What rights do we have for our apartment??? Help! (Howe: apartments, renters)

[TM1376]

I have been in my apartment for only 5 months & I have had a constant ant problem including an off & on again rat infestation. The pest control comes at least once, sometimes twice a month, but it doesn't help. They've discussed possibly spraying the exterior of the building but it's yet to be done. The rat issue has just gotten worse, they literally just killed one in my apartment today with a long pole with 3 spikes on the end. Last week after noticing rats were eating bananas from on top of my kitchen table & there were droppings everywhere, so I reported them again. They put for a second time, wire mesh where they saw the rats were coming from & they filled more holes that were discovered, some that had already been there. Well during this last hole sealing process they ended up somehow trapping a rat in my apartment for several days. We thought it was just coming from another area but discovered just today that it wasn't, that it was in fact trapped. It ended up making holes in my only couch & was living in there as it continually unsuccessfully attempted to naw it's way back out. There are large rat droppings all over my carpet...throughout my kitchen, living room, dining room, hall & main bathroom. I feel like I'm justified enough to have my carpet replaced now especially because of the rat droppings all over the place. They carry so many diseases, I don't feel like a shampoo is going to get rid of what they left behind. I just feel like they're going to say the carpet stains are from my dog & the droppings are not justification enough for them to replace it. We have a newborn baby & feel like this is a major issue that requires for my carpets to be replaced. I also have four large water spots that have formed on my ceiling which have caused some leakeage onto the carpet by my front door, therefore causing my carpets to get more stains. When I moved in I had them shampoo the carpets a second time because these carpets were in such bad condition. The apartments on both the left & right side of me have been abandoned for months, as one was evicted when I moved in & the other moved shortly after. To this day they've yet to completely empty those apartments which I feel are the reason the rats keep coming into my apartment. There are only 6 apartments in the building I'm in, so I'm the only one occupied on the second floor. Below all 3 apartments have since had tenants moved out & already had the flooring replaced in those with wood flooring & new tenants move into two of them. I'm sure it's going to be another mess once they decide to fix my ceiling as well. I've already had the A/C leak twice, once when I moved in all over the master bedroom carpet which all they did was shop vacuum it up. Then another time all over my personal belongings & the hall carpet, which of course contributed to more carpet stains. Mind you all of this within a matter of 5 months, yet they require I have renters insurance through them, but for what?! I always pay my rent on time & yet I'm always having some sort of issue in my apartment. I love living here so I don't want to leave, but I feel like I'm justified to be moved into another apartment or have all of my issues properly addressed & new flooring installed. This has really caused a lot of anxiety for my daughter & I as she has her newborn baby, plus the huge rats are scary! We have avoided the kitchen & living area as much as possible since last week because of this! I just don't know if by law they're even required to do anything major like replace the flooring or move us because of all of the issues???

[centralaustinite]

Call your local health department!

[GBCommenter]

Move. Seriously - just take your rent money you'd use for June and move.

I'm not a lawyer, but I have to imagine there is a pretty material breach of contract by them leaving the place in this condition - so there is going to be difficulty on their part really pursuing any fee for breaking a lease.

Whether you love living there or not will be immaterial if something happens to your newborn baby or yourself.

Ownership/management obviously either does not have the money or the concern to truly solve the problem, which is far more extensive than sealing up some holes or setting some poison. If you can see the droppings in your apartment, they are going to be worse within the walls, and what are you and your baby breathing in that's seeping from the walls? If they don't have the desire to empty the apartments either side of you so they can start re-renting them is evidence there is no concern about managing the place effectively, or again evidence there is so little money by ownership the problems will never be fixed.

Just move...

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by GBCommenter

Move. Seriously - just take your rent money you'd use for June and move.

I'm not a lawyer, but I have to imagine there is a pretty material breach of contract by them leaving the place in this condition - so there is going to be difficulty on their part really pursuing any fee for breaking a lease.

Whether you love living there or not will be immaterial if something happens to your newborn baby or yourself.

Ownership/management obviously either does not have the money or the concern to truly solve the problem, which is far more extensive than sealing up some holes or setting some poison. If you can see the droppings in your apartment, they are going to be worse within the walls, and what are you and your baby breathing in that's seeping from the walls? If they don't have the desire to empty the apartments either side of you so they can start re-renting them is evidence there is no concern about managing the place effectively, or again evidence there is so little money by ownership the problems will never be fixed.

Just move...

You should read this article about the property management practices of companies owned by Jared Kushner (Trump's son-in-law) before advising someone to "just move." A shady landlord can make your life hell. The OP should start by getting the health department to inspect the apartment (or building). Tenants need to protect themselves.

[cobolt]

I believe it's against the law to rent a place that is inhabitable and living with pests is an inhabitable and hazardous situation. I think even a basic lease on the Texas Apartment Association website states that the landlord will provide a clean and habitable residence. I would elevate this beyond the apartment management, as they don't seem to care and only are barely managing the symptoms, let alone the cause. Get the Health Department involved.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

You should read this article about the property management practices of companies owned by Jared Kushner (Trump's son-in-law) before advising someone to "just move." A shady landlord can make your life hell. The OP should start by getting the health department to inspect the apartment (or building). Tenants need to protect themselves.

Originally Posted by cobolt

I believe it's against the law to rent a place that is inhabitable and living with pests is an inhabitable and hazardous situation. I think even a basic lease on the Texas Apartment Association website states that the landlord will provide a clean and habitable residence. I would elevate this beyond the apartment management, as they don't seem to care and only are barely managing the symptoms, let alone the cause. Get the Health Department involved.

Terrible as it is for those tenants in the article, one landlord in the article is not every landlord so it doesn't necessarily carry the OP's landlord will do the same thing. Additionally, while I'm not a Trump supporter (I voted third party), the article is more designed to be a hit piece on Donald Trump by the NYT - who will hold their grudge because they cannot fathom Hillary was the one candidate that could lose to Trump.

That said, advising the Health Department is frankly useless. At best, they'll come in and eventually condemn the place - making the OP move anyway. More likely, they'll start a never-ending process of "fix-it orders" and inspections. Government obviously failed the people in the article, they'll fail in this situation - or spend so long "working with the landlord" they might as well have done nothing.

Whatever legal wrangling that may come about will pale in comparison if, God forbid, one of the rats ends up biting the baby (or worse). Or God forbid the rat droppings (and likely mold, etc. in the walls) ends up causing a permanent respiratory illness. Additionally, the OP has already lost personal belongings due to rat infestation - how much more should OP lose waiting on the Health Department?

The problem will not dissipate. The landlord either doesn't give a s***, doesn't have the money to fix the problem, or decided the building isn't worth the investment to repair (likely if they've left two of 6 apartments empty for months - the apartments are possibly uninhabitable). In any of those cases, the situation will not improve.

That said, I'll revise it to this - take a bunch of pictures before you move to demonstrate the condition of the apartment and be ready to defend yourself in court if needed. I also found this link the OP could check out for items such as a tenants union or the Texas AG's office.

In the meantime, don't wait for a serious illness - move...

[GBCommenter]

I should add, I'm not one to not generally honor the commitments you voluntarily make. However, this appears to be a serious situation and, again, a material breach of contract. This apartment sounds close to uninhabitable, and I don't see any reasonable authority say there wasn't a breach of contract.

[TexasRedneck]

While I would agree that what you describe is clearly a health risk (at very least), consult with an attorney before doing anything else. None of the folks here are going to appear with you in court (or pay your legal fees) on a lawsuit for breach of contract, and the subsequent credit history destruction should you lose.

Right now, based solely on your claims you are in the drivers' seat. Don't toss yourself under the bus!