How to deal with a slumlord neighbor?

Question

Have you ever had to deal with another landlord who is a slumlord?

I am in a small condo building and my unit A is adjacent to another unit B.  I rent out unit A and the other owner rents out unit B.  I maintain unit A regularly and have a long term happy tenant.  Unit B tenants come and go and the repeat stories I heard from them is their landlord "doesn't do anything".  OK many tenants would say the same and it's none of my business.

But unit A and B shares a common wall, where all the plumbing supplies and drains are.

So when something happens in that common wall, my tenant would call me and his tenant would call him.

One time the wall was wet, and I opened up the wall on my side and found a pin hole leak on his copper pipe.

Another time the wall was wet again, and I investigated and found a broken dishwasher drain hose on his end, and why would anyone run a DW drain hose into the common wall only to have it looped back into the sink cabinet 18" over?  and all kinds of kitchen waste crap was spilling into the common wall.

Several times the toilet won't flush, and it's in the main drain, I went to investigate and have it snaked from the common roof stack to clear the blockage.

Roach infestation issues (most likely caused by the broken DW drain hose spilling food waste into the wall) happened along that common wall, I went over and did pest control.

I can go on and on and on.

Whenever there is an issue, it's always up to me to handle, because he would ignore the issue, or simply tell his tenant he is "out of town at the moment."  I can't let the problem go unresolved because it would affect my tenant.

It got so bad that when there is a problem in unit B along or close to that common wall, that tenant would talk to my tenant (who may not even be experiencing the problem on his end yet) to call me to come out to investigate because "his landlord is hopeless".

Yet this is totally unfair to me.

Any thought on how to handle issues like this?  Yes technically speaking a common wall issue in certain situations are HOA responsibility so you can say just let HOA handles it.  But it is a 4 unit building with 4 owners, and we have always just operate by having the owners fix their issues then seek reimbursement from the HOA account so as to not having to go through too many steps to solve simple issues.

Patricia Steiner · Answer

A couple of recommendations from some of my many "hard earned lessons:"

Stop enabling that owner to be a deadbeat. Often times, we resolve issues that are not ours to fix - because we know how and we can.  Guess what? It's not appreciated; it's expected and enabling.  If there is a current issue, send him an email/letter advising of the specific issue, that it is negatively impacting your property, and that it needs to be corrected immediately.  Keep it factual, direct and concise. Do not tell him that you have fixed his maintenance issues in the past; he will only see your "kindness" as "weakness."

Tell your tenant to let the neighboring tenants know that they will need to seek remedies directly with their landlord. Suggest that the look up their rights as tenants to withhold rent for repairs not made.  You cannot be their advocate.  It's time for them to "cowboy up" and stand their ground with their landlord.

Let the other two owners know of the issues and that you may have to file claims for reimbursement with the HOA unless the offending owner starts to maintain his property.

Bottom line: Leave the problem where it belongs. Document it, demand that his property be maintained as to not negatively impact yours, and "out" him with the other owners.  You don't need to sell, you don't need to resent him (he's not worth the energy), and you don't need to help him either.

May the force be with you.  I'm on your side.

Jeremy Bourgeois · Answer

Hey @Sam Leon

Not a situation I'd like to be in... Unfortunately, some things are just completely out of your control. So, how do you get this situation under control?

Here are a few suggestions. They may be a bit extreme, but who knows, maybe they will help! Or at least help you think of other solutions to the problem.

• Submit an offer for his condo! If you are financially able to make this deal work, why not take control of both sides?
• Find his contact info, reach out, and try to come to some sort of agreement! Maybe giving him a call and just letting him know in a very tactful way how this is affecting you.
• Get in contact with the HOA! Let them know what exactly is going on and try to work on a solution that is best for everyone. However, I would try to work out a solution with the other landlord before doing this, as it could create some unnecessary tension if you didn't.

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Hopefully it helps you think critically and come to an intelligent solution in your mind!

Best of luck

Marc Winter · Answer

My understanding is that with condos, you own from the wall surface to the opposite side of the room.  That space between walls should be reported to and looked at by the HOA, IMHO.

If they won't do anything, and after talking nicely with the slum lord, if no action is taken, you'll have to be the squeaky wheel.

Roaches?  Call the local health department.  Wet wall, contact the HOA's insurance carrier; HOA's hate to have to answer to their carrier and have the rates increase.

Read over your condo docs thoroughly and get picky about the responsibilities of an owner/landlord.

Lastly, consult with your attorney.

Good Luck!

Scott Mac · Answer

Hi Sam,

You might end up having to sell it and find someplace else that's better.

Good Luck!

Sam Leon · Answer

Thank you Patricia, just to clarify, I am not fixing problems in the other unit.  What I was saying is, when there is a problem with the common wall, we don't know who's issue it is until we investigate.  So let's say there is some moisture on the wall, his tenant calls him, my tenant calls me.  He doesn't respond or he says he'll look at it when he "gets back in town" to his tenant.  Yet I move to investigate because I care about my tenants and my properties and want to prevent any damages from getting any further.  So every time I am the one who went to investigate from my side of the property.  One time there was a leak from his shower valve connection on the hot side, and I had to use an endoscope to capture a video to send to him before he came out 3 days later to fix, meanwhile I told his tenant to shut off the hot water heater inlet valve and only open it if absolutely necessary.  Another time again the wall got wet because his dishwasher drain hose broke in the wall and leaked everywhere.  Drain clogs that affected both units, it's always been me responding to my tenants first, and usually I solve it before his tenant sees a text back saying "I am out of town at the moment will get back to you soon".

There is no way not to "enable" without causing major inconvenience to my tenants.

If his tenant hears a drip in the wall, he would call his landlord, no reply.  He would then ask my tenant if he hears a drip, he goes to listen on his side, and may be hear a faint drip.  No idea what it is.  My tenant would say to him "I can call my landlord and he will come take a look, your landlord never does anything".  So this is kind of how it has been.  I can of course say let's wait a few days and see his landlord does anything, but in my mind I am also thinking, it could be a drip from a drain it could be a supply leak it could be from my unit, it could be from his, it could be a common problem or not, but if it's a leak then there may be mold, rot, termites critters etc...and really shouldn't be left unresolved so I would go and investigate, and he does nothing again.

How to deal with a slumlord neighbor?

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