Rental Issues (toilets, sinks, vermin)

[Aaron Gorum]

I am active duty military, just moved to SoCal. We rented a place mostly sight unseen due to time and distance constraints. The house is great and the land lord is some what attentive. However, many things he says are outside of this budget. The toilets continuously run (he pays for water), the sinks get clogged extremely easy (not allowing for easy daily cleaning), the a/c unit doesn't cool/heat the upstairs (the two bedrooms upstairs are at the whim of the daily heat). He has installed a portable a/c in my daughter's room to regulate the heat so she can sleep. However, the other room and bathroom still run approx 80+ degrees during the day. At night, we hear mice or other vermin in the walls. This causes my dog to be extremely restless and constantly barking at the walls when the vermin are active. In addition, there is evidence of water intrusion and water damage throughout the house. This, coupled with a lingering smell, leads us to believe there may be a mold issue.

Bottom line, is this: Do I have any way to get these issues corrected expeditiously. If he can't afford to fix the issues, do I have a case to negotiate a new rental rate as many claimed amenities are not up to par for the rental price. As a rental owner myself, I would not allow for this in my property.

Any recommendations would be very helpful. 

[Ned J.]

Most of these things you won't be able to force him to fix..... the issues sucks but its not a code or safety/habitability issue.

Pests....depends on your lease and time frame. Certain leases state that the landlord only covers pest control for the first 30-60 days etc and then its on the tenants, since by that time they are likely the reason why the pests are there....i.e they attract pests due to hygiene etc.

HVAC...... that level is not a code issue, so you wont be able to force anything. Depending on the building, layout and system, sometimes those issues are hard to combat no mater what.

Running toilets....annoying but cant force a fix...... often easy DIY fix

Sinks not draining...... pull the trap and clean them out...pretty easy to do yourself....if you are lucky, then that will fix you issue....if not its further downstream and you will need a plumber.

Water intrusion......best you can do is frame the conversation around the fact that the issue is destroying his property and investment and it's going to cost him more $$ in the long run if he doesn't deal with it now....appeal to his desire to make $$ on this place.....

Sucks but sometimes you have to just band aid the issue as best you can and/or fix them yourself until your lease is up and you move. Landlords will rarely negotiate a lower rent due to these issues.....