Landlord Won't Make Repairs, Selling House "As Is", What to Do?

Question

Hey everyone! I'm in a bit of a jam and wondering if you could offer any advice.

We rent a single family home that we only just moved into late last year. A few months later the landlord advised he was selling the house (even though we advised at the showing we had no intention of going through the moving process again for at least 3 years.) Unfortunately, it seems necessary as they are behind on the mortgage, so it's an "as is" short sale. I get it -- but come to find out it's likely he knew he was underwater when I signed a lease. This made me pretty upset.

Regardless, having a ton of investors touring my home brought to light quite a few serious issues, among others I brought up previously to the landlord (it's a very old home built in the mid 1800's). Issues such as:

- The ceiling is crumbling. They put drop ceilings in many rooms to catch and mask this, but the drop ceiling also failed one day, with (plaster?) and debris falling on top of me and my $5,000 worth of electronics (my home office desk). My $1,000 professional photo printer hasn't worked since that day because of all the plaster in it. We've been living with this since March.

- Fire hazard electrical. There is working knob and tube through the house (not a code issue per se, but I'm getting there). Aside from the fact that the current system can't handle the kinds of loads today's society normally puts on a house (single 15amp breaker for each floor, I can't have anything aside from the kitchen light on if I want to run the microwave), there is apparently romex incorrectly spliced into the knob and tube. There are extension cords being used in a permanent fashion running from the basement and through the house to some other rooms to provide more electricity in those rooms, and there are mounted power strips to provide these extension cords with power. Apparently huge fire hazards and/or against code.

- Rodents & windows. There are quite a few openings for rodents to enter the premises, which is also against code. The basement windows won't stay in and there are no screens for them, so rodents can enter and we can't properly ventilate to discourage mold (which I'm highly allergic to). There's also cracks in the foundation they could get through (and yes, the basement floods as the foundation is stones and plaster. The slants in the house are pretty insane from the settling and load bearing walls all on outside of structure. For instance, I can't put a certain piece of furniture on a certain wall as it would need a long 4" wedge on one end to even it out).

These are the massive issues that are against code (that I know of.) To give you a complete picture, there's also many other minor issues such as: the refrigerator is freezing all of the food and the light is broken (not the bulb), the kitchen light is broken (but the fan works), the doorknob latch sticks a lot so I can't close my door (it swings open from the slant in the house if not latched). The front door's lock is also antique so it gets stuck a lot and impossible to open, so not a reliable form of egress in a fire. There's .75 acres of grass to mow. I originally told him to not worry about it, but I couldn't get the tractor fixed (it was broken), so a friend has been taking 4 hours to mow it with a push mower every other week. Point is, it's in the lease and I haven't even asked him to do it.

Here's my issue. I've followed my states guidelines/laws and asked for these repairs since March/April, in writing. Each time he ignores me. He'll ask about the rent and ignore anything about repairs. It seems he just wants to collect his money until the house sells. I know it doesn't matter legally, but I know for a fact he's not paying his mortgages (which makes sense if he's trying to get a short sale approved by both banks.) The point is the principle of the matter, as I'm having an ethical issue here, not so much a legal one. He's a good guy with a big family. I get why he doesn't want to make repairs if he's selling as is. But he can't expect me to live in a technically uninhabitable or unsafe home, without repairs, for the same amount of rent. If I wanted to pay this much monthly for an unsafe home I would just buy a house myself -- and the mortgage would be even less than this rent. Technically speaking, it's my understanding that I can now legally withhold all rent in my state (Rhode Island) until repairs are made. I don't want to do this. I don't want to get minimum housing involved as it's my understanding they'll force him to make repairs. I just want to come to an agreement with him on what is fair for this home in this condition.

The rent is $1,500/month. Obviously it's not worth this amount (after living in it for a month I felt it wasn't worth this much even without the repair issues, so you can understand there are a lot of other issues I haven't noted here that make it an undesirable residence - friends and family kept asking me why the heck I was paying so much). As I said, it's a very old house in pretty awful condition (as an idea, it's going to sell for over $100,000 less than original purchase price 10 yrs ago. It's got lead paint. There's mice living in the garage -- I've yet to thoroughly inspect the basement. It's on a high traffic road and across the street from an expressway. Etc, etc.) Investors are advising it needs to be gutted, and many of them were concerned about me living in the home with the electrical as is, crumbling ceiling, etc. It won't qualify for FHA financing because of the poor condition.

Question: after knowing all of this, what do you think is a fair resolution or rent for the home in this condition?

FYI -- in case someone was going to suggest "just move", trust me, I'm trying. It's tough to save up funds to move twice in a year. It's also difficult to find appropriate single family rentals in the surrounding areas. Just note, I've been looking, but this is the situation I'm at now and my rent is due. Just got the email asking where it is. Of course no mention of the repairs.

