Legal Advice? Landlord/Tenant dispute

[bagpussinamerica]

Hi everyone. Me again over this dispute my daughter and her boyfriend are having with landlord. I spoke with the landlord last night to try to get better temp housing and to find out how long their apt. will be drying out etc. He told me that the "reputable firm" who are dealing with the leak and drying out have now said they have no idea how long this is going to take. And that he would try to get another place for them to stay. Today he called them and told them they needed to find their own place and pay for it since his insurance won't cover. He also told them that it was their fault, the leak, since the toilet blocked. I told them to call the firm who are dealing with it and find out if they would talk about what is going on. Turns out that the Landlord is no longer hiring them...and the guy he is hiring is refusing to answer calls. The reputable firm told my daughter that they found several leaks behind the toilet, and the bath/shower and that this was not their fault. They are putting that in writing.

But here is the problem. Now they have no place to live. They need to try to get their things out of that apt since now we don't know who is working on it or if they are ok. The landlord still won't give back the deposit so they can't find another place...and if they need to use a reference...they obviously can not use him. They have called all of the free legal places we could find and they have a phone appt on Wednesday next. They are really stuck big time. They could stay with me...but I am so far away from both of their work places and they would both need the car...so that is a complication. Any legal eagles out there who can advise.

[bodybuilder1958]

I would call the American Red Cross and see if they can be put into temporary housing.

I remember from your other post on this subject that you mentioned 'mold', old mold growing and that your daughter has asthma. I think the health dept would love to hear this as well as legal aid.

My daughter's family was in a similar situation, my granddaughter tore the wall paper in the duplex where they were living, they found mold, then more mold. That mold explained the rashes that my grandkids had for a few months as well as why 2 of their cats died. Landlord balked a couple of times until I called the health dept. The entire front window was leaking (old full-brick duplex) into the basement and went from the living room into the kitchen. They needed to move, had no money to move, similar to your daughter's situation. Once legal aid heard 'mold and health problems' they were moved at the land-lord's expense into a hotel room until another duplex became available. A full-2 1/2 months
BB

Just my advice

[bagpussinamerica]

Well, I am pleased to say that after extensive phone calls and searching through the ads, both on line and in the newspaper, we found a place that they could go and see and be accepted to move in the very next day. Fortunately the landlord was only too pleased to be rid of that little problem. He even offered back their full deposit. Having said that, my daughter and her boyfriend went through extreme stress during this whole process, but they both learned to stand up for themselves and to be more pro-active in their lives. A lesson well learned. They moved into the new place on Saturday after staying the night with some friends. My daughter went back to work that night.

I have had several people call since then asking the outcome and curious about this landlord. The public health people were not overly helpful, but mostly because their own department has been downsized due to the economy. But the landlords association called and want to speak to me on Monday. I am hesitant to call, since I believe that the landlord did the right thing in the end, and will probably be losing quite a lot of income now that he is down two tenants. Both of the flats can not be moved into for quite some time. But I also believe that when a landlord says that a place is habitable, it should be that. In some ways that flood was the best thing that could have happened. Ah well,

[red1030]

Bagpuss...this is very good news. Thanks for letting us know...Red

[Bad Boy Bad Boy]

Very good news. Sorry a little behind on my reading also.

I would complete the phone call you asked to do.

Next, it is so cheap, but highly advised, no matter where a person rents, even if from a family member, that the person renting, get renter Insurance. Much like home owners insurance but for renters, and alot cheaper. Very cheap. To obtain, simply call where you get your auto insurance, and they mostly carry these policies for you.

Next time, not only call the Landlords Association, but the Local Building Dept in your area, and Chamber of Commerce.