Stupid Slumlord

[This Ends Now]

Sorry that this is off topic and has noting to do with PTSD, but I am vexed non the less. I moved into this house in the suburbs (my 4th move in 12 months) less than a month ago. It is an older home and could use some repairs. Last week we noticed a serious problem with the plumbing. Any time any water is run, water gushes down into the downstairs bathroom. For at least a week we have been having this problem, and trying to get the landlord to have it fixed. He keeps saying he will have it done soon... the guy will be right out... yeah, right. Yesterday was the first day his repair man shows up with no tools or supplies, takes one look at the downstairs ceiling (which has a massive hole in it on top of major water damage and shoddy repair work on the drywall) and says he will be back on Saturday to fix the problem. All this time none of the 4 people who currently live in the house cannot shower, use the rest room, wash dishes, wash hands, wash clothes, etc... without cleaning up a huge mess downstairs (so much that the water floods past the downstairs bathroom and into the downstairs kitchen). Last night one of the roommates is completely fed up and calls a professional plumbing service to come out. This morning the plumber comes expecting a backed up toilet or something... but no it is much worse than that. He inspects the whole house and the outside pipe that connects to the sewer. I get him on the phone with the landlord (who is annoyed we took action) and despite the plumber's discussion about how the home is unsafe, we could all get sick from staph infections and e-coli, the landlord refuses to approve even a basic un-clogging of the pipe system, assuring us that the problem will be fixed soon (bs). This is a repair that costs less than three hundred dollars mind you. We agree to pay for the repair out of pocket just to get it done as the house has become a major health hazard. The plumber opens the cap to the outside pipe and raw sewage come pouring out onto the lawn. This is extra concerning since the lawn slopes down into our neighbor's lawn and our neighbor has children. The plumber tries to snake the pipe and is able to remove some of the clogs, but he hits a snag and almost breaks his machine. Apparently the last time the landlord tried to fix the problem, his worker did a lousy job and the pipes do not fully connect. Once again the plumber tries to reason with the landlord over the phone explaining that this is a serious health hazard and everybody in the house can get very sick, the neighbors are potentially at risk, the home could be condemned if the problem goes unfixed, and we as renters are well within our rights to sue. The landlord STILL insists that his guy can take care of it and that he does not have money for the necessary repairs (now we are talking about 5k or so to save a six figure home). So now I am waiting for the landlord's employee to come out and inspect the problem. I have no reason to believe that this will be fixed today or any time in the near future. I may have to move AGAIN (that will make 5 moves this year) as this landlord is clearly criminally neglectful. I am extremely vexed.

Thank you for letting me vent. I feel like if I did not let this anger out I might just punch the poor employee when he comes over, and he does not deserve that. I am still very angry, but at least talking about it has given me time to slow down and be more reasonable.

Thanks again for listening,

Liz H.

PS: This landlord also happens to own a Dairy Queen here in Atlanta. If he is this bad with a home that he owns, I have serious concerns about the safety of eating at his Dairy Queen. I am adding this as a warning to anybody in the Alpharetta or Atlanta area because I do not want anybody to get food poisoning. I for sure will not be eating there again!:mad:

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

Liz -

There should be an agency in your county that you can report this too. Here it's the Housing Authority (I think) - anyway if you call your local county health department they should be able to help you. I'm pretty sure they can force him to make the repairs or otherwise condemn the house and force him to refund your rent for the time period this has been going on - plus any deposit you put down.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this - what a low life jerk!

 

[Deleted member 541]

Absolutely there is help for you....Landlords can be assholes when they want to be.... I suggest the Board of Health and as Sunnybrook has said, the housing authority in your community.

DO NOT back down.... I know that here in Ma....If a tenant calls and reports a landlord, the landlord CAN NOT terminate/evict you for 6 months, and if he tries even after the 6 months, the court will decide if they are doing this as retribution, and can stop the action.....

 

[This Ends Now]

Thank you both for the advice. I will google the housing authority and talk to my other roommates to discuss our options. It is relatively convenient timing in the sense that I do not usually keep a lawyer on retainer, but with other legal situations Jo and I are dealing with we EACH have a lawyer on speed dial right now and both of the lawyers are excellent. This is part of the reason we have started the documentation process through an independent plumber. One other nice thing is that the plumber who came out was super nice and clearly outraged at the way the landlord was acting. He provided documentation and left us his card in case we do decide to sue. I seriously hope it does not come to that, I would much rather just have this problem resolved, but it is good to know how many "outs" we have. In any case, I am still trying to keep my "fight" mode under control and channel that energy into productive solutions.

Thanks again!

Liz H.

