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AGross

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NY, apartment complex in Johnson City

OK, I am going to make this as short as possible while still including all the facts. Please help me, I know its going to be a long read.

About two weeks ago, my window started leaking badly because of ice-dams building up on the roof. As usual, i was yessed to death and told that they would be right on it. About 6 hours later, I called back to tell them the leak got worse (2-3 gallons and hour) and I can no longer stop it from causing damage, not to mention the ceiling was beginning to fail, again yessed to death. The next morning I called them, and again, they yessed me to death with regard to getting a repair. When no one showed up after 24 hours of first notification, I had Code Enforcement come over, and he ordered them to do the work immediately.

Lucky for me, while the official was leaving, he bumped into a sub-contracted maintenance guy and he agreed to do me a favor and break up the ice dam. The leak stopped, but the LL had no idea. Meanwhile, the LL's maintenance guy was chasing a stray cat through the complex. When I questioned this, I was told that only the sub contracted maintenance can climb a ladder and remove the ice. Two days later, they responded to the citys demands and got someone here to remove the ice, that has already been removed. The cute part is that it was the Cat-Catcher who wasn't allowed to use a ladder (lying sacks of feces).

Now, I have massive amounts of damage to my property and the apartment. I understood that the place had to dry up first before repairs could be done, but this is two weeks now, and its plenty dry. My main complaint right now is that the carpet smells like crap, and the smell is penetrating my clothes and the rest of the apartment. Also, the window has become so warped, that I am losing lots of heat through it.

I asked them to at least come here and clean my carpet so I can live odor free. But as always, they are too busy, to many units throughout the city with too few employees (this guy is huge, he owns like everything, but hates spending money on maintenance). I hear that excuse every time i need a repair, not that they ever finish the repairs they start (like the bathroom counter) or my 3 monthes without hot water.

Still, they have not cleaned my carpet, or even been indoors to look at it or anything else. Code Enforcement ordered them today, that if they are so busy, to at least set up an appointment with a carpet cleaner and inform me of the date and time before the end of the day. Well the day ended 7 minutes ago, and no phone call.

Even though my lease states otherwise, can I sue him for damaged property due to neglegence.

I want to deduct rent for the time spent that my bedroom is unlivable, and have that effective till repairs are totally completed...this way he actually finishes the work.

Can I use this to terminate my lease. I loved this apt. when I moved in, LL's father (the old LL) used to take great care of his property. But his jerk son doesnt understand that some of his profits have to be put back in as maintenance. This place used to be the second most upperclass apt complex in the city, now its a total slum.
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Some stuff to consider:
When my old roomate moved out, and my new one moved in, they changed the wrong name. Because of computer error, I am not on the lease, and sometimes I get accidental letters to the old roomate telling him he owes tons of money I pay (they just cash my checks for no reason, then tell us nonone paid) We agreed to put this on hold till they straighten things out.....that was 6 monthes ago with no result yet. But they still have my $500 security, and I would deserve every penny of it, I kept this place well, even made some improvements.


Please help me, I would like to stay here if it could get fixed, it is going to be difficult to find a place that allows dogs this time of year. I am a college student and really dont have any money to fight this real estate behemoth.

There is much more to this. Mostly just past events that show he doesnt make any effort. Ill address those if it is needed.


Thanks
Drew
 


BL

Senior Member
First : Do not with-hold rent without consulting landlord/tenant attorney .
The code violations would have to be really serious .

2nd : Keep regular contact with the code inspector about repairs .
Get copies of the code violations .
Follow up with return receipt requested Certified Mail re-iterating the problems and violations. Keep a copy of the letters , and the proof of receipts, or if the Certified Letter is returned, don't open it and save it .
This will start a paper trail along with the code violations .

3rd : Even though your carpet stinks ( I just went through this ) , according to the city inspector and Health Dept ,. unless there is mold growing on it , it is just considered a nuisance , and there's nothing they can do.
FYI : With the heat on , it took a good 2 - 2 1/2 weeks for the really foul order to subside . ( but this came from another apt. ) , so that one most likely does stink.
Hopefully the inspector will hound the LL , till it's cleaned .

4th: As far as your personal belongings , that's what renter's insurance is for .

5th: It's past gone but if you had proof , through the inspector , you had no hot water for 3 months , or if you go too long without the use of part of your rental entitlements , you can sue the landlord for a reduction during the non use of your entitlements . The Judge would determine how much.

For a quick fix from the cold air in the window , use what ever you can. rags , tape , plastic window kit from a hardware store on the inside .

