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I moved here in May 2011. In September 2012, I notified the landlord that the ceiling in the second bedroom upstairs was leaking. Some pieces of..plaster? came off of the ceiling...about...well, enough to stick your hand inside if it was open and flat, and you could go from side to side about 4-5 inches either way. She finally got someone out there in September of 2013 to fix it.
So, here we are, this winter. As stated, we've had a lot of snow and ice this year. This house, (it is a house), is a really old huge house that is now separated in to three units. The third unit was an add on that was done probably in the last 10 years or so. So I'm in the original part of the house. It's big enough that you feel like you're in your own house when you walk in the door.
Okay, looking from the street, it's a backwards L. All of our doors are on the long side of the backwards L. That is where the driveway is, as well. Ok, my section of the long L is the only section that is covered in icicles. And, coincidentally, is right underneath the area where they did all of the roof repairs a few months ago. It is so bad, that out of my upstairs bedroom window, (the one that had that leak), it looks like I have ice jail bars on my windows. The siding is all covered in icicles. The roof has icicles. JUST on my section, no one else.
I went downstairs today, my kitchen ceiling is leaking. There's a stain on the ceiling that was not there before.
My front door....cannot be closed. The ice has built up so thick, that you cannot close the front door. The door is being burst off of its hinges. The ice is THICK. It's not coming from outside, it's coming from in between the door jamb part at the upper part of the door. Like, the ice is IN the walls, and is dripping down between my door and my screen. There is so much dirty ice coating all around my door, the screen, and the...uh...whatever that thing is called...not landing, but the part on the floor between the door and screen.
Anyway, I realized this is a big problem, have contacted the landlord, got a v/m...but, I'm thinking, there's going to be serious mold issues, it looks like the wood is rotting around the door frame where the icicles that formed between my door and screen have formed, and frankly, I'm a little anxious that things might start collapsing.
So. I write this because it took her an entire YEAR to get the roof fixed. What are my rights?
I don't have money to move right now...I'm kind of stuck...but, I need to know what to do. Can I withhold rent for January until this is fixed? I cannot break through the ice on the front door to even close my door!
How much time do I give her to get this fixed? What is a reasonable time? And what about the fact that it's all coming from where the supposed roof was repaired? And what about other mold that may be in the house?
Or are my only options: suck it up and take it, find another place to live (which is not feasible because I do not have the funds TO move anywhere right now). Do I have any rights?
call the city building/code inspector right now and get them out to look..
heres why
1 the LL is slow at repairs
2 the roof repair isnt done right .. ( I bet theres no flashing up there or other code requirments was there a permit issued for this work?)
3 the City will make her fix it to building standards asap
4 she cant retaliate on you for this
5 TAKE PICTURES NOW (just to have a back up if she does try #4.. this is self protection)
In most states, witholding rent is a "Last" option for a tenant, not the first, second or even third. Rent witholding usually requires a very specificy set of circumstances and you must follow the law to the letter to prevail. This is not an option you use until you have read the laws concerning rent withholding, understand the rules and law, willing to follow it as required, including but not limited to possibly having to place the funds in escrow with a court to make it a legal witholding. Are you at that point?
You current otpion are to recontact the landlord and make it a case of habitability and safety. you can not seal the outside from the inside. You need them to take immediate steps to temporarily fix the situation NOW until permenat repairs can be made. You also need to put pen to paper TODAY and mail the same demand to the landlord by certifed mail RRR.
Make sure you inform the landlord via phone and in the letter that if this is not addressed within 24 hours, you will be forced to contact your local building code enfocement and health department for assiatance. IOf they do not fix it, conytact the building and health departments for assistance. Afterwards, go to court and get the court to order the repairs or authorize rent witholding to force repairs.
In the mean time, rend your state's landlord tenant laws and be familiar with what you need to do and what your rights are.
Ok, my landlord just called. She said that she was not surprised. Then she said, she's horrified, but she's not surprised because this has been a problem "in the past".
Seriously?
She's calling someone to come out and at least fix the door for right now so I can close it. She knows that the ice "backs up" inside the roof and walls, gets under the shingles, or whatever she said, and then, when it starts to melt, I get all the icicles. She said that when the roof people came out in September, they put up water proofing, weather proofing, and something else. She did say it has flashing, I asked her specifically about that. When I asked her about insulation she said, "Well, no..." and then told me what the roofers did put on it.
Sigh.
Anyway, this is the first time that she's ever had a problem with the front door. I told her the wood is rotting, it needs to be fixed. I told her about the new kitchen ceiling leak. For right now, she's calling around to find someone to come out, today, to fix my front door.
So, now I have to find out what kind of time frame she should have to fix the rest. It's kind of hard to be fixing a roof right now when we have ice and snow...and more snow coming. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I really don't want moldy, rotting wood, and more leaks, either.
She IS a nice landlord, I don't want to be a jerk to her...but I also want the home to be fixed right, too. I hate confrontation.
Oh, PS, I immediately went out and took photos. I'll get a few uploaded so you can see.
This is the neighbor's side of the house...nice and clean and icicle free:
And this is my side of the house:
Here's the door after I smacked the carp out of the ice to get it off. You may still be able to see some ice. But the ice destroyed the hinge, it won't stay on.
