Landlord/Owner did not disclose sinkhole

[FarmerJ]

If your city/ county building inspections dept deems the house as not livable then they will condemn , no you dont get multi month of rent refunded , the condemn order cancels your lease and you will not owe any more rent. If all the city does is order repairs and LL complys Wunderbar for both you and the LL , your lease is not over , you will have to finish lease to avoid any kind of penalty unless LL refuses to comply with repair orders then the city will condemn it anyway.

 

[loopholed]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I appreciate your candor, it's helped me think through the situation from several different points of view!

 

[loopholed]

Everyone here has addressed this problem from the point of view of landlord-tenant law (ie, inhabitable vs unihabitable). I appreciate the discussion!

But what about from the point of view of premises liability law? Specifically, a property owner must keep his property in a safe condition and provide notice of any known dangers on the premises. As part of these duties, the property owner must regularly inspect the property for any dangerous conditions.

I'm not entirely sure if a tenant would be classified as an "invitee" or a "licensee," but in both cases it is the property owner's responsibility to avoid dangerous conditions due to gross negligence and to warn the invitee/licensee of any dangerous conditions that are not readily noticeable.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[FarmerJ]

when a tenant has concerns that can not be proven via inspections records then its a civil dispute, Some citys have very rigid inspections depts with rigid inspections progs , some do not, where I live there is no local inspections person for rental property so if there is a concern then one of the twp supervisors checks it out after county calls him. But the thing is with many so called disputes it takes some work to prove a claim is true , EG un paid rent is easy , in court a tenant can offer easy proof they have paid the rent or they cannot. LL /T disputes are more provable when city inspections reports are offered to the court since inspections is considered to be a agency of govt. SO what I would say is to take pics and note all the problems related to the current conditions of the house and inc for your records areas that have been repaired but appear to be in failure and send to LL certified letter outlining your findings and ask for repairs, If the LL wont deal with it say after 14 to 21 days then by all means you would have given the LL ample time to at least look at it and evaluate it, so you could call inspections and ask them to look, If they feel you are in danger , they will condemn , if not they will order repairs , but this step is needed to prove that your complaining, if the LL later chose to refuse repair orders and your city condemns unit, and there is a dispute in court , your copy of the inspections reports and actions can easily put to a end any further claim from LL , you may not get any thing more than your deposit and a partial refund from court , your not gonna get every penny back though.

 

[xylene]

You should hire a lawyer and structural engineer.

That is the only way you get out of this.

There is no DIY option.

 

[FarmerJ]

I would suggest inspections first since they may well have seen other instances of soil subsidance in your area or may even have records of other homes in the area or if there had been problems known to them on your street. Your city may have the best records about soil conditions in your area or odd details like if one area had say been swampy till it was filled in back in 1955 , stuff like that.

 

[Searchertwin]

But what about from the point of view of premises liability law? Specifically, a property owner must keep his property in a safe condition and provide notice of any known dangers on the premises.

True. But if he not aware of the dangers, than, how can he know?
If he is aware and he ignores, how can you prove he knows? You have to notify him, give him chance to repair, if needed, and go from there.

As part of these duties, the property owner must regularly inspect the property for any dangerous conditions.

What is regular inspection for you is different inspections for me.
Again, send crr letter to request inspection due that you feel you are on a sinkhole. And list reason why you think that.
You have to give LL chance to respond.

I'm not entirely sure if a tenant would be classified as an "invitee" or a "licensee,"

Tenant is a tenant. Invitee would be someone that is invited by you, as a tenant, if you were let say, having a yard sale or selling Avon.
Same goes for owner of a property if he didn't rent out the place.

Licensee is like a social guest. For instance, you invite friends over to play cards.

So now, the ball is in your pocket. You are aware of problem, if any, even if there is no proof, but you assume it is, and if a invitee or licensee comes on property you will be just as guilty.

Now, you see the reason why you are being told to follow certain procedures?
Inform LL of what you suspect, give him chance to dispute or fixed and go from there.

 

[csi7]

FarmerJ is on to the best method to resolve this situation quickly.

In areas where swamp, wetlands, and surrounding watershed were knocked down to make way for housing, added dirt was brought in to level the building foundations. There is going to be a paper trail of what happened in the construction of the homes, permits provided, and inspections as well.

The evidence is there in one department, and from what you are saying, it would take a court order to have it revealed properly.

I agree, the first important step to establish a valid paper trail is to provide the landlord with the opportunity to handle the situation. This way will show you did attempt to resolve this at the lowest level possible.

When the landlord provided you with the lease and walk-through, was the tour a quick one, or a lengthy one? Not much difference, except the time will help establish whether the landlord was rushing the walk-through.

Second, did you find this place privately or through a real estate agent?

There are some options, depending on the details, places you can ask questions and get help to resolve this issue.