Really appreciate any advice anyone can offer me, and I'm happy to answer any questions if it helps. Thanks for your time everyone.

Account Closed · Answer

So, what it is you are after, is cheaper rent until you move.  Right?  Only you can know what it's worth to you to live in a junky old house.

Just know that if you call the building inspector in, and he/she says the place is not habitable, they can simply tell you you have to move out.  The law might say the landlord is responsible to pay for your relocation expenses, but if he's broke and about to file bankruptcy, you'll never see that money anyway.  And now, you have to move immediately instead of when you want to.

You do have a legal right to be reimbursed for your out-of-pocket losses due to the ceiling falling down.  The landlord could always say that you should have had renter's insurance, but at least it's a real loss you can prove.

If you want to get him by the short and .... hmmm maybe I shouldn't say that here LOL...  what I'd suggest is you file a claim in small claims court for the out-of-pocket costs you have had (ceiling damage, printer, cost of working on tractor? etc.).  And if you win, you could immediately put a lien against the property.  Then, you would have to be paid as part of the escrow proceeds.

But, the rest of your story is fluff.  You're fine staying there until you feel like moving.  You accepted it the way it is, and you are still okay with living there indefinitely, you're just mad that the landlord is greedy.  Well, from where I sit, that seems to be your motivation, too.

But, I think you have good reason to be worried about getting your deposit back.  So, I suggest you file in small claims court.  And if you are approached to settle, you can discuss being paid your security deposit now and pay cheaper rent.

James DeRoest · Answer

Move. If you've deemed it a fire hazard, then your only course of action is to move. Follow whatever procedure is laid out in your state law to break a lease.

You really can't use something that is a hazard as a reason to leverage, "I'll pay less rent because the electric is unsafe and may burn down the house with me in it".

Mike Hanneman · Answer

What should rent be for this home in this condition? Rent is set by market, meaning what someone is willing to pay, you are willing to pay $1500 so thats what rent is. Sorry but that's how it is.

Sorry but you pretty much have three options; one get him to release you from the lease, you should be looking for another place already if you haven't started. This can be in form of cash payment to him, I know, I know... or any other creative way you can think of. Tell him about a law he broke with the unit.

Or your other option is to take him to court, again I know...

Option 3 is to ride this out and see what the new owner/landlord is going to be like.

You have to remember that you agreed to rent this place and I'm sure it wasn't in the best condition then. So you are probably going to have to lay in the bed that you made on this one. Whatever you do, don't just quit paying rent or that will only hurt you, you will be in breach on contract and then he could evict you and permently scar your record. Look into your state laws and see what you can do if anything and get on this, or don't.

Heather S. · Answer

Thanks all, so much, for your advice.

Some of you are correct -- some things I could have noticed upon my walkthrough. Colleen was right, I moved in hastily -- we were living with a friend in her house. When my daughter was born we ended up taking up most of the house with "baby stuff" and my friend lost her home office. She loves my daughter (she's her godmother) but our relationship was getting strained by the day. We had to move out quickly, and rentals in Sept/Oct are few and far between, nevermind winter. If I didn't take it, we would have likely had to stay until spring, and unsure what would have happened with our relationship in the meantime. During the tour, the realtor sat on the porch and didn't know anything about the house. I didn't know what to look for, and I certainly don't know what is/is not building code. As for the other things (slanting floors etc) yes, I noticed and was not complaining about them, just trying to give everyone a fuller picture of the residence as it is. The important distinction here is -- just because I, as a layman, didn't notice something was out of code, doesn't mean it's no longer a code violation. The landlord might not have known either, but he can't be sued for signing the lease under "false pretenses" because it contains a warranty of safety clause (it's also state law). That's incredibly hard to prove. He can just be forced to fix it.

It seems our state runs a bit different then each of yours, respectively. In my state, I'm now legally allowed to withhold ALL rent until repairs are made. Me actually making an "arbitrary number" payment actually shows good faith.

Our state is very much for tenants. I've spoken to quite a few landlords these past few days and their stories about their own experiences or what they've seen in court (while waiting their turn) are fascinating, almost always in favor of the tenant. Asking landlord's about what I should do made me feel like I was stepping into the lion's den, but every one advised to put the rent into escrow, not pay anything, and go to court. Yes, I was shocked too. They pretty much said you can't just ignore a tenant's repair requests and expect to keep getting your money like nothing's wrong. They wouldn't dream of ignoring any requests like this. Either do your duty as a landlord or face the consequences.

Even after hearing all of this, still not comfortable giving him nothing. As Mike said, I'm going to attempt to open a dialogue and see where it goes. If I have to resort to anything legal so be it, but I'd like to try settling this outside of court first. Hopefully we will find a place soon and it will only be in affect for a short period of time.

