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all this crap i've dealt with the past couple weeks has given me extreme tired-head. too much ambiguity, i'll eat the stupid plumbing bill.
thanks to everyone for your input, i just don't have the time or $$ to pursue this any further. the LL wins, i'll take the high road and just get things ready to move out May 1st.
nice...just got a response from my LL...here it is.
"How are you doing ? I mailed you a copy of the lease agreement last week.
Also I spoke with my attorney. His advice was that If you wanted me to get a plumber to prove to you that there is too much fall in the pipes . To get one Have you sign a agreement stating that If there is not too much fall in the pipes Then you would not only be responsible for the clog you had but also responsible to pay another plumber too prove to you that there is not too much fall. I do not need to prove it to me , I already know there is not too much fall. So I called a few more plumbers to ask what the cost would be to go out and put a camera in the drain and do the calculations. The cheapest one I found was $799.00 . So If you would like for one to come out I will send one . But, When the plumber tells us that the pipes dont have to much fall then you can write him out the check for $799.00 . If he says there is too much fall I will write him a check. So the choice is yours. In the lease agreement it clearly states that Lessee is responsible to keep all plumbing Clear and in good working order for himself , his family , and all guests. Im sorry this would even have to come to this . But it is all in black in white in the signed agreement. Let me know .
Thanks ,
LL"
Dont eat this. Please!
The landlord gave you all the argument you need for small claims with that stupid note. Its too easy now.
You dont need to prove that there is too much fall in the pipes. All you want to show a court is that there was a plumbing problem, you had it repaired, spoke to a plumber who gave an opinion that the faulty fall was the problem, NOT usage and thus its LL's responsibility to reparir.
In court the dispute would be whose repsonsibity it is based on the cause. So far, you have a plumber's inspection, IN WRIITNG saying what the cause is. What does LL have? Nothing! Trust me, him going to court with the defense that the fall is perfect but he has no plumber's assessment - his reason- he knows the fall is perfect and he didnt want to pay for an assessment to say otherwise-and that there is another method to determine the cause (the camera) but he is too cheap to pay for it- is not going to fly.
The clause that lessee will keep plumbing in good working order is not a big deal. You cant keep the plumbing in good workiing order if there is a structural flaw preventing that. Again, you have have evidence supporting that and all he has is his oppinion of his fine building skills. Anyway, you did try to keep the plumbing in good workign order- you plunged, you boaught and auger and finally, hired a plumber. The only thing else you could have done was go to plumbing school ( to rebuild the faulty piping). No judge will interpret your lease clause to require that.
Since there is a security deposit on the line, dedeuct from April and let him use May for security. If there are no damages, he will be whole because he will have payment for April minus plumbing and money equal to payment for May. If he thinks otherwise let him counterclaim for the last month's rent. Chances are your court date will be late April or May. At that point he wont be able to show and loss/harm except for the plumbing claim that he has no evidence to support and whatever ( phony) damages for apartment damage he will try to claim.
I know this is time and effort for you but this guy is trying to take you for a ride on this.
okay, what's the worst that could happen if i decided to deduct the expense from April's rent, and then have him use my security deposit as May's Rent (final rent payment)??
you know, i really want to ask him if he'd be willing to pay 1/2 of the expense...but i'm affraid he could use that against me, as if i'm admitting guilt.
i also suck at writing letters...any help there would be appreciated.
Dont eat this. Please!
The landlord gave you all the argument you need for small claims with that stupid note. Its too easy now.
You dont need to prove that there is too much fall in the pipes. All you want to show a court is that there was a plumbing problem, you had it repaired, spoke to a plumber who gave an opinion that the faulty fall was the problem, NOT usage and thus its LL's responsibility to reparir.
In court the dispute would be whose repsonsibity it is based on the cause. So far, you have a plumber's inspection, IN WRIITNG saying what the cause is. What does LL have? Nothing! Trust me, him going to court with the defense that the fall is perfect but he has no plumber's assessment - his reason- he knows the fall is perfect and he didnt want to pay for an assessment to say otherwise-and that there is another method to determine the cause (the camera) but he is too cheap to pay for it- is not going to fly.