I stayed in the tri city area for a while years ago .
 
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AGross

Junior Member
If I did have renters insurance, wouldn't they sue him for the neglegence causing the damage, just like car insurance does for an accident.

What else could be causing the smell other then growth inside the carpet? wouldnt that be a serious code violation


and still the remaining question, can I use this to terminate my lease being he is obviously disobeying orders of a city official but his actions of not setting up a carpet cleaning today, or taking so long to send his guy here for repair.

I cant afford a lawyer, everyone here is all i got.
 

BL

Senior Member
AGross said:
If I did have renters insurance, wouldn't they sue him for the neglegence causing the damage, just like car insurance does for an accident.

What else could be causing the smell other then growth inside the carpet? wouldn't that be a serious code violation


and still the remaining question, can I use this to terminate my lease being he is obviously disobeying orders of a city official but his actions of not setting up a carpet cleaning today, or taking so long to send his guy here for repair.

I cant afford a lawyer, everyone here is all i got.

It would be up to your insurer if they want to try and recover from the LL.
That's up to them. They should pay you directly of your damage.

For the carpet odor , it could be from pet odors from before , chemicals in the carpet/padding , or odors from the floor under the carpet .

Here is a partial response from an email from the health Dept. to Me , if this might help :

If the carpeting was wet for more than 3
or 4 days there probably was mold growing in it. If the moisture is gone
it will have stopped growing but is still there and our recommendation is
that the carpet be replaced.
I can approach them from the perspective
that there is a concern and I'd like to help to alleviate it, not to give
them a hard time or write violations. Some landlords are interested and
some just don't care.
I can't guarantee that I can do much unless the landlord wants to cooperate,
although sometimes getting the health department involved is enough to get
a reluctant one moving




Unless you can see white mold growing or that had grown, again it's just a nuisance according to both sources I spoke with ( The insp. even came ) . She said she would call him to encourage him to remedy the issue , but she couldn't force him to ) . He didn't either, just let It dry .

Again, unless there is server enough Immediate Health and Safety hazards , you could not break your lease legally.

The code inspector can only do so much . I have copies of code violations dating back to 1999 . I have code violations that still exist from Oct 22 of 2004 that were to be corrected Immediately and within 3 days, They aren't and weren't.

All's I know is maybe if your persistent with the inspector , and the landlord isn't responding , to push the inspector to start issuing the LL tickets for fines.

Even if the city decided to take the LL to court, there is most likely a big backlog of cases , and it wouldn't be heard right away.

You should consult a LL/tenant attorney for a small fee in your area . or thy emailing a few and keep the issue brief , and ask if you could break the lease.

I emailed a few . One responded to call him for free . we talked for about 5 minutes.

Basically , he told me not to with hold rent , or the Judge would not hesitate to evict , and to keep working with inspectors .

Maybe they will have different advise for you.

Yeah I was Pi**** that a carpet stunk to high heaven and let my LL know it .

Of course you already know the type . Good Luck .
 
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AGross

Junior Member
as far as the fines go, he has already been fined for 3 days, $750 (the time it took the cat catcher to show up), for violation of S166-33 and S166-34 of the johnson city housing codes. (exterior surfaces not in good repair and windows and doors not weather tight)

as per my phone call with the CE, he is looking into more serious violations under the New York State law MRE S174 (conditions not sanitary, improper ventilation) and is making a reccomendatoin for a rent reduction so he doesnt have to enforce the real property law S235-B (reduction of rent)


I was hoping that this will be enough to allow a breach of contract on the landlords part, allowing me a way out?

And what comes of tommorrow?, the LL was ordered to provide me with an appointment for carpet cleaning, and he totally failed on something as so simple as making a phone call, which shows no effort on his part, thereby making the CE able to violate him on MRL S174. I'm just real bent out of shape right now having this smell for 2 weeks....starting to loose sleep, kinda taking comfort on just rambleing my concerns as they come over night.
 

AGross

Junior Member
OK, code enforcement is of no help and the LL is still full of it, and now the landlord is makeing claims that I owe them money.


I made appointments with a few lawyers, but i was wondering if anyone could give me the name of a good lawyer who handles LL-Tenant disputes in the triple cities area of new york.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
AGross said:
OK, code enforcement is of no help and the LL is still full of it, and now the landlord is makeing claims that I owe them money.


I made appointments with a few lawyers, but i was wondering if anyone could give me the name of a good lawyer who handles LL-Tenant disputes in the triple cities area of new york.

www.attorneypages.com
 

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