Long distance move to a very bad apartment building. I need some type of feedback please. (Baltimore: cheap apartment, leases)

[Pam1969]

Originally Posted by Calvert Hall '62

Wouldn't the city or state govt. declare a dump like this unfit for human habitation???


Unbelievable!

Truthfully, all they do is fine them if they don't repair the issues. Nothing else. I called 311, the inspector called and said take everything off the windows so I can see what's happening in 8 degree weather. I'm only one person, I said forget it I can't do it, too much tape. Freezing cold bedroom.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Pam1969

...if you break a lease you can be sued by the apartment.

Sure you go right ahead and ask pretty please to release you.
It's worth a try to see what that gets you.
---

When they refuse and you leave anyway? You WANT them to sue you.
That will get you in front of a Judge a whole lot sooner than going through rent court processes.

The only reason to remain and endure is that the conditions aren't as bad as you've said....
and that you can't actually document these complaints in any manner.

[Pam1969]

Thank you, well, it's mostly the walls in the bedroom, since they Styrofoam the windows and left me in the dark. I have blankets hanging all over the walls. It's an old building. He refuses to let me out of my lease, but instead have me move back to the other apartment and set up the window people to fix the windows. He refuses to have the floors cleaned over there or paint the apartment(the one that wasn't cleaned when I moved in) because he knows I'll leave after the lease is over. Well, if I'm really happy in a warm and clean apartment I may not leave?
The assistant manager is going to help me. I'm exhausted from this place.
I got approved for another apartment, went to my appointment to see it today and he rented right before I came. Unbelievable. Not sure about Baltimore City. I'm a city person, need a walkable area to live.

[springfieldcollegealum]

I would get a free consult with an attorney. Are they violating the lease? You should be able to sue also for return of your deposit if they are violating the lease. Please don't ever rent sight unseen, make sure it has good reviews or speak with other tenants when visiting, and ask for a sample lease as well. I don't know where you are from but it seems you will need to play hardball with them which may not be your style.

[pappjohn]

Most Baltimore residents wouldn't have to go through this, because they have the state paying their rent and they will complain to social services. Landlords can't afford to **** off the state or they will be banned from section 8. You are only one person, so they can stick it to you. Baltimore city is hardcore for sure.

I experienced similar but not as bad as you in the city. My rent was cheap so I accepted crap.
In one place, an attractive girl was murdered in a next door apt. The police asked if I had seen or heard anything the next day, but I never saw nothing that night. The girl was always selling drugs and her body and I was always getting visitors knocking on my door in the middle of the night, which was annoying. I could often hear moaning through the walls, cause they were paper thin, again annoying. I figure that girl just died of occupational hazards.

I never knew cockroaches could live inside a refrigerator before I lived there. I'd wake up in the morning and the walls be crawling with them. The bigger problem was the darn mice and rats, they would chew right through the cereal boxes. I set up traps all over the apartment and I'd trap a couple every night without fail. Usually though the traps would just wake me up when they snapped. Yep, those were the good old days.

[james777]

Next time just get a cat. You won't have to set traps, and you won't have any rodents.

[pappjohn]

..

Next time just get a cat. You won't have to set traps, and you won't have any rodents.

That's true and eventually I went to glue traps instead. I didn't want to be tied down to a pet though. At the same time it was annoying to get waken up by a screaming mouse caught in a glue trap at night.

[Marie Joseph]

Sorry to hear of your experience and no judgments here; I made one disastrous housing choice from afar as well in a place where housing was scarce and it was pretty much the only place that would rent to someone out of the area and hold it for me.

I'm not gonna get into the ugly story but it's pretty similar to yours and it was 4 months of hell.

Have you kept documentation of your requests of the landlord to fix the items and the condition of the place when you took it?

In most states you have some legal recourse if the landlord does not fix basic things such as heat or water--some states are more liberal than others on this.

Here's the link for your state with some details on the landlord/tenant obligations under the law:

Landlords and Tenants

There is also a complete PDF with the entire code that you can download; it might be helpful.

We had our issue in Tennessee, and knowing the laws definitely helped us out

[pwduvall]

Originally Posted by Pam1969

Truthfully, all they do is fine them if they don't repair the issues. Nothing else. I called 311, the inspector called and said take everything off the windows so I can see what's happening in 8 degree weather. I'm only one person, I said forget it I can't do it, too much tape. Freezing cold bedroom.

Did the inspector offer to come look at the apartment? In my experience they write up the most minor issues even in a place that is in basically excellent condition. In one case I know of, the tenant got to put his rent into escrow because of scratched paint on a handrail. When the tenant complained about the scratches prior to the inspection, the landlord offered to paint it right away but the tenant denied entry. The tenant then managed to use the escrow system (because of the timing of the inspections) to escrow two months rent even though the painting was done right after the inspection. Interestingly, the landlord offered to let the tenant out of the lease after the first complaint but the tenant refused to accept that offer. After the tenant ultimately lost in rent court, he agreed to leave.

That is all a long way of explaining how much a tenant that really knows how to use the rent escrow process can accomplish. I suggest that you study up on the escrow process and then insist on the city inspection that is part of the process. The landlord will be sorry he ever rented to you.

By the way, you can look up the registration/inspection status your building here: Welcome to Baltimore Housing
Landlords who's Properties are not properly registered/licensed/inspected have very few rights in rent court:

[BMoreJuice]

I had a situation once where I moved into an apartment that was not ready. The carpet was filthy, the air conditioner was on the ground, glass everywhere. I told them that under these conditions, you violated my lease per section blay blah, there for, I'm out. They allowes me to leave but they held my security deposit hostage. They held it for two months. I called the local news station and spoke to their consumer protection team. They made a phone call to the rental office. I got a phone call 10 minutes later from the rental office that they will return my security deposit.

The landlord knows he is wrong so he is saying very little and hiding behind the agreement. Two options. A) Contact your city councilman and take pictures. B) Contact the Newstation and throw them under the bus.

Watch how quick they can do things for you..