Tracey or Home Guru, Please help

[Home Renter]

My roomate and I just moved into a restored Victorian house in PA. The landlord seemed great at first, but now he's intimidating us, and things aren't getting done.

1) He comes into our house after ringing the bell even if we don't answer or aren't home. We only want him there when we're home or by appointment, and he's response was, "I'm not a doctor. I don't make appointments." Today I walked out of my bedroom and he was standing in the hallway.He said he knocked and I didn't answer so he came in. I could have been in the shower or many other things. Can we change the locks without giving him a key or make him get permission to come in? Also, he never changed the locks from when the previous tenants who lived there, and they still have copies of the keys. Does a landlord HAVE to change the locks between tentants?
2) We have two leaks in the roof. He says he's fixing them, but they are just bandaids.One is already leaking again less than a week later. Does a leaky roof constitute legally breaking the lease? And if so, would we get our deposit back?
3) I had to call the gas company because our stove had fumes coming from it. He got mad and said I shouldn't have called them even though I felt unsafe. They red taged the appliance. He also said he'd repair the broken dishwasher and hasn't. How long do we have to wait?
4) Our pilot keeps going out in the furnace and we wake some mornings freezing. I 've had a cold since we moved in. He says he'll get a pilot re-ignitor, but what if this keeps happening?
5) The tenants on the other half are very messy. They leave garbage and beer cans everywhere. (some areas we share and others are areas that we have to walk by to get to our porch.)What can we do about that?

Despite our problems, the house is absolutly beautiful and is in a great area. We really want to stay, but we feel nervous and intimidated. Is there anyway to fix this without taking things too far? Thanks so much.

 

[Tracey]

You'll have to check out the landlord tenant laws at your local library. They're in Title 68, chapter 8 of the PA Statutes. They aren't all online, so I can't give you very specific advice.

If there are 3 or more units in the building, you have the protection of sections 250.501-A - 505-A. The laws don't seem to be very helpful, so you'll just have to sue based on the lease.

1. The house is YOURS & if L enters without permission, he has committed the crime of trespassing. Call the cops & file a criminal complaint every single time he walks in. You can sue him for trespass & get damages for the 'suffering' associated with walking out of the shower & seeing him in your apt, & of feeling unsafe in your own home. You can also install a chain/flip bar that will prevent him from entering your home when you're inside. He'll try to argue that you've damaged the door jamb at security deposit time, so you need to thoroughly document every instance of him abusing the right of access. If you can show that you've told L not to enter but L ignored your instructions & the police, the judge will likely declare that installing the door flip bar was necessitated by L's actions & can't be 'damage' caused by you.
You should send L a letter demanding he change the locks to your apt, since there are outstanding keys. Point out that if anyone else enters your apt with those keys & steals stuff or harms the residents, L is responsible & will be paying you a lot of money. L has a duty to protect your safety, & leaving keys outstanding is comparable to not having locks on the doors at all.

2. Your lease & state law include a warranty of habiltability. This means the roof doesn't leak, there's hot water, electricity, heat, etc. If L doesn't provide those items or fix complaints within a reasonable time, L has breached this warranty. You get to sue L for the difference between the fair market rent with the leaks/no heat & the rent you actually pay. The warranty of habitability also covers the bad pilot light in the heater & the broken DW.
If L breaches the WOH, T may terminate the lease & is entitled to a full refund of the deposit.

3. You have right to call the gas company or the health department or the building inspectors any time you want. L can't terminate your lease because you do so. In fact, call the building inspector & complain about the furnace.

4. Most states imply a covenant of quiet enjoyment into every lease. This means that L has to refrain from doing anything that interferes with your enjoyment of your lease, AND has to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent others under L's control from interfering. Here, your arguement is that L has an affirmative duty to make the other tenants clean up. You might also check the zoning laws & see if the amount of garbage is a zoning violation. File a complaint & L will be forced to clean up the mess himself. This will inspire L to make your neighbors stop being pigs.


If you want to play hardball, go directly to the criminal/zoning/building complaints & get the government involved. If you want to salvage the LT relationship, write L a polite letter setting forth all your complaints & the steps you will take if those complaints are not adequately addressed within 5-10 days. (immeediately for the unauthorized access, 5 days for the heater & stove, 10 days for the rest) Your steps include: complaining to the appropriate gov't authorities, suing for damages, & requesting an injunction allowing you to suspend your rent payments until everything is fixed. Send the letter certified, return receipt & keep a copy for your records.

email me if you have any further questions.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws. [email protected]