Landlord refuses to fix things.

[Kaldric2020]

I live in Georgia of the united states.

I have been loving at the same place 5+ years. me my brother and my gf. there's alot that needs to be fixed. plumbing especially. about a year and a half ago, he refused to fix the plumbing, so we paid someone to fix it. He also told us that the plumbing pipes where cracked/broken from the house to the cleanout. siad it would cost 600 dollars to fix/replaced. Told the land lord, he told me he would have it fixed. year and a half later. he still hasnt fixed it, we keep having plumbing issues, and he keeps refusing to pay, we are on ssi so we cant afford to move else where. we are stuck he wont pay even though in the lease it states that anything over 200 dollars he will pay to have fixed/replace. and everytime we try to get him to do it, he refuses to unless we pay half or so much. What can we do?

 

[HRZ]

GEorgia courts have held that tenant can repair and deduct for needed repairs ...I am far from up on GA details but perhaps others here can help you zero in on what works ...if the sewer line to street has failed it makes no sense that tenant is required to pay for repairs ....irrespective of what is in lease, the LL has a duty to provide a place fit for habitation. And beyond that $200 point, the lease seems to echo same . P

 

[Kaldric2020]

can you get m,e the law information? number or what not HRZ

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Tenants in Georgia need to be EXTREMELY careful before they try that repair and deduct business. They need to be aware that Georgia tends to be a very landlord friendly state.

It would be far better to contact your local Code Enforcement Office first and explain the issue as well as how long this has been going on.

Gail

 

[LdiJ]

Tenants in Georgia need to be EXTREMELY careful before they try that repair and deduct business. They need to be aware that Georgia tends to be a very landlord friendly state.

It would be far better to contact your local Code Enforcement Office first and explain the issue as well as how long this has been going on.

Gail

I agree, but they were adamant that they cannot afford to move. Contacting code enforcement might get the place condemned and then they would be forced to move out.

 

[Kaldric2020]

thing is i am afriad that if we contact code enforcement, we will either be kicked out by pissing off the landlord, or kicked out from the place being condemned. both of which i cant afford.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Your landlord can't simply "kick" you out; only a court can grant an actual eviction (most tenants do not realize this).

Your problem is if you try the "repair and deduct" route without covering your bases (so to speak) first in terms of notifying the landlord of the repairs needed AND KEEPING DOCUMENTATION OF SUCH you may find yourselves facing a court hearing for an eviction by the landlord for not fully paying your entire rent.

And it's typically unusual for Code Enforcement to condemn a rental unit unless the issue is very dangerous or unhealthy for the tenant to remain there. In which case, afford or not, it is simply unsafe for you and any family members to continue to reside there. However, in most cases, the solution is to require the landlord to make the repairs or approve the idea of the repair and deduct route for the tenant.

Gail

 

[Kaldric2020]

okay I emailed him a bill when we last had it snaked (augered) stated that the pipe had collasped. I emailed him this and still have the email saved. that was almost a year and a half ago. and even if he does repair it, he could raise the rent to $800 like he said he would specially if he's being forced to do the repairs. I cant afford that so either way i am boned. not to mention he knows the carpet is torn to shred and needs replace, the outside of the house is baddly damaged and decaying, the inside where the dining room is there's a massive crack in the ceiling *roof isnt leaking though) the handles on half the bathubs is bent and broken, half the door frames in the house needs replaces as well as the doors. we already replaced a suppourtbeam for the roof of the carport because it was falling apart. alot of shit needs to be fixed he knows about it, not on paper. but he knows and he wont do a damn thing, and even when he does he tries top force us to pay half the costs. Also he did say that he would fix the pipes and all that, AFTER we moved out.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

How much rent do you pay?

 

[Kaldric2020]

i the rent is 750 a month, but due to discounts that was agreed upon and written within the lease i only have to pay 500 a month. and even this is stretching money thin with all the bills. i am only on fixed income, if he raises the rent, then i will have to move out because i cant afford another 300 a month. which even paying 500 a month for this trash heap is a generous amount

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Well, that's your problem. Trying to find a place with rents of only $500 a month that doesn't have issues is going to be next to impossible. Is everyone (your brother, your girlfriend) also on SSI or does anyone actually have employment?

Gail

 

[Kaldric2020]

me and my brother are both on SSI my gfis looking for a job but with no luck.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

SSI benefits are poverty level in Georgia. So tenants are often limited on their rental choices. I have a friend whose only income is her husbands service connected disability (not 100 percent); I'm not sure why she cannot work because she has been turned down for disability nine times so it's unlikely she'll ever get this. She complains she cannot work around "stupid" people (well, welcome to the real world). So they are stuck living in a rathole of a mobile home park paying $500 for a trailer that leaks during rains and for six months had no power to half the trailer. The washer hose discharges out under the trailer directly onto the ground and it smells like the septic system has backed up into the place. Half the folks who live there appear to be on drugs which is convenient since the other half appear to sell drugs. She and I do animal rescue and I can no longer stand to hear the tales of trailer park trash throwing cats on fires or the guy that felt his girlfriend spent too much time with their eight week old puppy so in a fit of anger he snapped the puppy's neck in front of her. Honestly, the entire park should be bombed out of existence. But the two of them feel stuck in the place due to their financial constraints too. And they fear complaining about their repair issues will lead to termination of their lease.

 

[Kaldric2020]

I am much in the same situation, and I have been in a trailor park as well, not many of the ones I seen are well managed. and Yeah SSI benifits such, if it wasntfor my little bro living with me and my GF we wouldnt even be here. I mean I dontever contact the landlord or rather slum lord for anything save for having the place snaked. its too much of a hassle to deal with him, he never wants to pay out for anything even for something as small as a 20 dollar fix, of which we paid to repair oursleves before contacting him. he tried to get us to cover 50 to 75% of the cost if not all on EVERYTHING. I am not here to complain bitch or moan, I am sure if the code enforcement was called in the place would be condemned. But thats my opinion i'm not a professional. Also dunno how much of it is true, but I looked it up under a legal aid, and I dont know if it's changed but since 2011 in the state of GA, Landlords are OBLIGATED to repair anything the house needs repairs. I dunno if there was anything more current, because I couldnt find it. the problem iIS, however, if he will raise the rent or not if forced to fix and if he can have us evicted due to forcing him to fix it, or if he can evict us for 'repair and Deduct'

 

[LdiJ]

I am much in the same situation, and I have been in a trailor park as well, not many of the ones I seen are well managed. and Yeah SSI benifits such, if it wasntfor my little bro living with me and my GF we wouldnt even be here. I mean I dontever contact the landlord or rather slum lord for anything save for having the place snaked. its too much of a hassle to deal with him, he never wants to pay out for anything even for something as small as a 20 dollar fix, of which we paid to repair oursleves before contacting him. he tried to get us to cover 50 to 75% of the cost if not all on EVERYTHING. I am not here to complain bitch or moan, I am sure if the code enforcement was called in the place would be condemned. But thats my opinion i'm not a professional. Also dunno how much of it is true, but I looked it up under a legal aid, and I dont know if it's changed but since 2011 in the state of GA, Landlords are OBLIGATED to repair anything the house needs repairs. I dunno if there was anything more current, because I couldnt find it. the problem iIS, however, if he will raise the rent or not if forced to fix and if he can have us evicted due to forcing him to fix it, or if he can evict us for 'repair and Deduct'

Have you tried to get Section 8 benefits so that you could perhaps get a better place to live?