After the door gets fixed, I would leave at the end of the lease. The only reason I say that is that your LL is unlikely to really sink the money needed to get this place TO YOUR SATISFACTION. What satisfies you and what she is obligated to do sound like vastly different things. I could be wrong but after the door is fixed, a rotting door frame and a rotting window frame don't really sound like issues to withhold rent for. A stain on the ceiling (as opposed to water running into the room and ruining your stuff) makes for an inconvenience but not an emergency; that might not get fixed til spring.
Yuk! I can't figure out in which state you live (somewhat geographically challenged with only vague hints being offered!) but you'll find your particular state landlord tenant laws probably linked in the first "sticky" on this forum. Some states define the time a LL has to fix habitability issues, most specify "reasonable time" which of course is rather arbitrary.
Hopefully you'll get a quick temporary fix which will at least enable you to close the door. Obviously the rotted wood framing will have to be replaced but the major fix is going to be the roof itself which it seems was probably fixed on the cheap.
Eliminate "confrontation" from your vocabulary in dealing with your LL. It sounds as though she may have been shafted too by the "fix-it" person she hired and that's not at all unusual. I've had similar experiences in the past when a LL has hired half-arsed "local yokels" to do a job when, for just a very few extra dollars, a licensed and insured professional would have done the job properly and in far less time than the "neighbor's brother's wife's husband's nephew".
If you really like the place then work with your LL who you seem to like, rather than going hell-for-leather on reporting the problem to city authorities. You could easily and simply suggest a rent reduction until such time as the problem is fixed. That's not "confrontation" but peaceful negotiation.
Further, if you're responsible for paying your own heating bills, that door which doesn't close properly is obviously going to up your utility bill. You have a lot of leverage, so take a deep breath and - before you do anything else - work with your LL.
At the same time, do document all your dealings with the LL. Follow up 'phone calls with simple confirming emails ("just to confirm our telephone conversation today, you said this and I said that, etc.") and save any texts.
Good luck!
PS: I love seeing wintry photos replete with icicles as I look outside on a lovely sunny day with temps in the 80s, the skies a lovely blue and the waters below a shade of azure as the next crop of bananas ripen. Sorry.
After the door gets fixed, I would leave at the end of the lease. The only reason I say that is that your LL is unlikely to really sink the money needed to get this place TO YOUR SATISFACTION. What satisfies you and what she is obligated to do sound like vastly different things. I could be wrong but after the door is fixed, a rotting door frame and a rotting window frame don't really sound like issues to withhold rent for. A stain on the ceiling (as opposed to water running into the room and ruining your stuff) makes for an inconvenience but not an emergency; that might not get fixed til spring.
It's not about "my satisfaction", it's a SAFETY ISSUE. If there is water IN THE WALLS, that presents a problem with mold, and possible collapse of ceilings. I will go to the city, as I was advised earlier, and have them make her fix it up to code/standards. Not MY standards, the city's standards.
The "stain on the ceiling" IS A LEAK. THERE IS WATER COMING FROM IT. I have a bucket underneath it, collecting the water from the leak.
And, I merely asked about with holding rent. I didn't say I WOULD, I simply asked.
Boy, you sure are reading a whole lot in to everything I've said. Settle down.
Yuk! I can't figure out in which state you live (somewhat geographically challenged with only vague hints being offered!) but you'll find your particular state landlord tenant laws probably linked in the first "sticky" on this forum. Some states define the time a LL has to fix habitability issues, most specify "reasonable time" which of course is rather arbitrary.
Hopefully you'll get a quick temporary fix which will at least enable you to close the door. Obviously the rotted wood framing will have to be replaced but the major fix is going to be the roof itself which it seems was probably fixed on the cheap.
Eliminate "confrontation" from your vocabulary in dealing with your LL. It sounds as though she may have been shafted too by the "fix-it" person she hired and that's not at all unusual. I've had similar experiences in the past when a LL has hired half-arsed "local yokels" to do a job when, for just a very few extra dollars, a licensed and insured professional would have done the job properly and in far less time than the "neighbor's brother's wife's husband's nephew".
If you really like the place then work with your LL who you seem to like, rather than going hell-for-leather on reporting the problem to city authorities. You could easily and simply suggest a rent reduction until such time as the problem is fixed. That's not "confrontation" but peaceful negotiation.
Further, if you're responsible for paying your own heating bills, that door which doesn't close properly is obviously going to up your utility bill. You have a lot of leverage, so take a deep breath and - before you do anything else - work with your LL.
At the same time, do document all your dealings with the LL. Follow up 'phone calls with simple confirming emails ("just to confirm our telephone conversation today, you said this and I said that, etc.") and save any texts.
Good luck!
PS: I love seeing wintry photos replete with icicles as I look outside on a lovely sunny day with temps in the 80s, the skies a lovely blue and the waters below a shade of azure as the next crop of bananas ripen. Sorry.
Thanks. Good advice. Follow up emails is good. I would like to work with her, however, if things start falling apart more, or I notice any health issues springing up, (I mean serious, not a flu), I will take it further. Or, if she decides to take another year to do anything...I'm not too fond of that, either. I pay decent money to live here, I should be getting what I paid for.
And, nice try with your sunshine and palm trees, but after living in Miami for so long, I'll take the snow.
All that ice proves is that your side has NO insulation & is not properly sealed! Who pays the Heat? IF its you add that to your list of complaints! And her saying she had problems in the past ... well that says it all! Start saving now & move ASAP! She being Nice cause she don't want to lose a sucker not that she cares about the property or you as a person.
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