Uninhabitable apartment due to weather proofing (lease, landlord, rules, management)
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I am renting an apartment in California and my lease expires in October. I have continuously complained about them fixing this problem (initially I thought it was plumbing causing mold/mildew) starting February 2nd when I left them a voice mail. On February 8th the plumber came and informed me the walls lack weather proofing and it is not plumbing issue. The plumber said this should be fixed immediately, and he would inform the management/landlord to have this fixed ASAP. During the next two weeks, I contacted them again via fax, voice mail and certified letter; there was no response from them. Today they did send over another individual contractor who said the same thing the plumber said three weeks ago, this needs to be fixed immediately and and that the walls lack weather proofing & he will inform management to fix it ASAP.
We called the health inspector who came on February 26th and informed me this place is uninhabitable. According to him the management company will have two weeks to fix the problem before the city takes over the repair and rent.
If I wanted to move out what is considered a reasonable amount of time I have to give to the maintenance/landlord? Does my initial voicemail or fax count or do I have to wait for 30 days after the health inspector leaves? Also, should I mail the landlord a 30 day notice now or wait for their response to the health inspector?
If the health inspector has declared it uninhabitable (and you have some paperwork to that effect) I doubt that the standard rules for notice apply. If I was in this situation I would personally want to talk to a local lawyer with experience in tenancy issues to be sure of my rights and obligations with the aim of moving out immediately since an uninhabitable dwelling is not safe to occupy. What procedures you must follow vary depending on your local and state laws. Make sure that you follow the law and document everything in case you wind up in court over this.
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