The clause that lessee will keep plumbing in good working order is not a big deal. You cant keep the plumbing in good workiing order if there is a structural flaw preventing that. Again, you have have evidence supporting that and all he has is his oppinion of his fine building skills. Anyway, you did try to keep the plumbing in good workign order- you plunged, you boaught and auger and finally, hired a plumber. The only thing else you could have done was go to plumbing school ( to rebuild the faulty piping). No judge will interpret your lease clause to require that.
Since there is a security deposit on the line, dedeuct from April and let him use May for security. If there are no damages, he will be whole because he will have payment for April minus plumbing and money equal to payment for May. If he thinks otherwise let him counterclaim for the last month's rent. Chances are your court date will be late April or May. At that point he wont be able to show and loss/harm except for the plumbing claim that he has no evidence to support and whatever ( phony) damages for apartment damage he will try to claim.
I know this is time and effort for you but this guy is trying to take you for a ride on this.
With all due respect you're just hopping onto a thread before reading all the previous posts along with the cited links and you're opining something which has already been addressed. Thus you've befuddled the OP even more.
Best that before you render an opinion you both have some knowledge of the landlord/tenant laws in particular state jurisdictions (which do vary) but also pay attention to the terms of the lease agreement between the tenant and the landlord in this particular situation which clearly specify plumbing issues.
Don't deduct the repair from the rent. Take him to small claims as a seperate matter.
You do not need to be concered about diagnosing his plumbing problem. You should have never made the diagnosis an issue. The issue is that it is his resposiblility to provide you with working plumbing. There is an implied waranty that you get a house with a working toilet. You should not have to gamble $799 to see who's fault it is. I doubt it matters that there is a clause in the lease that you are resposible to keep the plumbing working. It's kind of suspect that that clause is there if he wrote it in. What if the plumbing needed $5000 repairs? Where are you going to draw the line?
Anyway, don't make it messy. Just pay your rent on time and take him to small claims right away. Don't get into any more discussion with him about this. Don't worry about it anymore. Let the judge decide.
Don't deduct the repair from the rent. Take him to small claims as a seperate matter.
You do not need to be concered about diagnosing his plumbing problem. You should have never made the diagnosis an issue. The issue is that it is his resposiblility to provide you with working plumbing. There is an implied waranty that you get a house with a working toilet. You should not have to gamble $799 to see who's fault it is. I doubt it matters that there is a clause in the lease that you are resposible to keep the plumbing working. It's kind of suspect that that clause is there if he wrote it in. What if the plumbing needed $5000 repairs? Where are you going to draw the line?
Anyway, don't make it messy. Just pay your rent on time and take him to small claims right away. Don't get into any more discussion with him about this. Don't worry about it anymore. Let the judge decide.
b/c you think i have a good chance of winning? or as in, if you were my LL, you'de like your odds?
what's involved with small claims court, i've never imagined myself there...will i need an attorney?? i'm guessing it costs money to bring a case, right??
b/c you think i have a good chance of winning? or as in, if you were my LL, you'de like your odds?
what's involved with small claims court, i've never imagined myself there...will i need an attorney?? i'm guessing it costs money to bring a case, right??
you dont bring attorneys to small claims. It wouldnt even be worth it to hire one, but you could contact a non profit tenants group in your area. there should be a lawyer that would help you for free. to me it the case would be more of a matter of principle not so much for money. Your landlord is not your friend. You don't have to play nice.
i really don't like how your landlord is approaching this, like he will have it diagnosed, but you must pay $799 if the ll is right and ONLY right about the slope. like i said before it isn't the tenants duty to pay $$$ to diagnose these issues. The LL is cheap and shady. He set up the tenant to have to fix his plumbing. What is a tenant supposed to do, take a **** in a bucket for the next couple months?
b/c you think i have a good chance of winning? or as in, if you were my LL, you'de like your odds?
what's involved with small claims court, i've never imagined myself there...will i need an attorney?? i'm guessing it costs money to bring a case, right??
The comment was directed to Felix, not to you. No, I don't think you'd prevail in small claims court if you were either the defendant or the plaintiff. Hope it all works out for you but I'm getting a little weary of repeating.
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