HELP!! NOXIOUS ODORS/Rental Disaster

[Elizabeth Schellhammer]

Hi Everyone! I really need some BP assistance for a situation in which my husband and I have found ourselves. This weekend was a real balls up.

My husband and I currently live in South Jersey and own three rental units. Last month, my husband accept a job in Stroudsburg, PA so we are currently trying to re-locate to PA. We want to eventually purchase but thought it best to rent something first in order to get acquainted with the area. Adam only had two weeks to find an apartment as he started his new job yesterday. Luckily, he was able to find something on short notice and on Saturday (7/9) we drove to PA, signed the lease at about 12:30 noon at the property management company's office and took possession of the apartment at about 2:00 in the afternoon.

Upon arrival to the apartment, we noticed a very strong chemical smell inside (all the windows were wide open) we turned on the over head fan to help. We then left to do some shopping and picked up a box fan from Walmart. We came home and set the fan up in the window to help air out the apartment. Then went for dinner. Around 8:45 we came home planning to watch a dvd and go to bed. By 9:30 I was sick with a head ache and nausea and Adam was having breathing issues, head aches and nausea due to the smell. Adam already has severe allergies, sees an ENT and takes shots daily. I am 6 months pregnant and because we were both having such a strong allergic reaction to the chemical smell in the apartment, we decided it unsafe to stay. We left around 9:30 to stay in a hotel for the evening.

First thing Sunday (7/10) morning we called the property management company explaining that we do not feel safe in the apartment and would like our first month and deposit back ($1600 that we had just given them the day before)

Now, of course, they are not willing to give us our money back and are trying to say that Adam was suffering altitude sickness and that my sense of smell is just extra sensitive due to being pregnant. I wish I could document of chemical smell other than just describing it. I can assure all of you that we are not being melodramatic.... As soon as you open the door to the apartment you are bombarded with a strong toxic stink.

Needless to say, we would just like our money back and to walk away amicably. Unfortunately, we are now both frustrated and agitated. What can we do? Threaten them to with a lawsuit for unsafe living conditions? Is there a period of time we are allowed out of a lease if we find a problem such as this? We weren't even able to stay in the apartment for one night... we informed the company within 12 hours of signing the lease that we felt unsafe in the apartment... and now we are looking to lose $1,600 over this. 

BP Please HELP US. 

[Michael Gansberg]

@Elizabeth Schellhammer, so sorry to hear about these trials and tribulations. Altitude sickness at 500 feet! Really crazy, that'd probably be a first in medical history. 

So you have a landlord from hell- why not fight fire with fire? Most building owners pay for the water(and are not sub-metered,) so I recommend this strategy. And since you're pregnant, best if your husband carries it out. Go to the rental office and say:

"Gee, we're so sorry that you couldn't see your way to giving us our money back. I had such a severe allergic reaction that I couldn't go to work and will probably lose my job, and upon researching it, we found that running the water in all of the sinks and showers at full bore tends to clean the air, so we're going to do that for the first 30 to 60 days of our occupancy, and we'll let you know if that helps. We did this yesterday, and it caused the ceiling to grow some mold, but I'm sure that's just temporary, we really LOVE the sauna-like feel of our new apartment!

You know, we're probably not going to be able to afford to pay rent in August or September, and since you're unwilling to discuss habitability with us now, we can talk about it in court. Say- why don't you just give us our money back, and we'll shut off the faucets and give you back your keys? That way everybody's happy, and you won't have a $5000 water bill!"

I hope this post doesn't become too popular. I usually side with the property owners, as property ownership is what I do for a living, but if I rented to someone and they had these issues, I'd refund them the deposit and first month's rent pronto.