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Slum Lord?!?

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

Iam renting the top part of a house, I have lived here 4 months and I have a year lease.My LL just bought the house 4 months ago, and he only bought it to flip it [he put it on the market a week after he bought it]..So basically he doesnt care about the property he just wants to sale it and make money. He recently rented the downstairs out and they have a large dog..which they allow to go to the bathroom in the backyard, I nicely asked the tenets if they can pick up the poop when their dog goes to the bathroom because I have small children that play in the yard and the woman said she works alot and she will only do it once a week..so basically what she is telling me is screw you...6 days deal with the poop all over the yard. I contacted my LL and he texted me saying "its your problem deal with it or move out", in my lease it states that he will provide a healthy and safe enviroment for his tenents, and to me he is breaking the lease, also since he is tryin to sale the house..he hasnt maintained it [examples..my upstairs main door large glass panel is missing which my baby often tried to crawl out of [i have rigged it so its blocked..but he kept promising he would fix it] i have no fire alarms in my apartment, no lights in my hallway [isnt that a fire hazard ?]..wood at the frame of door leading to fire escape is dry rotting] that is only a few problems to mention a few. This LL has money and owns alot of property...what are my chances of winning in court againest him because he isnt mainining his part of the lease and keepin up on things?

Thank you
 


Banned_Princess

Senior Member
I want the LL to fix what he should of fixed, and make sure these new tenets respect the yard and clean up after the dog.
ok well, you have to send the LL written notification about the things that absolutely must be fixed. no lights in the hallway is not something that needs to be fixed, fire alarms do need to be placed in each bedroom and hallways. if you want to list each of the things you believe he must fix, I will comment on whether he does or does not need to fix it.

the dog in the yard is not going to be something you are going to make him do. If he doesn't care, then thats it.

It sounds like he might let you out of your lease, just make sure to get it in writing.
 
Okay here is a list of things that is wrong:

1-fire alarms [which you commented on]

2- The back door leading to the fire escape the wood frame is all rotted [easy to trip if stepping out there]

3- Top window in living room is gone, only storm window [half one ontop] but large space opened

4- The main door upstairs the glass panel is missing at the bottom [which if my child went thru would fall down the steps]

5- bedroom window badly cracked..

6- there is a broken man made pond out back..that just breeds bugs..contains old nasty water

7-half of the heaters in the house dont work..mind you we dont need them now..but he never fixed them when we asked him too when it was cold out


Oh I always thought that there must be lights in a hallway incase there is a fire at night...its pitch black dark

he also suppose to pay for garbage, but yet the garbage truck only takes one can ..so the garbage is just collecting.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
Your number 6 , all he would have to do is drain it and keep it dry . But you are free to call your city and learn if it has a pooper scooper ord and see if it addresses multi unit housing. , you want to know if it just says daily when it is NOT a single family residence but multi family. ANY thing even if it defines the number of Poop piles before they will write citation . Next on the list is ords addressing stagnant water because of skeets. ( any thing that addresses recepticles , un used fountains, old tires etc ) You want to learn if your city /county says every bedroom must have a smoke alarm or how many feet from bedrooms and if hardwired are required. Then when you do your letter to the LL not only list off your concerns but the ones that create trip or fall hazzards call them that. send your letter via certified mail. If he doesnt address the glass issues or the smoke alarms with in a few days call building inspections and invite them out! ( dont expect a lease renewal but do take pics of the broken or damaged things now and get some that show the condition of the rest of the place and take pics again before you move out so you would be able to offer them to a court if you must sue to get deposit back.
 

Ketazi

Junior Member
The landlord has to provide smoke detectors in every unit and make sure that hallways are well lit.

Check if the health department can do something about the dog poop issue and the pond. You can also call your local Code Enforcement/Housing Code Office to request an inspection. Mention the garbage issue to them.
 

atomizer

Senior Member
As indicated above, your landlord is required to provide lighting in the hallways. An alarm may or may not be required. That would depend on local code. Only one fire alarm and possibly even a carbon monoxide detector need be provided. Again, see local code. Just as a warning, unless your lease has provisions that state that you can use the backyard, your landlord or the other tenant with your landlords permission can restrict your access to it. Some of these complaints are minor and even if mandated to be fixed, you may not like the landlord's solution and he would still be within code.
 
Sounds like he's hoping it will seem like a bonus to prospective buyers if it's a house making money. But in many cities, rentals must be registered, and multi-family units are only allowed in certain zoning. Find out from your city's code enforcement if it's a legal rental unit. But be prepared to have to move on your dime and sue your LL. (I just found out my house isn't a legal rental and has a dozen major violations, and moving is on us for now since the LL didn't pay. The LL opened the can of worms by annoying the hell out of us, walking into the house unannounced and saying it's her house, she can do it, and we pushed it by calling code enforcement.) So make sure you have somewhere else to go if the severity of the overall violations result in you having to leave in a short time.

The dog poop is a health hazard of the causing of one of the tenants, so the LL may not be on the hook. You've listed several other clear violations though as nicely listed by Suzanne.
 

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