbing issues on both the first and 2nd floor.
4)there are large gaps in the 3rd floor windows that are in the bedrooms of my daughter and my roommate. They are small windows with no screen.
5) The one toilet does not work properly and never has.
6) we have now found mice in the kitchen
7) the windows are not large enough to put in an A/C unit. no ceiling fans (one had been removed during repairs) so we have no way to keep the house from becoming extremely heat and the air is stifling.
8) our neighbors found fleas on their pets. I assume it is coming from the grass around the house. We also have thin walls and smalls gaps in between our units where fleas could get in.
9) our neighbors smoke indoors which gets into our apartment
10) my significant other has cystic fibrosis and these conditions are possibly the reason he now has bacteria in his lungs and is on his 2nd round of antibiotics. If they do not work then he will have be to hospitalized.
I think the covered the majority of major problems. Are these reasons sufficient for us to leave without ramification? I also want my full security back prior to leaving as I do not trust m landlord in the slightest. We wrote him a letter back in feb about some of these issues. We have a new one requesting to leave in a month and letting him show the place in order to find new tenants. The letter is very detailed about the problems and how we want to cooperate. We also have a letter from my boyfriend's cystic fibrosis doctor stating he believes we should leave and the house is detrimental to my boyfriend's health. Do we have a good fighting chance?
I have been in my lease since feb 15, 2013.
Within 1.5 weeks of moving in, there were severe issues with my rental.
(rather than calling the landlord...) I called the zoning officer for advice
and he said he had to inspect it due to the laws in PA. It was found uninhabitable
and he created 13 issues with the place that had to be fixed.
It was at this point that most people would choose to LEAVE and stay gone...
and have all manner of common and statute law to support them doing so.
What motivated you to remain/return?
Most commonly it's about either a very low rent or inability to qualify with a quality LL.
Quote:
Eventually I got the landlord to fill out the paperwork and get started on repairs.
We moved back in but we still have problems here.
Are these reasons sufficient for us to leave without ramification?
Do we have a good fighting chance?
After KNOWING the depth of the situation, being out and then returning to it?
No. If anything... I'd say that you may be even more culpable than the LL.
It was at this point that most people would choose to LEAVE and stay gone...
and have all manner of common and statute law to support them doing so.
The burning question.
I suggest you read your state landlord tenant laws which you'll likely find linked in the first "sticky" on this forum. Can't for the life of me determine exactly why you chose to move back in there, particularly when there's possibly a potentially very serious health issue at stake.
A lot of the problems you've listed aren't of legal merit and some of them were certainly those you would have seen very easily before signing a lease.
Can't help you any more than that, sorry. Suggest you contact Legal Aid.
I didn't even read your whole post. As soon as I got to the point where you had moved out due to habitability issues - then moved back IN??????? I gave up on you.
Even if I could believe you didn't realize the place was a dump when you moved in, why on EARTH would you move back in? That's insane. I think you must have some sick need for drama. Which you involved your friends and family in, while you moved in with them.
And now you are here.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 07-27-2013 at 11:22 PM..
We came back due to several factors. We didnt have anywhere to go and the landlord had all of our money since we had to put $4200 down for rent, security, and pet deposit. There was no place to stay for a month while we could find another place. Our landlord said he had fixed almost all the items on the zoning board list and the officer said it was ok to live in again. We believed them. After seeing more problems arise and the others not properly handled, we worried about our roommate and where he could go if we left since he is a friend. I was not even aware of the severe mold issue until 2 weeks ago when my boyfriend actually showed me. I know how stupid that last one sounded. Under PA law as I understand it, my landlord HAS to provide a safe and habitable rental for the tenants. If so, then isnt he breaking the lease and not me? Yes the rent divided is afforable now that my boyfriend has found full time work. I had been raising my credit score since last winter and trying to save for a house. But due to these continued problems, we are forced to leave before I was ready.
When we moved in we were told by the landlord and the Realtor that the wood stove was sufficient to heat the house. We had now way of knowing before we moved in. He also said the river that we live next to would provided enough breeze to keep the house cool. Obviously, these were lies. We couldnt know about the plumbing issues either. He had freshly painted the ceiling I believe before we moved in so it wasnt clear that there was a mold issue. When I asked about it I was told the water marks and dark areas were from issues that had already been corrected.
All and all it looks to me like it would cost him way more than a year's rent to fix the problems here. Im hoping by giving him my new letter, the original, the doctor's letter, and the photos that he will see its in everyone's best interest for me to leave. If I have to call the zoning board again I will to protect myself and then he still wouldnt get the rent until he put in a new heating system and fixed the mold problem. Im glad I have taken the appropriate steps prior to this point and Im hoping that I have done enough by the law to get out without a huge problem. I just wanted some feedback on my stance and if there was anything else I could.
That was a pretty mean response to me simply asking for any help. I do not make a ton of money and I had no money to find a new apartment. It doesnt look like a dump on the surface. Due to the PA law being normally on the landlord's side, he could have taken me to court for the entire rent of the lease. Consumer protection told me this when I first called. If the zoning officer gave him temporary occupancy which he did, I could not legally break my lease without further letters and all the BS. It really sucks that the law is setup this way. At this point though, I think everything I have done is sufficient to win my case. I should have my new lease signed by next week. Thank goodness!!!
I'm currently moving from a three bedroom home to a two bedroom. I have section8 also, but the new place I moved to has bedbugs and I only been here for one day. My landlord will not let me break the lease and housing authority is not really helping me, I know I have tenant rights. Help please
I'm currently moving from a three bedroom home to a two bedroom. I have section8 also, but the new place I moved to has bedbugs and I only been here for one day. My landlord will not let me break the lease and housing authority is not really helping me, I know I have tenant rights. Help please
Call a pest control company...and pronto...you need to battle these things aggressively.
As for the lease...you can break it as long as you follow proper procedure. Read your lease and read your state landlord/tenant laws in regards to early termination.
No legal advice will be given on this forum.
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