Landlord problems with maintenance

[os478]

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

I moved into my 1 bedroom apartment on December 1, 2013. Upon moving in, I noted on the move-in sheet that the bedroom was significantly colder than the rest of the apartment. I contacted them a few times in December and January regarding the issue, as well as a few others. Mid February, I got fed up with the failure to perform repairs or having to report a maintenance problem multiple times for repair and sent a certified letter detailing repair problems and requiring a 24 hour notice for maintenance to enter my apartment for repairs due to a number of screw ups (It took 4 entries to fix a bathroom sink stopper and clean the mess up).

I went to the landlord after sending the letter, and they told me that the lack of heat in the bedroom will not be fixed because the airflow from the heater is bad since it's an older place. I took temperatures around mid February, and it was a consistent 50 degrees in the bedroom. Because of this, I plan on deducting rent. My plan for this problem is to deduct from a week after the letter was sent, and basically pay rent as if I had a studio apartment.

After sending a letter requiring 24 hour notice for maintenance to enter, A letter was posted on my door that stated there would be entry to my apartment within a window of a week to change out light bulbs. I did not request this repair and I had assumed that I would be notified before they entered my apartment, but I was not. Maintenance entered my apartment on either Wednesday or Thursday (I was out of town from Wednesday through Sunday) and left lights on as well as leaving the bedroom door open, which due to whatever is wrong with keeping heat in the bedroom, has costed me more in heating bills for the month of February than the month of January. I have contacted the landlord regarding this issue and they merely apologized for the inconvenience (as they have since I've started renting with them). My plan for this is problem is to deduct 1 days rent plus the difference in heating costs.

I have also been assigned a carport number to use throughout the winter, but it has been occupied about 90% of the time I've been there. I've contacted the landlord multiple times and nothing has been done to fix this either. the carport also has a number of rusted nails sticking out from wood in it. Is there anyone I should contact about this as the landlord also doesn't appear to be doing anything about it?

I am in the process of drafting my rent reduction letter already. Are deductions for gathering data and cost of sending certified letters reasonable, too? Would you consider the deductions above fair?

Thanks.

 

[quincy]

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

I moved into my 1 bedroom apartment on December 1, 2013. Upon moving in, I noted on the move-in sheet that the bedroom was significantly colder than the rest of the apartment. I contacted them a few times in December and January regarding the issue, as well as a few others. Mid February, I got fed up with the failure to perform repairs or having to report a maintenance problem multiple times for repair and sent a certified letter detailing repair problems and requiring a 24 hour notice for maintenance to enter my apartment for repairs due to a number of screw ups (It took 4 entries to fix a bathroom sink stopper and clean the mess up).

I went to the landlord after sending the letter, and they told me that the lack of heat in the bedroom will not be fixed because the airflow from the heater is bad since it's an older place. I took temperatures around mid February, and it was a consistent 50 degrees in the bedroom. Because of this, I plan on deducting rent. My plan for this problem is to deduct from a week after the letter was sent, and basically pay rent as if I had a studio apartment.

After sending a letter requiring 24 hour notice for maintenance to enter, A letter was posted on my door that stated there would be entry to my apartment within a window of a week to change out light bulbs. I did not request this repair and I had assumed that I would be notified before they entered my apartment, but I was not. Maintenance entered my apartment on either Wednesday or Thursday (I was out of town from Wednesday through Sunday) and left lights on as well as leaving the bedroom door open, which due to whatever is wrong with keeping heat in the bedroom, has costed me more in heating bills for the month of February than the month of January. I have contacted the landlord regarding this issue and they merely apologized for the inconvenience (as they have since I've started renting with them). My plan for this is problem is to deduct 1 days rent plus the difference in heating costs.

I have also been assigned a carport number to use throughout the winter, but it has been occupied about 90% of the time I've been there. I've contacted the landlord multiple times and nothing has been done to fix this either. the carport also has a number of rusted nails sticking out from wood in it. Is there anyone I should contact about this as the landlord also doesn't appear to be doing anything about it?

