What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia
Starting to sound like a broken record as I have posted a couple of times before regarding the mess of a lease we have signed into (only 4 months left...).
Anyways, in the latest edition of "How the house crumbles", we experienced some severe rainfall about two weeks ago. The roof has been an issue even before we initially moved in, but this rainfall showed us the extent of damage as water has been collecting and seeping into the drywall. The upper level ceiling gave and turned our stairway into an interesting looking waterfall during the rainstorm. There is also water damage in all of the upper level rooms.
We took pictures of the damage and immediately notified the landlord in which he replied he would send his handyman to come out and look at the damage. Obviously the damage was beyond his area of expertise and nothing was done. A week went by and had heard nothing from anyone, at the time we were not even sure if the handyman had come to look at the damage. When we contacted the landlord again, he mentioned that the handyman had been there and also he wanted to get an insurance person in to look at the damage as well. It has been another week and have not heard anything regarding the damage. This non-disclosure is leading me to believe the landlord and handyman know something about the house and are intentionally not telling us.
The damage is extensive and are living in fear anytime it rains as the ceiling appears ready to cave completely at anytime. Mold and bacteria from the moisture is also a concern.
My question this time around is if I can call a housing inspector to review the house and damage and make an assessment as to whether the house is suitable for living, or if the house should be condemed at this point until repairs are made?
We think this may the the reason our landlord is sitting on the issue and not taking immediate action in order to recieve the remaining 4 months of rent.
Starting to sound like a broken record as I have posted a couple of times before regarding the mess of a lease we have signed into (only 4 months left...).
Anyways, in the latest edition of "How the house crumbles", we experienced some severe rainfall about two weeks ago. The roof has been an issue even before we initially moved in, but this rainfall showed us the extent of damage as water has been collecting and seeping into the drywall. The upper level ceiling gave and turned our stairway into an interesting looking waterfall during the rainstorm. There is also water damage in all of the upper level rooms.
We took pictures of the damage and immediately notified the landlord in which he replied he would send his handyman to come out and look at the damage. Obviously the damage was beyond his area of expertise and nothing was done. A week went by and had heard nothing from anyone, at the time we were not even sure if the handyman had come to look at the damage. When we contacted the landlord again, he mentioned that the handyman had been there and also he wanted to get an insurance person in to look at the damage as well. It has been another week and have not heard anything regarding the damage. This non-disclosure is leading me to believe the landlord and handyman know something about the house and are intentionally not telling us.
The damage is extensive and are living in fear anytime it rains as the ceiling appears ready to cave completely at anytime. Mold and bacteria from the moisture is also a concern.
My question this time around is if I can call a housing inspector to review the house and damage and make an assessment as to whether the house is suitable for living, or if the house should be condemed at this point until repairs are made?
We think this may the the reason our landlord is sitting on the issue and not taking immediate action in order to recieve the remaining 4 months of rent.
