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I had a thread I was reading but after creating an account for this form I can't seem to find it so figured I would just post and see what advice someone can provide.
Specifically I am asking about my father who rents an apartment in Renton, Washington and is having minor repair issues with his apartment and I am wondering if we have any grounds for fighting the Rental Agreement.
There have been a number of minor repairs needed, closet door springs, door entry light bulb (the ones outside the apartment) all of which the lessor has stated is my dad's responsibility for repair. Not wanting to be a problem we just made the repairs and moved on.
This last week his dryer went out, the one supplied with the apartment, and again they say my father has to handle repairs himself or pay for it to be done.
The original agreement states lessor is responsible for all repairs unless its tenant fault or due to reasonable wear and tear. WA tenant law says lessor is responsible for electrical appliances supplied with the apartment.
In April, my father signed his new lease and then a few weeks later the lessor sent an addendum specifically saying the washer and dryer are his responsibility which he signed. I don't think they specifically targeted my dad, I think it was just a way for them to nickel and dime the tenants.
So my question is: Is my father screwed cause he signed the addendum or do I have a course to get some sort of legal action?
Some additional background: My dad is a multiple heart attack and stroke victim, he is retired, legally blind ,on dialysis and requires some part time care to function during the week and get to the hospital 3 times per week. He is on a fixed income, the minor repairs are not that expensive but I get the feeling when the refrigerator goes out he will have to buy one.
It's my father, so I don't mind paying for these repairs, I just get this feeling that the lessor is pulling one over on tenants for minor repairs that should be lessor responsibility.
Thanks for you time.
Jim
Last edited by scirocco22; 09-18-2011 at 04:05 PM..
Reason: edited location
Your father had no obligation to agree to the addendum, but since he signed it, I believe it may be binding, but since it contridicts state law, perhaps only an attorney can advise you on that.
Problems getting minor repairs done is not usually grounds for withholding rent in the states I am familiar with. If you can't withold payment there is not much else you can do unless the defects threaten life, safety and welfare, etc. then maybe you could sue or file complaints with the local government agencies. In some states the state law holds regardless of any contrary clauses found in the lease or addendums. So it would be good to check what your state says about it and consult with any state specific landlord tenant councils, etc.
Edit: I just posted several new links I found to that sticky. Hopefully they will be helpful. I just started reading http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.060 and it looks like you might have some strong grounds to demand that they fix some things. But there remains a practical question of how happy your father is living there, do you want to move him when the lease expires if the landlord refuses to renew, because you have been a problem tenant? This is wrong but it seems like a possible outcome if the problems remain minor. How much trouble is it worth?
In some States a lease won't hold in court if items in the lease a against State laws. It is not that you can have a tenant sign any paper and take it as binding, just as stating that the Pitbull that has bitten your next door neighbor is not a liability to the owner, that is something that can't be waived in Florida.
We recently took over some rentals and the previous management company had in the lease that the tenant was responsible for all repairs even to the roof and foundation and since the tenant needed to be evicted we couldn't do the eviction since this lease is so badly written. No tenant can be held liable for roof and foundation, etc. We told the owner we won't be in court and stand there to be told by a judge what a bad lease there was provided...no thanks, not our company name that will be getting a bad name because of some other company doing the wrong thing.
I've rented houses and apartments in the past where the landlord has it in the rental agreement that if there's a refrigerator and washer and dryer in the house, I was free to use them - but if they broke down, I was responsible for either fixing them or replacing them, or living without them - since they weren't officially provided and a part of my rental agreement. That was fine with me - since it was better than getting the house with no appliances, and being forced to go buy my own, before I could move in!
Thanks for the advice. I would prefer to move my dad out since I have never been happy with the management of the place. The supplied appliances breaking down means more money out of his/my pocket and I don't like that situation.
I have free legal aid at work, I will run this by them and let them read the lease and addendum.
In some States a lease won't hold in court if items in the lease a against State laws. It is not that you can have a tenant sign any paper and take it as binding, just as stating that the Pitbull that has bitten your next door neighbor is not a liability to the owner, that is something that can't be waived in Florida.
We recently took over some rentals and the previous management company had in the lease that the tenant was responsible for all repairs even to the roof and foundation and since the tenant needed to be evicted we couldn't do the eviction since this lease is so badly written. No tenant can be held liable for roof and foundation, etc. We told the owner we won't be in court and stand there to be told by a judge what a bad lease there was provided...no thanks, not our company name that will be getting a bad name because of some other company doing the wrong thing.
Don't you hate inheriting these properties and "fixing" them? Even worse is when the owner has been the only landlord and you get a copy of some form they pirated, hand written, messy with terms that Einstein couldn't interpret!
Don't you hate inheriting these properties and "fixing" them? Even worse is when the owner has been the only landlord and you get a copy of some form they pirated, hand written, messy with terms that Einstein couldn't interpret!
I can answer YES... because it takes time and effort to get a building operating properly and then it would never fail... once the hard work was done the building would change hands or the owner would decide to self manage...
You definitely need to check the state laws. If the washer & dryer were supplied with the house, then the lessor is responsible for fixing. I don't know if the addendum is lawful. And since your father is blind, did he even know what he was signing? A court could find the contract not binding if the court feels he didn't know what the contract was for.
There was a case a few years back about a lady who moved into a house and the dishwasher quit working. The landlord refused to come and fix it. She kept track of all her time washing dishes and sued the landlord. In court she sued for wages that a dishwasher would make in a commercial setting. She won.
You definitely need to check the state laws. If the washer & dryer were supplied with the house, then the lessor is responsible for fixing. I don't know if the addendum is lawful. And since your father is blind, did he even know what he was signing? A court could find the contract not binding if the court feels he didn't know what the contract was for.
There was a case a few years back about a lady who moved into a house and the dishwasher quit working. The landlord refused to come and fix it. She kept track of all her time washing dishes and sued the landlord. In court she sued for wages that a dishwasher would make in a commercial setting. She won.
Long ago I stopped including any free-standing appliances....
If a tenant didn't have one, I could often help find one and sometimes previous tenants left, with permission, appliances.
My rental agreements never say the tenant is responsible for repairs... what they do say is tenant acknowledges landlord does not furnish stove/refrigerator, as the case maybe.
If an appliance is left behind, all the current tenant need do request that if be removed and within 24 hours it is.
I know this might not be much of an advice, but some landlords hope that the tenant is naive enough to believe signing certain documents will make them think they can't take legal action, while state and federal law overrules any such landlords made up document. I would suggest speaking to a lawyer (a lot of which offer free counseling) and see whatt they tell u. Also look into ur state law. Just google it.
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