Suing landlord

[Rshetzer]

We are in Indiana

Me and my husband rented an apartment with all utilities included. Right after signing lease and moving in we were informed our breaker box was in a completely different apartment. This leads to problem #1 the breaker would always trip leaving us in the dark. Sometimes the electric would come back on right away if neighbor was home to switch the breaker back on other times we had to wait hours in the dark. We stayed for a year and a half with promises that an electrician was coming out.

Problem #2 we were supplied No heat from December 2018 until the season was over in 2019. We left in Aug 2019 and still no heat. He attempted to fix in January but never did. We complained and were told to use space heaters sparingly and his response once was "thank goodness it's getting warm outside".

All utilities were paid by landlord. He had a duty to provide us with heat and electricity so I'm wondering if we can sue him our months rent for the months we didn't have heat? We had a child with us in the unit as well. Is it too late to sue since we didn't withhold rent and kept living there?

 

[LdiJ]

We are in Indiana

Me and my husband rented an apartment with all utilities included. Right after signing lease and moving in we were informed our breaker box was in a completely different apartment. This leads to problem #1 the breaker would always trip leaving us in the dark. Sometimes the electric would come back on right away if neighbor was home to switch the breaker back on other times we had to wait hours in the dark. We stayed for a year and a half with promises that an electrician was coming out.

Problem #2 we were supplied No heat from December 2018 until the season was over in 2019. We left in Aug 2019 and still no heat. He attempted to fix in January but never did. We complained and were told to use space heaters sparingly and his response once was "thank goodness it's getting warm outside".

All utilities were paid by landlord. He had a duty to provide us with heat and electricity so I'm wondering if we can sue him our months rent for the months we didn't have heat? We had a child with us in the unit as well. Is it too late to sue since we didn't withhold rent and kept living there?

Its too late. You needed to sue at the time.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

"Is it too late to sue since we didn't withhold rent and kept living there?"

Very likely so. This would imply to a court that while a nuisance, you agreed with these living situations. Keep in mind that a breaker "popping" (shutting off) is not necessarily an indication of an electrical issue such as bad wiring. The breaker is doing what is should; shutting down the power when the load on the wiring is so great that it increases the risk of fire because of this load.

At any rate, if you find yourself in the same situation again, it would be a good idea to notify the landlord of these issues in writing (so you have documentation of such) and if not remedied within a certain time period then the next step would be to contact your local Code Enforcement Office to discuss your concerns.

Gail

Reply

 

[FarmerJ]

in many cities it is not legal for a landlord to have a breaker box aka fuse box in a area that the tenant it serves has no access to it as to heat not working and lack of access to the breaker box , call inspections out and let them order the LL to correct the problems OR move when your lease is up.

 

[Just Blue]

in many cities it is not legal for a landlord to have a breaker box aka fuse box in a area that the tenant it serves has no access to it as to heat not working and lack of access to the breaker box , call inspections out and let them order the LL to correct the problems OR move when your lease is up.

OP moved out on Aug. 19th of this year.

 

[FarmerJ]

Rshetszer if you had stayed on then the best thing to do would have been calling inspections who could have ordered corrections but since you vacated you ended any harm you think happened and suing would be pointless , just how would you prove you were harmed ? Even if you had stayed and ended up in court what do you think a judge could do for you ?

 

[Rshetzer]

Rshetszer if you had stayed on then the best thing to do would have been calling inspections who could have ordered corrections but since you vacated you ended any harm you think happened and suing would be pointless , just how would you prove you were harmed ? Even if you had stayed and ended up in court what do you think a judge could do for you ?

Well if we would have broken our lease agreement in anyway you can probably bet that the landlord or any landlord for that fact would take us to court for damages so basically in this case the landlord broke the lease agreement by not supplying the utilities that were suppose to be supplied per contract. We vacated the property in Aug for fear we would be going another Winter with no heat. We paid him his rent for each month because we didn't want to have bad blood between us and him.

Am I wrong when I'm reading that in our county that we can sue for rent paid plus punitive damages when a heating source isn't provided?

 

[FarmerJ]

Your free to try to sue BUT when you go to court your going to have to bring with you proof of complaints made to the landlord and the number one item on that list would have been a building inspections report where the inspector had ordered repairs and LL refused to comply. ( Inspections cant help you after you moved out) 2nd item that can show a judge something is wrong is two fold , your copy of postal receipt for certified or registered mail and your copy of the letter to the LL that told the LL the heat wasn't working and perhaps a written report from a heating contractor that tells the LL what is wrong and how much it cost to fix. 3rd way also is second and third copies of your demand letter(s) to the LL that the heat isn't working. SO if you tell a judge that I told the LL it was broken do you understand the LL can say no you did not and its up to you in a court to prove other wise ? Tenants who move out as a way to react to a landlords refusal to make repairs have ended the ability to force repairs so once they are out inspections cant help them because a landlord doesn't have to allow inspectors access to a rental unit that a complaining former tenant no longer controls.