Apartment flooded twice. We got out.

[comicazy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

My wife and I recently broke our lease and moved into a new apartment complex. Here is why. After living in a 1 bedroom apt for about a month, a pipe burst in our kitchen wall. It leaked water all down one side of our apt. Affected rooms included the kitchen, dining room, hallway, and bathroom. The water also started reaching into our living room before it was finally shut off and cleaned up. We had to move most of our stuff from the kitchen and dining room into the living room. So all of those rooms were unusable. We had to stay in our bedroom for about a week while they were cleaning up and fixing the walls. We asked to be moved to a different unit, but the office said that was not an option because it was something that happens all the time and they can't do anything about it. After everything was fixed and we put all our furniture back, my wife started smelling mold. We pulled out the stove a found it growing behind the stove and inside several cabinets. We informed the office and someone came out to take care of it. We had to call them back two more times to take care of more mold we found. We asked again if we could be moved into another unit. I told them that I thought there was mold growing within the walls. The manager told me there was no possible way that could happen because they had taken care of the leak. And there was also no way to move us because we were not eligible for a transfer yet.
I found out from our neighbor on the other side of the flooded wall, that our unit had flooded about 4 months before we moved in, and that was why the previous tenant had moved out. Also, after we had found a different apt, we went back to clean this one and found A large water stain on the wall that had started growing mold. The same neighbor told me that the unit upstairs had broken a water heater. That's 3 water leaks/floods within 6 months time. But of course they don't refer to them as floods. Just minor water leaks. Sorry but if I have to move all my stuff from half of my apt, and the other half is unusable, its flooded.
So my question is, since it seems that they know about their bad plumbing, and seem expect this to happen in all of there units, aren't they basically selling me bad goods? Could I take them to court and get most if not all of my money back from them? Plus Sue for the cost of finding a new apt, moving, and other expenses? My wife and I are really struggling to make ends meet because of having to get a new apt.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Unless you've got some pretty strong documentation to support your theory that the rental unit was uninhabitable, not only can you not win any lawsuit regarding getting any rental money back, YOU TWO may face being sued yourselves for illegally breaking your lease.

A landlord has an obligation to address repair issues. Your own documentation here indicates that management 1. addressed the initial leak, shut off the water, addressed the wall repair issues, then 2. addressed your concerns about mold several times over.

Did the initial repair issue take time? Unfortunately, yes; it takes time to dry out an area saturated with water, remove saturated drywall and insulation, dry out studs, reinsulate and rebuild, patch, prime and paint walls. Could you have asked for a reduction in rent to accommodate your lack of use of these rooms? Yep.

Despite these repairs, you still broke your lease and moved out. And now you want your rent month back? Unless you've done your homework (for example, having Code Enforcement come in to determine the habitability question of the rental unit), you might want to reconsider suing anyone and, instead, be happy that you are not the one being sued. Frankly, going to court with evidence on what a neighbor told you is not going to be held up as credible evidence by a judge.


Gail

 

[comicazy]

The thing is they really didn't do anything except pull up the carpet, dry the floor with fans(fans with bad bearings which ran up our electric bill by $50), replace the padding, then patch the hole in the wall. They didn't take any of the drywall out except for a couple small holes to find the pipe. They didn't even attempt to really dry out the wall, or the studs, or replace the insulation.

At least once a week someone in that community has to have their carpet vacuumed and tore up because of a water leak. Our neighbor has gone to the hospital twice for boils because of the mold that they keep "fixing". They shouldn't need to be called more than once or twice for mold. If I keep finding it then it is coming from somewhere and it needs to be found and FIXED. They know about the conditions and they do the absolute minimum to take care of the problem. They treat the symptoms basically without finding the real problem. And telling me that mold within the walls isn't possible, is just plain stupid. The plumbing used in these buildings is mostly polybutylene. That has a high failure rate and was recalled/outlawed for that reason. Yet they don't replace the pipes when they break. They just patch them.

Honestly the way they run their entire maintenance it beyond absurd. The carpet "company" they use, is a couple of brothers that are in their early 20's. Their plumbing jobs are just a series of patches all on the same pipe. I'm not a professional plumber or carpenter, but just learning from my dad, I can do a better job than anything I have ever seen here.

As far as breaking our lease, it is allowed within the lease. We just paid a reletting fee and we were free to go. And were not just going off of what our neighbor said. I have pictures of all the damage from both our unit and the neighbor's that was affected. I contacted the health department and also put in a request to get the unit inspected for code violations. Several attempts were made at both and I received no response from either.

 

[Banned_Princess]

The thing is they really didn't do anything except pull up the carpet, dry the floor with fans(fans with bad bearings which ran up our electric bill by $50), replace the padding, then patch the hole in the wall. They didn't take any of the drywall out except for a couple small holes to find the pipe. They didn't even attempt to really dry out the wall, or the studs, or replace the insulation.

At least once a week someone in that community has to have their carpet vacuumed and tore up because of a water leak. Our neighbor has gone to the hospital twice for boils because of the mold that they keep "fixing". They shouldn't need to be called more than once or twice for mold. If I keep finding it then it is coming from somewhere and it needs to be found and FIXED. They know about the conditions and they do the absolute minimum to take care of the problem. They treat the symptoms basically without finding the real problem. And telling me that mold within the walls isn't possible, is just plain stupid. The plumbing used in these buildings is mostly polybutylene. That has a high failure rate and was recalled/outlawed for that reason. Yet they don't replace the pipes when they break. They just patch them.

Honestly the way they run their entire maintenance it beyond absurd. The carpet "company" they use, is a couple of brothers that are in their early 20's. Their plumbing jobs are just a series of patches all on the same pipe. I'm not a professional plumber or carpenter, but just learning from my dad, I can do a better job than anything I have ever seen here.

As far as breaking our lease, it is allowed within the lease. We just paid a reletting fee and we were free to go. And were not just going off of what our neighbor said. I have pictures of all the damage from both our unit and the neighbor's that was affected. I contacted the health department and also put in a request to get the unit inspected for code violations. Several attempts were made at both and I received no response from either.

you got out of the lease, what more do you want?

you do not get any of the rent back. even if the health dept sides with you.

 

[LillianX]

There is no way you can win a suit to get your rent back. You were released from your lease by paying the fee, and that's the end of your, and their, obligations.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

"My wife and I recently broke our lease"

This is what you stated in your first posting. This is not what happened. You were allowed out of your lease with a reletting fee and a mutual agreement between management and you that the lease would now be terminated.

Gail