Mike H. · Answer

Youre not going to be able to arbitrarily pay a lesser amount in rent because of the issues. That doesn't hold up in court.

1) Now what you could try -keyword try - is telling the landlord that you are NOT going to pay 1,500 for this house given all the issues. And that you want him to agree to lower the rent to 750/mo because of all the issues. And if he fails to agree, that you will be calling the local building department and they'll shut him down anyway and he'll end up getting $0 per month plus the possibility of a bunch of fines.

If that doesn't work, then you have a couple other options.

2) Contact the building department and stick it to him. But that might very well mean they tell you the place is not inhabitable and you have to move. And yes, you could go after him for your expenses, but the key there is can you collect?

3) Pay him the 750/mo and see who blinks. He could theoretically take you to court over it. But would a landlord really do that? Odds aren't likely but he could and then you could end up with an eviction on your record. So its a risk.

So if you're looking to lower your rent, those would be the three options I would probably suggest you pursue. But understand that there is no guarantee any of them will end up working out in your favor. And the latter one could result in an eviction that you probably don't want.

But if I had to bet, I think he might very well agree to lower the rent to avoid the attention by the building department - especially if he's trying to push a short sale through. His buyers are not going to be thrilled to seeing an order that noone can be living there. And if he doesn't and you simply pay him that 750, i'd guess that he probably wouldn't push his luck to come after the rest.

And if he does, then you go to the building dept so you can show the judge how bad the place is and that he isn't making any repairs to address them.

Lastly, I'd add that every state, county and even town has their own rules. Yours may very well have some sort of way to compensate tenants for that kind of situation. And the other thing you could do if you get a judgment is possibly put a lien on the property. That would prevent a short sale from going through without you getting paid your lien amount.......

A foreclosure, I believe, would likely wipe that out.

Colleen F. · Answer

To me when you look at a house there are things you can see and those you can't. Slanting floors and doors you accepted when you moved in. I would say basement condition should have been observable as well.  In general number of outlets too.  Its up to you if the rent is worth the property when you sign the lease. you say it is tough to find appropriate single family rentals in the area, does that mean maybe this is what $1500 gets you in your area? or were you pressed for time when you took this rental and did not consider it fully?

Now some things you can't see. A falling ceiling repair or if you experience electric issues you could not have known.  State law may have a provision for withholding rent for requested repairs as self help but those are usually minor repairs not an electric system. So from what you are telling us it sounds like you should try to build a case for move out without penalty as you consider it a fire hazard.   The question  really will be can you find a better place for what you have to spend? I would start looking.

On the we don't want to move for 3 years. Things happen and I have had many tenants say this kind of thing and move so although people should be upfront it is possible that he didn't and is just now getting a handle on his finances.

Heather S. · Answer

Thanks for the advice David. As an FYI, it's not the lightbulb, the socket it's in is incredibly loose (the lightbulb does sometimes come on), and the fridge is on the warmest setting with nothing blocking the vents etc. I do a lot of research and try fixes before I deem something "broken". Likely a bad damper control, but I agree and did mention these were minor. I'm not helpless and I have done a lot of things around this house myself -- was just trying to avoid explanation and make a long post a bit shorter. =)

I do know my normal remedies, both legal and via the code office etc, but I'm trying to avoid both. I was hoping someone would offer up an opinion on what a fair rent would be for the home in this condition until we can find another place to live.

David Sisson · Answer

http://rentprov.com/

a good place to start learning about what you can do in RI.

Obviously, you are going to move out of this house, soon, either because it gets sold, or because you never should have moved in to begin with.

I can't tell you what you can or cannot do. Get a lawyer (hopefully free) to give you some advice.

Another option: negotiate an exit with your landlord. Example: you get your damage deposit back now, and he gives you a free month's rent to find another place. In exchange, you move out within a month and don't make a deal about all the repairs.

Obviously, a bad situation for you. Some of the things you mentioned are not a deal. For example, you should learn how to change a light bulb (yes, even in your fridge) and learn how to reach inside your fridge and adjust the temperature so it does not freeze your food. This isn't the landlords fault.

Some other issues are inconvenient, but you were aware of them when you moved in.

Others are real safety issues. Get some legal advice, then negotiate with your landlord for an exit, and canceling out the rest of your lease. You will need a new place to live, unfortunately, so keep looking. If you do negotiate with your landlord, you need a signed document showing the lease is canceled, and any other terms of your departure.

As a last resort, you can always go to your local building dept and ask them to inspect the home for safety - they will be very interested in the electrical system, for example, and you may be forced to leave. I say this is a last resort, because you don't want to end up in court for unpaid rent, even if it's not your fault.

Landlord Won't Make Repairs, Selling House "As Is", What to Do?

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