Christenmt
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
Here is my situation:
Five months into my year long lease, my apartment (and the four other units in the building) transfered owners. These new landlords began updating and remodeling the building-and it desperately needed it.
In my own unit, there were many repairs that needed to be made, most importantly, on the baseboard heaters. The front metal covers of the heaters have fallen off, leaving the hot coils exposed. These are large baseboard heaters too, a good four to five feet long. So, I wrote a two page letter to my landlord requesting that these heaters be fixed or replaced, because otherwise it was an extreme fire hazard.
A month passes, and I hear absolutely nothing. No phone call, no letter response, nothing. So I place a follow up phone call myself, which resulted in the landlord rudely stating they would not fix anything at all. When I asked if I could move into one of the updated apartments, they again refused.
Now, I live in the north and heating is a necessity. It's also against the terms of my lease to leave the heat off between October and May. My lease ends on December 31st, so despite it being July right now, there will be at least three months where I am faced with trying to use heaters that have hot coils exposed. I am almost certain this is a serious violation.
I decided ultimately, after researching tenants rights in my state, that I had reasonable cause to move out. Besides the heaters, there were other repairs that needed to be made, though less serious (holes in doors, leaking toilet, etc). I called my landlord to inform them of my decision and why I made that decision-they threatened to sue and hung up on me.
A week later I wrote an official letter of notice to vacate. A day after I sent the letter off, my landlord calls saying they want to do a walk through of the apartment and see what repairs need to be made. I informed them that I already made arrangements to move because I had been ignored and then rejected the first several times. Again, the landlord threatened to sue and hung up on me.
What I want to know is, am I going to stand a chance in court-if the landlord actually follows through with these threats? I know the landlord is responsible for making major repairs, which include the heating system. In my lease it states the landlord WILL make repairs. Since they have flat out refused so many times, I feel that my reaction was just.
I mean, do I have a leg to stand on or not?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Here is my situation:
Five months into my year long lease, my apartment (and the four other units in the building) transfered owners. These new landlords began updating and remodeling the building-and it desperately needed it.
In my own unit, there were many repairs that needed to be made, most importantly, on the baseboard heaters. The front metal covers of the heaters have fallen off, leaving the hot coils exposed. These are large baseboard heaters too, a good four to five feet long. So, I wrote a two page letter to my landlord requesting that these heaters be fixed or replaced, because otherwise it was an extreme fire hazard.
A month passes, and I hear absolutely nothing. No phone call, no letter response, nothing. So I place a follow up phone call myself, which resulted in the landlord rudely stating they would not fix anything at all. When I asked if I could move into one of the updated apartments, they again refused.
Now, I live in the north and heating is a necessity. It's also against the terms of my lease to leave the heat off between October and May. My lease ends on December 31st, so despite it being July right now, there will be at least three months where I am faced with trying to use heaters that have hot coils exposed. I am almost certain this is a serious violation.
I decided ultimately, after researching tenants rights in my state, that I had reasonable cause to move out. Besides the heaters, there were other repairs that needed to be made, though less serious (holes in doors, leaking toilet, etc). I called my landlord to inform them of my decision and why I made that decision-they threatened to sue and hung up on me.
A week later I wrote an official letter of notice to vacate. A day after I sent the letter off, my landlord calls saying they want to do a walk through of the apartment and see what repairs need to be made. I informed them that I already made arrangements to move because I had been ignored and then rejected the first several times. Again, the landlord threatened to sue and hung up on me.
What I want to know is, am I going to stand a chance in court-if the landlord actually follows through with these threats? I know the landlord is responsible for making major repairs, which include the heating system. In my lease it states the landlord WILL make repairs. Since they have flat out refused so many times, I feel that my reaction was just.
I mean, do I have a leg to stand on or not?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?