Difficult Landlord - What are the options?

[David T.]

Hey BP, here's a scenario that poses a number of issues and I'd like to get an opinion on how it might be dealt with. There are several issues arising here, so the problem will require some skill to resolve.

New Tenant moves into the property - one of a duplex. First issue is the very next day, the previous tenants call by complaining about how they were treated, particularly that they did not get their deposits back and the landlord was snooping through their stuff while they were at work.

Second issue is the landlord controls the AC and heat and despite numerous requests, refuses to turn on/up the heat when it gets cold. Temperature in the unit has gone as low as 40 degrees because of this. Tenant has become ill with a chest infection as a direct result. This is covered in the lease. Tenant pays 33% of utility bills.

Third issue is that having signed a lease, the Landlord has failed to provide the tenant with a copy despite several requests.

Finally, within a few weeks of moving in, the landlord has come on the property several times when the tenant was not there. Stuff was moved around and nobody else has a key. The Tenant confirmed this with the landlord at the signing and also stressed no entry to the premises unless someone was there to supervise.

The tenant has paid a sizable deposit and signed a lease. The question we have here is how would you deal with this if you found yourself in these circumstances?