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I live in the bottom floor of a three story triplex backed into a hill. I moved in last spring and knew there had been an issue with water leaking in the back where it is underground due to being backed up to a hill. There had been sheetrock repair when I had moved it and I was told it was fixed.
Now there was a lot of rain the past month and I was out of town for over a week and came home and found about a 2 foot x 5 foot area of wet carpet. It was squishy wet when I walked on it. So my landlord came by and first asked if my cat got sick on it. Then was wondering if it could be the plumbing. Obviously it's flooding from rain. He said he'd have someone look at it in a few days and asked if I have heater to dry it out. Also it seems the water carried some dirt and there is a puddle like dirt mark now.
Anyway, it will dry out eventually if it stops raining long enough and it won't be an issue again for several months. I don't see my landlord fixing the source of the problem or taking up the carpet. What should I do?
Sounds like he was conserned about the cat. Other wise looks like your going to have to wait & see....even IF he does fix it Will the problem return during the next heavy rain?? Who knows!?! Good luck! You might want to get Renters ins & make sure it includes Flood!! Or Move to higher ground LOL
Sounds like he was conserned about the cat. Other wise looks like your going to have to wait & see....evern IF he does fix it Will the problem return during the next heavy rain?? Who knows!?! Good luck! You might want to get Renters ins & make sure it includes Flood!! Or Move to higher ground LOL
I will be moving out before next winter. I'm not concerned about damage to my property, because I don't have anything in that area of the room anyway. It's more of a possible health issue with mold or mildew or whatever may be growing in the carpet that has been damp for a couple weeks. There is also a bit of a musky smell and some dampness int he sheetrock. I'm sure the conditions of the flooding would not be up to code for a rental. If it stays like this for a couple more weeks, I want to know if I can move out without a 60 day notice.
It seems pretty simple--if you have a heater, turn it on aimed toward the carpet and walls, to dry them out. If not, leave it for the crews the landlord said he would call.
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I'm sure the conditions of the flooding would not be up to code for a rental.
Not exactly. It wouldn't be enough to obtain a certificate of occupancy for new construction, but it is not likely sufficient to revoke a C of O. Building and municipal codes allow for damages and repairs.
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If it stays like this for a couple more weeks, I want to know if I can move out without a 60 day notice.
Probably not. Every jurisdiction is different of course, but generally the unit must be completely uninhabitable for you to break your lease. You said yourself, it really isn't even affecting you, not even your property. At most, if you could prove serious illness or health issues because of mold, then you might be able to claim the unit is uninhabitable. But mold would be a tricky argument. The health threat would not be immediate. At the very least you would need to enlist mold cleanup experts, medical experts, and legal experts, to make your claim. It would be a lengthy and expensive battle that you might not win.
And under most municipal or state codes, you give 30 days notice, not 60, and you can only do so after giving the landlord reasonable time to make repairs. Since mold cleanup is a lengthy undertaking, you wouldn't be able to argue the unit was uninhabitable until after giving the LL a chance to make repairs.
It seems pretty simple--if you have a heater, turn it on aimed toward the carpet and walls, to dry them out. If not, leave it for the crews the landlord said he would call.
Not exactly. It wouldn't be enough to obtain a certificate of occupancy for new construction, but it is not likely sufficient to revoke a C of O. Building and municipal codes allow for damages and repairs.
Probably not. Every jurisdiction is different of course, but generally the unit must be completely uninhabitable for you to break your lease. You said yourself, it really isn't even affecting you, not even your property. At most, if you could prove serious illness or health issues because of mold, then you might be able to claim the unit is uninhabitable. But mold would be a tricky argument. The health threat would not be immediate. At the very least you would need to enlist mold cleanup experts, medical experts, and legal experts, to make your claim. It would be a lengthy and expensive battle that you might not win.
And under most municipal or state codes, you give 30 days notice, not 60, and you can only do so after giving the landlord reasonable time to make repairs. Since mold cleanup is a lengthy undertaking, you wouldn't be able to argue the unit was uninhabitable until after giving the LL a chance to make repairs.
My post about moving out before 60 days was only IF the problem persist without being fixed.
I live in CA. A government department of consumer affairs webisite says:
A dwelling also may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it substantially lacks any of the following:126
Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.
I can't use about 1/4 of my bedroom and don't have access to half of my closet unless I walk across soaked carpeting. I said nothing got damaged, but that is just luck. The carpet, padding and some surrounding bottom of the wall has been wet for several days. A plug in heater is not going to fix it when it continues to rain and more water comes in. Get real.
This is a major stuctural or drainage issue with the building that my landlord didn't correct and already knew about. I'm about fairly certain that nothing but bandaid solutions will be made, just as in the past with just patching the sheetrock, which is just cosmetic. The only solution is to move out sooner or later. But I will wait and see, just to go through the proper steps. The landlord isn't going to call crews in. He's going to have a handyman guy come and look at it (if that), then tell me that it should dry out. Well, yeah, eventualy. But it could rain for another 2 months. Do you want rent it? Do you think that mold and mildew won't grow after weeks of wet carpet and walls?
What's going to happen is the entire wall will rot and he will be paying more for 2 problems. Not my problem, because I will be gone, but just saying.
I did some online research and learned that a heater won't work well enough. At minimum it needs to be wet vacuumed and dehumidified.
Also, I read that I shouldn't be in contact with the water or air because it could get me sick. I've been sick for about 3 weeks now and am wondering if that had anything to do with it. It started with severe cramping, diarrhea and throwing up the same night I left to go out of town. The heavy rain had already started at that point, so could have made the edges of the room wet. Then I got better at the end of my trip and came back and a day or two later I was sick with a sore thoat for over a week and coughing a lot. I almost never get sick have never gotten a stomach sickness and my sore throats and coughing have never lingered that long (2 weeks). Maybe I should close the bedroom door and sleep on the couch. It's wierd because I was coughing a lot more when I went to bed and had to get up a lot to de-phlegm in the middle of the night, then during the day it would improve. Even my eyes got infected (red and crusty) which is still lingering this morning.
Ok..I found green mold and more damage. I inspected the other end of my closet and touched the bottom corner and the sheetrock was wet and crumbled. Under the paint I can see green mold.
It's 12:30 and still haven't gotten a call about that crew coming out. Does anyone know who I should try to look up to inspect this, like someone from the city? I'm going to give the landlord a day then I need to take it to another level. It's going to be raining this week.
Think I would Close off that room! Not saying the problem IS making you sick. But hard to get well sleeping in Damp places. IF you are able to you could remove the carpet...but what to do with it I not sure...lay it out side?? Its wet so rain wont hurt it. BUT dont throw it away either!! I saw on the News where parts of CA are having Mudslides!!! Here in WV we keep having Blizzards....crazy weather!! Good Luck!!
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