Oh, and regardless I will not be eating at that Dairy Queen EVER AGAIN! I guess I will have to find a new place that serves giant chocolate ice cream cones. :-)

 

[This Ends Now]

An Update

Well, after talking to all 4 of the room mates (several times) and the plumber (several times) and again to the room mates... our landlord decided it was time to actually visit the property with two of his employees and inspect the problem first hand. After much deliberation, and a thorough description of what was happening to the property and how failure to fix the problems NOW would result in him loosing 6 figures in property damage and the loss of 4 renters who always pay on time... my landlord has finally concluded that there is in fact a problem that needs to be fixed. :stupid:

Between the work the plumber did this morning and the work the two employees did just now we are able to not only use one of the bathrooms, but also take SHORT showers, brush our teeth, and wash our hands... provided we keep a bucket and towels under the hole in the ceiling. :occasion:

The two employees are scheduled to come back tomorrow at 8am to dig up the front lawn and replace the old broken metal pipes with new PVC ones and have been instructed to repair the ceiling and drywall as well over the course of the week end.:clap:

 

[This Ends Now]

Problem solved. :-)

The guys came out this morning at 8am as promised. All the pipes outside were replaced with brand new ones. We have water once again. I can hardly believe how excited I am to do laundry and dishes!

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

I am so happy for you - I'm glad it was solved without causing you any additional stress!!!!

 

[This Ends Now]

Again! Already!

Once again the plumbing is messed up and the water is unusable. :mad: Awesome. :wall:

Our oh so competent landlord swears he will send his employees out again to fix the problem. Since they did such a terrific job last time I am so sure this will work.

At least I have a very large stash of pine sol and some fabulous mops.

 

[anthony]

You just couldn't get away with that in Australia. Under Australian law, if the issue at a rented property causes any type of health or life threatening risk, then the person can immediately call anyone they choose to have the problem fixed, and the landlord is responsible for the bill, or they credit the renters account. Obviously you must do this within reason to only just fix the issue. The landlord has absolutely no choice for those type of circumstances. So glad to live in this country.

If a pipe broke within a ceiling space (water or otherwise), then you could have the pipe fixed immediately. The ceiling plaster would then have to be arranged by the landlord... just as an example of what would be classified as "necessary repairs" here in Australia.

 

[This Ends Now]

Anthony,

Thank you for the perspective. I was talking to some of my roommates about the situation a minute ago. We have determined that if this problem is not fixed very very soon we will all have to move. The law here states that we do not have to stay even though we have a contract if the landlord does not make necessary repairs (water, sewer, etc). We discussed legal action. While that is a possibility, all it would do is punish the landlord, not help us shower etc. The good thing is that if it does come to moving we might not have to go very far. The house next to ours is up for rent (different owner I think).

We have just enacted our own version of the "necessary repairs" law you described. We have just payed for services and deducted it from the next month's rent. It is not something the landlord likes, but he has accepted it when necessary.

I still have some serious concerns.

1. The workers the landlord employs might be in an unfair situation. I am not sure how much to discuss about this b/c I do not want to harm them. I also do not want us to be put in a situation where we are liable for any on site injuries the workers might sustain (heaven forbid).
2. The air conditioning ducts are located on the floor. When water overflows from the bathtub or toilet (or falls down from the ceiling) sometimes the water goes into the air vents. Not only can this produce toxic mold, but if the water is contaminated there is a whole host of problems that can occur (the least of which is the smell).
3. It is mosquito season around here and standing water can provide excellent breeding ground for bugs. I have tried to reduce the risk by putting a cap full of Lysol in any buckets of water and in the toilets. I have also mopped the floors with Lysol solution to reduce the spread of bacteria and any illness that comes with it.
4. Last time they came out and dug up the old pipes I saw the condition of the metal pipes. There was significant rust and decay. These were pipes leaving the building. I am curious/concerned about the quality of the pipes going into the house. If the landlord is waiting until the absolute last minute to replace anything, who knows what problems there are that we do not know about yet.

I guess I will have to see what happens today/tomorrow.

Thanks for listening,

Liz H.

 

[anthony]

Liz... I think you hit it on the head from the start... slumlord I believe you call them in the states. It really just isn't acceptable. You just can't do those sort of things here at all... even beyond the required repairs. If the house wasn't in that state when you moved in, then the landlord has no choice, they MUST repair it to the state it was that you accepted the house or they must reduce your rent or the tenant is allowed to remove themselves from the contract as you stated.

I agree, what a pain in the arse. I used to hate renting houses for that reason. When I moved to Melbourne from Townsville, we had a private residence that was our married quarter, so the military paid the majority. I think it was around $420 a week. The guy said he either wanted it rented long term or he was going to sell it. We moved in as it was a beautiful house... a month later, he informed us he was going to sell it. I actually had to get the real estate and even police involved with this twit, because he kept turning up on our doorstep, which your just not allowed to do here. After he finally got the idea from the police, he then thought we would do some painting and things for him to improve the property. Not a chance... he lost out on the house, was way over his head in debt, and screwed us around. The next house, the first questions out where... what are your plans with the house and I want it in writing.

I am glad to no longer be renting houses.... far to annoying. I feel for you...

 

[Deleted member 541]

You still have the option of calling the board of health and having them come to look at the building, inside and out. If there are violations the landlord has only 30 days to fix most of them, and for health related ones, such as water, in your case, must be fixed immediately......