If anyone out there is
like me I didn’t understand how many rights I had as a tenant and how many of
said laws had been broken by my landlords.
I highly suggest reading through your rights at http://www.tenantsunion.org/rights/
This website not only
explains your rights through the process of finding a place and signing a
lease, but also the rights you have when you are living there and are in need
of maintenance repairs.
I know I’m not alone
when I say my landlord has been neglectful of my phone calls regarding maintenance
issues. Suddenly you are going straight
to voicemail and your phone calls are mysteriously never being returned, now if
this happens it is important to know there is a solution.
First
Landlords have 24hrs to fix an issue which creates a dangerous
living environment, (electricity, heat, water temperatures, leaks that won’t
stop.)
Landlords have 72hrs to fix major appliances, (fridge
OR oven,) and plumbing
Landlords have a maximum
of 10 days to fix anything else that
requires maintenance
Second
If your landlord does not
respond there are several options you can:
· Report them· Fix it yourself
- Deduct the cost for repairs equaling as much as third of one month of rent
- Deduct the cost of labor and repairs equaling as much as half of one month’s rent.
It is important to know
your rights as a tenant because it appears that landlords tend to break many of
the laws we are privy to. So speak up and get
your landlords whipped into shape because lucky us they cannot retaliate on us
for reporting them!
Unfortunatly that is a common occurance. When I moved out into my first apartment, the original management wouldn't answer phone calls, wouldn't repair anything and they basically said we were liars when we said that something was wrong. When the new management took over, they immediately took over and fixed every issue and made it livable again! It is amazing how laws aren't upheld when it comes to tenats and landlords! I hope everything works out for you.
ReplyDeleteI’m saving your blog as one of my favorites, thanks. I was involved in the lease of my brother’s condo. I recommend landlords, too, to learn both sides’ rights and be transparent about information and other info like utilities, trash, and cable. My worst fear is squatters. Did you know that people broke into abandoned homes in Oregon and made a residence for themselves without the property owner’s consent? The government could not evict them. I had an attorney review the contract.
ReplyDeleteMy landlord tend to do things a bit haphazardly sometimes, but it could be worse. He does not ignore my phone calls, he just is wary of spending money. I think it is because originally he had planned to fix up the house and sell it, but then the market took a severe downturn. So he is just renting it until the market recovers. Still, that isn't a valid excuse. I am glad to know that you can just fix things yourself and take it off of the rent. I had always thought that I'd have to talk to him about it first. I probably still would talk to him first though as I would like to have a good recommendation out of him for my next place, and he is my first landlord that wasn't a friend. Great tips and I hope you plan to keep this blog up after the quarter is over!
ReplyDeleteI am lucky enough to have 2 absolutely fantastic landlords, folks that maintains the property consistently, but also replies to all my concerns. I feel lucky and this is the first time I have experienced this. the last place I lived in broke so many rules that it was insane. They would enter the apartment without giving you 24 hour notice, they took weeks to fix the leak in the toilet, a leak that was going everywhere, and were generally unresponsive to my worries and complaints. This was an apartment down in Belltown. So, this information is quite valuable and helpful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis is such good information to know. I lived in my own apartment for a few years and did not know the time frame that landlord had to fix things. I am definately saving this link for when I move out again. I am also going to share this with my exboyfriend because his hot water only gets Luke warm. And I didn't realize the landlords had to fix that
ReplyDeleteI am glad I could be of help to any and all. I ended up writing a 10 page paper on how gay people can legally be discriminated against by landords and wound up figuring out many laws that landlords skimp on or avoid completely.
ReplyDeleteI have had to deal with some of the same issues you have mentioned with my previous landlord and I am glad you have made some very important points on tenant rights. It is easy to forget that we have rights as tenants. A lot of the time when you rent you are treated as if you have to put up with whatever your landlord feels like doing and if you don't like it you should find another place to live. It's good to hear that isn't the case.
ReplyDelete