I am in the process of drafting my rent reduction letter already. Are deductions for gathering data and cost of sending certified letters reasonable, too? Would you consider the deductions above fair?

Thanks.

Here is a link to Michigan landlord/tenant laws: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/Publications/tenantlandlord.pdf

What the landlord will find reasonable in the way of deductions from rent is something I can't guess at.

I would consider lightbulb changing a non-issue, however - you were notified - and leaving on lights when they were done changing the bulbs is de minimis. Deducting for gathering data and sending certified letters would not be reasonable. If the rusty nails were sticking out of wood when you rented, that is a non-issue for this time of year. Outdoor maintenance that is not of an emergency nature will wait for spring weather. Trying to figure out how much more you paid for heat because the bedroom door was left open for 5 days while you gone is probably not something you can deduct easily - the month of February brought higher heating costs for everyone in Michigan due to the below zero temperatures.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Steps you need to follow regarding withholding rent in your state.

http://www.michiganlegalaid.org/library_client/resource.2005-05-30.1117489737707/html_view

Don't deduct one days rent and heat for them coming in, changing the lightbulbs and leaving your bedroom door open. That's nonsense. Besides, legally they provided you adequate notice of their intention to enter. In an apartment complex there is often simply no way they can tell you the exact date they will do this work. Try this and you might possibly be risking an eviction.

Gail

 

[os478]

Thanks for the response. I've read a lot of the link regarding maintenance already, but it didn't provide any information as to what was justifiable and what isn't justifiable.

At this point, I don't care what the landlord agrees is reasonable. I have given them plenty of time to fix their problems and it still hasn't been done.

As long as the landlord posts for entry, even for a non-maintenance issue, regardless of the window in time, they are allowed to enter? What if entry is done for maintenance without a paper stating what was done? As far as I could tell, they changed light bulbs in the bathroom and above the stove, but entered the bedroom. What is a reasonable window of time for entry?

Yea, I wasn't worried about deducting electricity costs as it would have been minimal. My plan for deducting heat would be to use the difference in heating costs on the assumption that the 3 extra days in January would buffer that number enough to buffer any disagreement in temperatures between the two months.

What if someone cuts themself on a rusty nail? I would think that it'd be a pretty big safety concern, even if it doesn't affect me.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the response. I've read a lot of the link regarding maintenance already, but it didn't provide any information as to what was justifiable and what isn't justifiable.

At this point, I don't care what the landlord agrees is reasonable. I have given them plenty of time to fix their problems and it still hasn't been done.

As long as the landlord posts for entry, even for a non-maintenance issue, regardless of the window in time, they are allowed to enter? What if entry is done for maintenance without a paper stating what was done? As far as I could tell, they changed light bulbs in the bathroom and above the stove, but entered the bedroom. What is a reasonable window of time for entry?

Yea, I wasn't worried about deducting electricity costs as it would have been minimal. My plan for deducting heat would be to use the difference in heating costs on the assumption that the 3 extra days in January would buffer that number enough to buffer any disagreement in temperatures between the two months.

What if someone cuts themself on a rusty nail? I would think that it'd be a pretty big safety concern, even if it doesn't affect me.

Read pages 27 and 28 of the pdf file for information you need when considering the withholding of rent or deducting amounts from rent.

A landlord giving notice to a tenant of a week within which routine maintenance will be done is not unusual nor unreasonable.

If someone gets cut on a rusty nail they should, first, get a tetanus shot if theirs is not up-to-date and, then, if the landlord had been previously notified that the rusty nails were a safety issue, and the landlord had the opportunity to correct the hazard between the time of notification and injury, any medical bills could be submitted to the landlord for reimbursement. Whether or not the landlord would dispute the bill and/or have good reason for doing so, is a question mark. It depends on all facts. If, however, the rusty nail hazard was an obvious one, reasonable adults should be taking precautions so that they don't get cut or let their children get cut.

