What is the name of your state? Indiana
We currently live in a house with a landlord who is less than ideal. We've been trying to stick it out because we're planning on buying a home in the next 6-12 months. But issues keep stacking up.
1. There are electrical issues in the living room. The overhead light goes on and off as if there is a short in the wire and when we moved in he told us just to not use it. There are issues with the outlets too. If both are being used everything will flicker on and off.
2. The kitchen floor (but really the entire house) is not support properly. It sinks in the middle, so all counters and appliances are slanted and shake when you walk on it. He has 'fixed' it once but it is right back to where it was when we moved in. The entire house, all rooms and furniture in them lean toward the middle of the house even upstairs.
3. Apparently there was a kitchen fire that caused damage to the ceiling. Rather than fix it, he installed (badly) a suspended ceiling to just cover it. .
4. The roof leaks in multiple places. The first was enough to create a break in the ceiling above our stairs. We had to place a bucket down to catch the water. He ‘patched’ the leak but didn’t fix the ceiling. The second leak we’ve found is bad enough that an entire wall in our kids’ bedroom is soaked to the point of being able to poke a finger through the drywall. The paint is wavy with evident water damage. His response to this was that he would fix it when the weather is warmer. My concern with the leaks is obviously the possibility of developing black mold if it’s not there already.
I’ve tried to read up on our rights. From what I can tell he’s obligated to maintain the property, including the electrical issues. If there’s an issue and we report it, we’re supposed to allow adequate time to fix things. What is an adequate amount of time for these kinds of issues? I feel like our only option is to call the housing authority, but if they condemn the house we have nowhere to go. If it was just me and my husband, we’d just deal with it. But we have 5 kids and I just want them to be safe.
Any advice?
We currently live in a house with a landlord who is less than ideal. We've been trying to stick it out because we're planning on buying a home in the next 6-12 months. But issues keep stacking up.
1. There are electrical issues in the living room. The overhead light goes on and off as if there is a short in the wire and when we moved in he told us just to not use it. There are issues with the outlets too. If both are being used everything will flicker on and off.
2. The kitchen floor (but really the entire house) is not support properly. It sinks in the middle, so all counters and appliances are slanted and shake when you walk on it. He has 'fixed' it once but it is right back to where it was when we moved in. The entire house, all rooms and furniture in them lean toward the middle of the house even upstairs.
3. Apparently there was a kitchen fire that caused damage to the ceiling. Rather than fix it, he installed (badly) a suspended ceiling to just cover it. .
4. The roof leaks in multiple places. The first was enough to create a break in the ceiling above our stairs. We had to place a bucket down to catch the water. He ‘patched’ the leak but didn’t fix the ceiling. The second leak we’ve found is bad enough that an entire wall in our kids’ bedroom is soaked to the point of being able to poke a finger through the drywall. The paint is wavy with evident water damage. His response to this was that he would fix it when the weather is warmer. My concern with the leaks is obviously the possibility of developing black mold if it’s not there already.
I’ve tried to read up on our rights. From what I can tell he’s obligated to maintain the property, including the electrical issues. If there’s an issue and we report it, we’re supposed to allow adequate time to fix things. What is an adequate amount of time for these kinds of issues? I feel like our only option is to call the housing authority, but if they condemn the house we have nowhere to go. If it was just me and my husband, we’d just deal with it. But we have 5 kids and I just want them to be safe.
Any advice?
