Furnace filter is under apartments in the crawl space, seems a bit much to expect the average person to change it, much less an older renter?

[not2cleverRed]

When you are a single dad...

...you have plenty of opportunities for "teachable moments", and lessons on how to work as a family team.

If the kid can't/won't help directly, they can at least make an amusing tiktok video of you.

 

[ActualOkra]

So, I guess its kind of my fault for not asking a more specific question. My question really is something along the lines of, can anyone point me towards any accessibility provisions or discrimination laws that would help me prove my point in a civil case. Being that not everyone would be able to access the crawl space, that it would seem to be a fee on only those that are unable to do the work themselves. I say work, because said work would cost you no less than $150 to have it done. Granted that these extenuating circumstances were not outlined in the contract. Im looking for imagination here, I already realize my contractual agreement is holding me responsible traditionally speaking. So im looking for someone to point me towards laws that will help me make my case.

 

[LdiJ]

Nothing in Colorado law required the landlord to volunteer information on what it would take to change the filter. Again, if that was a concern to you, you should have asked about it. Like it or not, you are the one that must protect yourself. Don't expect that of the landlord. Read the proposed lease and understand all that it requires you to do and what the landlord will do. If anything in it is not to your liking, try to negotiate something you do like. Then once you've gotten to the point the landlord will not budge on anything, you have to make the choice of whether to take the lease. If you do, then you at least are going into it knowing what you are obligated to do. You don't have to like every provision in the lease, but the landlord certainly may hold you to the lease.



It's a realistic point of view. Yes, all along the front range housing has gotten expensive, and it's harder to find affordable housing at the lower income end. But in Colorado Springs you weren't limited to just this one apartment in the whole city to choose from. If you had really wanted other options, you could have found something else. Maybe not a lot of choices, but they are there. But regardless, none of this changes the legal issue at all. Trouble finding an affordable place does not alter contract law. You're still obligated to your end of the bargain once you enter into the lease. Colorado landlord-tenant law is pretty basic and for the most part lets tenants and landlords work out between them what the deal is going to be.

Let me play the devil's advocate for a moment. It is highly unusual for the place to change a furnace filter to be in the crawl space. I have seen just one incident of a furnace being somewhere other than the first floor or the basement of a home in the many years I have been on earth...and that one was in an attic. (which is equally odd). It never would have occurred to me that there was any chance of the furnace (or part of the furnace) being anywhere odd like that.

So, is there perhaps some sort of disclosure that a landlord would have to make in a very odd circumstance?

Now, if many of you have seen furnaces in crawl spaces then of course the situation may not be as odds as it seems to me.

 

[ActualOkra]

Let me play the devil's advocate for a moment. It is highly unusual for the place to change a furnace filter to be in the crawl space. I have seen just one incident of a furnace being somewhere other than the first floor or the basement of a home in the many years I have been on earth...and that one was in an attic. (which is equally odd). It never would have occurred to me that there was any chance of the furnace (or part of the furnace) being anywhere odd like that.

So, is there perhaps some sort of disclosure that a landlord would have to make in a very odd circumstance?

Now, if many of you have seen furnaces in crawl spaces then of course the situation may not be as odds as it seems to me.

Thank you for at least making me feel less alone in that this is definitely not normal circumstances.

 

[not2cleverRed]

So, I guess its kind of my fault for not asking a more specific question. My question really is something along the lines of, can anyone point me towards any accessibility provisions or discrimination laws that would help me prove my point in a civil case. Being that not everyone would be able to access the crawl space, that it would seem to be a fee on only those that are unable to do the work themselves. I say work, because said work would cost you no less than $150 to have it done. Granted that these extenuating circumstances were not outlined in the contract. Im looking for imagination here, I already realize my contractual agreement is holding me responsible traditionally speaking. So im looking for someone to point me towards laws that will help me make my case.

This is only a relevant line of inquiry if you are, in fact, disabled. And even then, this would likely not be addressed, because someone can simply do it for you. It does not cover lazy whiners.

If in fact, you are not just a lazy whiner, and actually have a physical impairment, there are any number of ways to get the job done. Like, being nice and asking your neighbor for a favor. Or getting your kid to help.

 

[adjusterjack]

So im looking for someone to point me towards laws that will help me make my case.

There aren't any, not for you anyway. You've admitted that you are capable of changing the filter.

If you want to help those who are old and disabled, refer them to the Americans With Disabilities Act. They may be entitled to an accommodation. It's up to them to pursue it if they qualify.

 

[zddoodah]

SMH -

It's really hard to give answers for a moving target.

Yup. It's called the "yeahbut principle."

"Based on what you've told us, the answer is X." "Yeah, but, here are two new facts that I didn't tell you about originally." Sigh....

My question really is something along the lines of, can anyone point me towards any accessibility provisions or discrimination laws that would help me prove my point in a civil case.

Help you? None. Help some other hypothetical person. Let that person come and ask.

