Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello everyone!
So I have been on City-Data before but today I decided to sign up. I am having some issues with my apartment and landlord and would like some advice.
This is my first apartment. My fiance, our 2 year old and myself have been living with our parents (I am 22, he is 24) After months of saving, we finally started looking into apartments within our price range. He works and I stay at home with our daughter and go to school online. We looked at 3 places last month that were in our price range and came across on that seemed perfect for us. So we checked it out (at night), my first concerns were the water stains in the bedroom and bathroom ceilings. He said they were old and would have no issue with mold. I was not happy about it but my fiance convinced me we could get past it and paint over it. We had another apartment which I fell in LOVE with but were not qualified even though the rent was way cheaper. So we settled with this. He seemed like a great guy says he gives 25 dollar discounts, is always there when something goes on with the apartment etc
Cut to moving day, my fiance was working, so it was my mother, my sister, myself and my daughter. The place was FILTHY. It took us HOURS to get some of the stains, and grease and old stuffy smell out. While we were cleaning my mom saw a teeny tiny ant crawling on the cabinet. We quickly killed it and thought it was a stray. That night we went to walmart and came back to the apartment to drop some stuff off. That one aunt turned into 10+ the sink was crawling with them. That was Saturday, we didnt fully move into the place until Thursday. Come to find out with further inspection, there is a broken window in the bedroom covered with cardboard, all windows have a draft, broken window in bathroom, shower pipe leaking, and now MORE ANTS. I addressed everything with him and he made it seem like everything will be fixed and said he will text a friend about the ants. His words quote on quote, "He had a profession cleaner to clean the house top to bottom and there was no bugs" Yea okay did they clean with grease? We wanted to paint (to cover the **** stains on the bathroom wall) and he made a big deal with the paint then said it was fine. That was two weeks ago. Last Sunday, We were painting the bathroom, as I mentioned the window is not only cracked the thing to open it is broken. When the wind blows you feel it and hear it against the window. As I was cleaning up I hear a boom and a crack. The whole middle park breaks off and we quickly call him. Didnt get a respond until the next day after noon. Says put plastic. Its been a week and we have been bathing our daughter with rags because it is unbearable in there even with the plastic WE HAD TO BUY. I still have a million ants, had to throw away my brand new disk rack and a everything around the sink because they were infested with ants. Ive been washing my dishes in the tub because as I was the more they come out and I had ants crawling on my arms. I cant use my cabinets either and had to buy an island. Now this week our heat has been barely working even on 90, my daughter keeps saying she is cold. We wrote to him two days ago and explained everything. He claimed he was here the night before but didnt come by? Then he said he was going to come and did not even show up. We do not have lease but I am considering on telling him if these repairs are not fixed I want my deposit, be reimbursed for the money we spent/ the things I had to throw out. I cannot have my child living in these conditions. I am afraid the aunts will start crawling on her stuff in the living room or make their way towards the rest of the house.
Unfortunately you started off making a lot of mistakes. Some of those problems you should have seen when you looked at the place, nighttime or daytime. Had you looked more carefully you then would have returned a second time to take a better look and, if you then saw more obvious defects, either move on to another place or get it in writing that the defects would be cured prior to move-in. All this done before making a commitment.
Read your state landlord tenant laws which you'll find linked in the first "sticky" on this forum and follow the process for reporting maintenance and habitability issues. Take detailed dated photographs of the place. If the defects aren't cured in a reasonable time frame, give your notice and look for something more suitable.
Unless your landlord specifically told you to buy supplies for which he would reimburse you it's unlikely you'll get that money back but your LL does have to return your security deposit in the time frame mandated by state law once you leave.
I will never understand why people / potential renters do not use due diligence when looking for a place to live THAT THEY ARE PAYING TO RENT !
I have not been a renter for 25+ years ( home owner ) .... but when I did rent apts, I carefully looked at everything possible that would affect my living conditions. Both inside and outside the unit.
So was the place clean or dirty when you viewed it? And how were the broken windows "hidden" from your first visit?
As for the bugs, just call an exterminator. I always called one when I moves into rentals since I hate bugs. And try to use only texting or email from now on when reporting issues so you can have a paper trail. Check the first post on the first page on this forum and check the laws in your state on how to get out of your lease or what rights you have.
... how to get out of your lease or what rights you have.
She doesn't have a term lease, is a month to month tenant so extricating herself (should it be necessary) is simple. Neither should she have to pay for a professional exterminator. If the infestation breaches the code of habitability, it's the LL's responsibility.
She doesn't have a term lease, is a month to month tenant so extricating herself (should it be necessary) is simple. Neither should she have to pay for a professional exterminator. If the infestation breaches the code of habitability, it's the LL's responsibility.
Ooh I missed that. OP, don't even bother then. Just give a 30 day notice and get a better place. Lesson learned.
STT resident, I have always paid for an exterminator as I don't like bugs. It's not something I ever expected a landlord to pay preferring to use someone I know in what chemicals etc. (I had pets and kids)
If you are in an area with the jurisdiction like NYC with the heat complaint hotline, 311, then you can force the landlord to get the heat on.
Even though you don't have a lease signed, but you are still paying month to month, and you are suppose to enjoy the place without any problem like the ant problem that you describe. You can find out more with your local Health Department and see what they said. Also, check with child service related department, they might be able to advise you on what to do and who you should contact to get this problem fix.
Bottom line, if you still want to live in this place, you can wait for the landlord to help you fix it, if not, you will have to find an exterminator and get it fix yourself. Yes, is a lot of work, but that's only if you choose to stay in this place. If not, your other option would be to look for some other place while you are living in your current place.
STT resident, I have always paid for an exterminator as I don't like bugs. It's not something I ever expected a landlord to pay preferring to use someone I know in what chemicals etc. (I had pets and kids)
I understand. I live in the tropics and also take care of keeping roaches, ants, mice, rats and all else at bay without bothering my LL. The point I was making is that if it's truly an "infestation" of ants in accordance with the OP's local health codes, the LL is responsible for paying for extermination services because of legal uninhabitability.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
