Can I press charges for intentional exposure?

[shadoewolfie3]

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

I'm having a dispute with my landlord. He and his wife have wanted nothing to do with the house they rented to us except to be overly demanding about the rent and fail to take care of any repairs since August 1. Suddenly now she wants to come inspect the property. She refuses to give me even an approximate time of arrival. She has willingly admitted on my voicemail that her husband cannot come do the inspection because her entire family has been hit with the H1N1 virus.

The problem I have is that I have 3 children. Two of them have severe asthma (documented) and my son is currently having respiratory issues and being tested for cystic fibrosis (also documented). We've been warned to avoid taking him out in public as much as possible to limit his exposure because with his lung issues the virus could be lethal for him. I have explained these medical issues to her and have a note from my children's doctor stating the possible health complications should they contract the virus. She is insistent on coming into my residence and won't even give me an approximate time so I can ensure my children are out of the house.

If she comes in and my children contract the virus and get seriously ill, do I have a right to file criminal charges, since she is knowingly and willingly exposing my children?

[HighwayMan]

Sounds like it's time to move.

You might want to check with the local police or a prosecutor in your local court. Intentional exposure might be considered assault depending on how the statutes are written.

Do they have access to your house, i.e. can they just walk in whenever they want? There may be issues with that as well.

[shadoewolfie3]

As she is my landlords wife I believe she has a set of keys to the home. Our rental agreement states she is required to give me 24 hours notice but I can't even get a legit copy of my lease from her. I'm willing to remove my kids from the area during her inspection and take the necessary steps to sanitize my home afterward but she refuses to tell me what day and approximate time she is coming.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by shadoewolfie3

As she is my landlords wife I believe she has a set of keys to the home. Our rental agreement states she is required to give me 24 hours notice but I can't even get a legit copy of my lease from her. I'm willing to remove my kids from the area during her inspection and take the necessary steps to sanitize my home afterward but she refuses to tell me what day and approximate time she is coming.

She has to give you 24 hours notice. If not then you can ask her to leave. if she doesn't you can call the police and report a trespasser and ask that they remover her. Be aware that then you may be evicted.

[justalayman]

O; I realize it may be an extreme action but considering the acknowledgement of swine flu exposure and the child's situation, would it be possible to obtain an injunction from the courts to prevent the entry until such time there is no symptoms of swine flu in the LL's residence or something similar?

I realize it is not the easiest thing to do but given the situation with the child and the real threat to life, I would think it may be a reasonable action.


btw: we had a death of an 11 yo girl a few miles from me. The girl was in school on Friday with no symptoms (I actually spoke to friends of the girl's older sister) and she died the following Tuesday. The medical examiner has not made any claims of underlying conditions that would have caused or increased the risk of death.

Personally, if it were me, I would risk eviction and change the locks until the flu has passed over the LL's circle of friends and family. If a judge booted me for the action; so be it but my child's health is too important to risk exposure, especially given the health condition of the child.

[HighwayMan]

I would definitely change the locks, or at the very least put a slide bolt inside the door so you can lock it while you're home.

Why don't you have a copy of the lease? You didn't get it when you first signed it?

In any event, I would definitely start looking for a new place to live.

[shadoewolfie3]

My original lease was signed in the landlord's home, they had used a template off the Internet. I was told they didn't have enough toner to print 2 copies of the 8 page lease but the landlord would take the signed copy to his work the next day and photocopy it for me. That was the week of August 1. I pestered them for weeks about said photocopy and finally HAD to have one to prove residence for my children's school. They gave me a re-print. A re-print in which the terms of the lease were changed (which I didn't realize until recently) and there were no signatures on it at all. I am now having issues with them in regards to repairs and the fact the house may be deemed unsafe by the city housing inspector tomorrow and the landlord refuses to provide me a copy of the original lease I actually signed. They keep offering me a re-print, but in that re-print it states they are absolved from specific issues relating to habitability (we've made complaints for months about needed repairs). The landlords wife originally tried to charge me a $5 fee which she said was to cover paper and toner so she could print me a new copy. As the situation escalated it became a $25 fee because she would have to re-order the software she used to create the original. It seems the one signed and dated by me has disappeared.

And trust me, if this becomes an eviction issue or if I terminate my "lease" on my own, we will be leaving! I talked to the city inspector today (coming out tomorrow to do the actual code inspection) who believes the house may be in major violation of city and state housing codes and may require us to leave anyway due to the nature of the possible damage. We"ve also managed to locate the prior tenants who supposedly were evicted and will be asking them what really happened, if the story the landlord gave us is true or if the same thing happened to them and they elected to terminate early.

**Also wanted to add for someone who was so gung-ho on my voicemail yesterday about coming to inspect the property, she never showed up today, nor did she call to say she wasn't coming and make alternate arrangements.