 

[ActualOkra]

This is only a relevant line of inquiry if you are, in fact, disabled. And even then, this would likely not be addressed, because someone can simply do it for you. It does not cover lazy whiners.

If in fact, you are not just a lazy whiner, and actually have a physical impairment, there are any number of ways to get the job done. Like, being nice and asking your neighbor for a favor. Or getting your kid to help.

There is much more to it than being lazy, while I can admit its turned into a pissing match, and might seem like a small hill to die on. At what point does letting someone walk on you become enough? If you can point me to the line, id be happy to change my perspective. My search has just started, and I wont let this get my hopes down. Im tired of seeing property owners raise rent year after year, while the rentals fall farther into disrepair. While this outlook is circumstantial, it holds true for 90% of the places I have lived. Id be willing to bet that the negative sentiment on here is coming from rental owners. I take better care of the places I live than the owners do, so yeah, I'm a little pissed about my current situation. Can anyone point me in a direction that will gain me discussion about actual laws? Thats really what I am looking for. Not a witch hunt for a bad "lazy whiner" tenant.

 

[Taxing Matters]

So, is there perhaps some sort of disclosure that a landlord would have to make in a very odd circumstance?

Perhaps there may be an affirmative disclosure obligation of that sort in the wonderful regulatory world of the People's Republic of California (PRC), from which zddoohdah hails. But not in Colorado. I have personal experience with renting in Colorado and practice in that state, after all. Thus, as I said before, Colorado landlord-tenant law is pretty basic and leaves most of the arrangements to negotiation between landlord and tenant. This is one of those things that is up to the parties to work out among themselves. Though the placement of the filter in this instance is unusual, perhaps, I have seen a number of what might be called unusual building arrangements in this state, particularly in older buildings. And regardless, the OP has admitted that the placement certainly does not make it impossible for a tenant to do himself/herself, or to hire a competent person to do it at a not unreasonable cost should the tenant not be able to do it himself/herself.

Bottom line, as I said before: if it matters to the prospective tenant when reading the contract, ASK where the filter is and ensure the prospective tenant can change it. That would have taken, what, a few minutes for the landlord to show the prospective tenant? Negotiate over it after that if the prospective tenant wants a different arrangement. It's not up to the landlord to have to guess at what things the prospective tenant might need/want to know and volunteer it

 

[Just Blue]

So, I guess its kind of my fault for not asking a more specific question. My question really is something along the lines of, can anyone point me towards any accessibility provisions or discrimination laws that would help me prove my point in a civil case. Being that not everyone would be able to access the crawl space, that it would seem to be a fee on only those that are unable to do the work themselves. I say work, because said work would cost you no less than $150 to have it done. Granted that these extenuating circumstances were not outlined in the contract. Im looking for imagination here, I already realize my contractual agreement is holding me responsible traditionally speaking. So im looking for someone to point me towards laws that will help me make my case.

https://coloradosprings.gov/fairhousing

 

[ActualOkra]

Again, thank you to anyone that took time to help, its really appreciated!

 

[Taxing Matters]

So im looking for someone to point me towards laws that will help me make my case.

Make your case for what, exactly? This is not a situation covered by the Fair Housing Act's requirements for making property accessible to the disabled, so trying to go down the disability route won't help you.

 

[AlmostThere]

Many to most leases include some level of maintenance that would be problematic for an adult with varying levels of disability.

Examples of things that leases may contain:
Lawn maintenance
Shoveling the driveway
Replacing lightbulbs
Cleaning
Removing trash
Changing furnace filters
etc.

Depending on the level of disability some to all of these may be impossible without hired help.

I'd have issues with lawn maintenance, shoveling driveways, and possibly the furnace filters. I'd either have to find a different place to live where these things fall to the landlord's responsibility, or budget to hire them out. And it may be less expensive to hire it out. That is what people with disabilities do - we either choose a <noun> that hits our needs or we hire out what we cannot do.

If you do not want to be responsible for the furnace filter replacement, you could ask the landlord to include replacing the filters for you, or budget to hire a handyman to do it for you.

 

[zddoodah]

Perhaps there may be an affirmative disclosure obligation of that sort in the wonderful regulatory world of the People's Republic of California (PRC), from which zddoohdah hails. But not in Colorado.

That's People's Socialist Republic of California ("PSRC"), if you please.

And not even here is there such a requirement.

Bottom line, as I said before: if it matters to the prospective tenant when reading the contract, ASK where the filter is and ensure the prospective tenant can change it. That would have taken, what, a few minutes for the landlord to show the prospective tenant? Negotiate over it after that if the prospective tenant wants a different arrangement. It's not up to the landlord to have to guess at what things the prospective tenant might need/want to know and volunteer it

Yup.

 

[Taxing Matters]

That's People's Socialist Republic of California ("PSRC"), if you please.

That works too. I picked People's Republic of California (PRC) because the acronym lines up nicely with that other PRC -- People's Republic of China.