The only possible complaints that you have that I find even slightly reasonable are the ones about the faulty heating vent in the bedroom and the parking space being occupied by others. But I am not even sure that those support withholding rent or deducting rent. You could run it by a landlord/tenant professional in a landlord/tenant clinic.

 

[os478]

Thanks again Quincy. I guess my next step would be to call a building inspector. I guess I should try to contact them ASAP before it warms up too much to tell that the heat was faulty or the seal with the bedroom window is almost non-existent. Is there anything I should look at for a particular inspector? I'm in Grand Rapids, MI (zip code 49525).

There are minimum temperatures for housing specified for the state of Michigan. It's actually quite higher than I expected, at 68 degrees.

 

[quincy]

Thanks again Quincy. I guess my next step would be to call a building inspector. I guess I should try to contact them ASAP before it warms up too much to tell that the heat was faulty or the seal with the bedroom window is almost non-existent. Is there anything I should look at for a particular inspector? I'm in Grand Rapids, MI (zip code 49525).

There are minimum temperatures for housing specified for the state of Michigan. It's actually quite higher than I expected, at 68 degrees.

I suggest you contact the Grand Rapids Code Compliance Division and ask if one of the City inspectors can take a look at the heating in your apartment. If they are not available, they can perhaps direct you to one who is.

Good luck.


(68 degrees is balmy, isn't it, especially considering the outside temperatures we have had )

 

[os478]

I'd be happy with ~60 degrees in my bedroom. It's actually been a really rough winter as I had lived in California the last 4 1/2 years.

 

[quincy]

I'd be happy with ~60 degrees in my bedroom. It's actually been a really rough winter as I had lived in California the last 4 1/2 years.

Welcome to Michigan!

Here is a link to the Grand Rapids Community Development website, where you can find another link to the Code Compliance Division: http://grcity.us/community-development/Pages/default.aspx.

Again, good luck.

 

[os478]

I actually grew up here, so I expected the cold weather, but this year just particularly bad.

I found out I'm part of plainfield township. They didn't really seem to know what to do. The lady said she'd contact the health department, then call me back.

 

[quincy]

I actually grew up here, so I expected the cold weather, but this year just particularly bad.

I found out I'm part of plainfield township. They didn't really seem to know what to do. The lady said she'd contact the health department, then call me back.

Oh. I have a link to Grand Rapids Township on hand, but not one for Plainfield. You could try this, though, because the health department seems wrong.

Here is the township link (click on Building Inspections): http://www.grandrapidstwp.org.

Sorry. I only noticed the 49525 after I made my last post.

 

[os478]

No problem. The website I was using was

www.plainfieldchartertwp . org / pctordenforcer.htm

Having problems posting a link...

 

[quincy]

No problem. The website I was using was

www.plainfieldchartertwp . org / pctordenforcer.htm

Having problems posting a link...

You are a new member. Linking is not made available to new posters to the site. That said, I have also been having problems posting links in this thread for some reason, so who knows what is going on.

At any rate, it sounds like you are doing what you need to do, os478. Getting an inspector out to take a look at the heating system may lead to a simple solution, or to a good reason to withhold rent.

You also might suggest to your landlord that he post signs in the carports or in the parking area saying that carports are reserved for the identified residents only and other cars will be towed away at the owner's expense. I am actually surprised the landlord has not posted these signs somewhere in the parking lots already.

Good luck.

 

[os478]

The landlords in this complex are incredibly lazy. They have made me regret my hasty move back to Michigan and will definitely be out of this place as soon as my lease is up.

 

[os478]

I called the plainfield county township and they said that they have no township ordinances and therefore no inspectors. They sent me to the Kent County Health Department.

I called the Kent County Health Department and they said they don't really do apartment complaints. The lady said she would ask around, but wouldn't get back to me until after Monday. I understand why people don't typically fight bad landlords. I still am unsure of who to contact to get this resolved.

Kent County Renter's Alliance does have free legal advice on Tuesday, but I was hoping to get everything figured out before then.