holes in the plywood floors, lights not working, weird insects...

[Anniekin]

Minnesota

... And can you believe the landlord is threatening to throw US out?

Hi. In this apartment we use our own lamp fixures because the overhead lights haven't been working for 2-3 months now. He promised to fix them then forgot about it us just as he forgot that we told him that the sink faucet was dripping water. Well, he fixed THAT right away when he got the water bill over a month later. Basically we are supposed to pay for gas and he is supposed to pay the rest.

The problem is, that we have been receiving the electricity bills and paying them for the sake of not having the utilities shut off. We tell him over and over that he needs to call them for us (they will not call him), which he seems to forget right away as soon as he goes home. We have been deducting the amount from our rent, giving him the bills each time. Now he comes and hollers at my girlfriend that the rent has to be paid in full next time or, "You can GET OUT!" (he won't say it to me). We have the latest bill which we intend to keep for our records in case things get messy.

Looking for assistance (or a laywer to sue his pants off - you get half 50/50 )

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Send the electric bills to the landlord with your full rent check.

 

[Who's Liable?]

Not paying rent is grounds for eviction, regardless of the LL's refusal to act. You need to follow all the proper steps as outlined in your states LL/T laws in order to get the LL to do his maintenance.

Your LL is correct, you can be evicted for failure to pay the rent in full, however it sounds like he is an idiot and does not know the proper steps as well...

Quit asking him to fix things and start documenting by requesting repairs in WRITING... Oral agreements or requests are worth the paper they are written on.

 

[Alaska landlord]

Ditto on the above****************************.....A rare event

 

[FarmerJ]

You do need to pay the rent BUT if your in the metro area you can easily call your city hall and talk to building inspections. If your in a non metro county contact your county govt center zoning desk and ask them if they have a building inspector or some one who can take a look at these problems. Also too Landlord tenant obligations are pretty well spelled out in our state govt web page links http://www.courts.state.mn.us/selfhelp/?page=1873 A tenant may start an action in court in cases of emergency involving the following events/situations:
loss of running water;
loss of hot water;
loss of heat;
loss of electricity;
loss of sanitary facilities (example: toilet, shower/bathtub, etc.) or;
loss of other essential services or facilities that the landlord is responsible for providing.

See Minnesota Statute § 504B.381. These cases are usually scheduled very quickly. If the court finds there is a problem due to the landlord, it orders the problem corrected immediately. There may be a rent abatement (temporary hold on rent) ordered at the hearing to compensate the tenant for the inconvenience.
Non-Emergency Problems

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If a tenant has brought a non-emergency repair issue(s) to the attention of the landlord and the landlord has not completed the repair(s), the tenat may start a court action to get an order forcing the landlord to make the repairs. This remedy is called "Rent Escrow."
See Minnesota Statute § 504B.385
If you happen to be a rural area, for example if you lived in Grasston or one of the rural twps in Kanabec you can try Lakes and Pines community action center to see if they have legal assistance referals available