When we moved into this house almost two years ago, we immediately discovered the master bath shower did not drain. We called the landlord, and she had someone come out and snake it out. It's never been properly fixed--sewage backs up into the shower/toilet overflows/toilet makes gurgling noises when any water is running. One plumber said the whole shower needed to be ripped out and the plumbing redone, but the only thing she has ever allowed is snaking. That's been done 10 or so times in the last 22 months. Today, water starting coming up out of the shower. It flooded the entire master bedroom, the hall bath that backs up to it, part of the hallway, and the entry to my son's room before we found it. She would not call her insurance company, but got her boyfriend to bring a shop vac over. He quickly realized that wasn't going to clean it up, but sucked enough water out to be able to pull the carpet up. He brought a small room humidifier (not an industrial strength one). This was sewage... not clean water. He left with no intentions of doing anything to sanitize. I suspect they will simply put down new carpet. The baseboards are wet. The walls are wet. My son's room only had the water shop vac'd. No mention of even cleaning it. The house REEKS. We had to move all our MBR furniture to the garage, so DH and I have no bed. What are our rights? We have not yet mailed this month's rent (due by the 5th), so I have considered telling her we will not stay here another night unless the rooms are sanitized. Any hotel fees will be deducted from our rent. Do I have the right to do that? We have given notice that we will be moving out in January, so I suspect she is doing as little as possible and thinking no one will know. But, it's SOOOOO GROSS, and we will be here at least one more month!!
What a nasty experience with the dirty water... Seems to me that since you guys have already given your notice, to take effect in a few weeks' time, if you start trying to bill the landlord through your remaining rent, she will just record you as being in arrears. Meanwhile, you guys will move out, with what amounts to 'arrears' of infringed rights, chargeable to her. Although the law varies from state to state, I think though that the idea of 'arrears' of infringed rights is not simply exchangeable with the idea of rent arrears/surplus, without a further, specific agreement between the parties. Hope you guys get sorted out okay. Sounds a nasty thing to happen in the run up to Christmas, anyway.
Tenant/landlord laws vary by state, but most states would list sewage backup as something that has to be addressed by the landlord. Try contacting your city health board. Aren't you in TX? I found this and it mentions sewage backup and tell you how to handle it. http://www.tyla.org/tyla/assets/File/Tenant'sRightsPamphlet2012.pdf
I'm not in TX (hoping to move back to TX!!). I'll have to check the laws out more closely. We have a fellow swim parent who is a lawyer. I'll ask him for advice tomorrow.
Nothing whatsoever is mentioned about sewage. State codes only state that the landlord must keep plumbing working. Technically, she has not done that. The master bath has only been usable maybe 3 or 4 months of the time we've been here. She has sent out numerous plumbers (her friends/boyfriend, only one real plumber), so I know she would say she has tried. She even told us it was the city's responsibility, so we had them come check it out. They said the water meter is missing something, and because of that they couldn't do anything but what we were describing was her responsibility anyway.
Well, sounds like the landlord is technically in the wrong, but since she knows you guys are moving out, lawyering might take time. I guess lawyering and moving the gridlock are not necessarily the same, if you guys can figure some amicable way out, intread. (Easy to say, I know.)
That's not dirty water - it's black water. Big, important difference. We had a small leak once in the bathroom. Called the plumber, found out it was black water. Insurance company called a clean up company. I could not BELIEVE the amount of material (flooring, drywall) that had to be pulled out because of the potential for disease. For one small leak. If I were in your shoes, this morning I would get on the phone with the government office that oversees rental law and see what they have to say.
I was also thinking that it would be a good idea to call your local city and find out who you need to call in the health department. http://www.mslegalservices.org/reso...if the landlord does not repair after 30 days
But what if it's an emergency situation? I mean, you can't live with water pouring into the apartment! Thirty days doesn't sound like an option!
Also: if you ask the local authorities for emergency re-housing on health grounds, then in order to avoid the expense that this would entail, they might lean heavily on the landlord to fix the problem.
I know about the pulling up everything! We owned our previous home and had a leak that caused flooding. We also called our insurance company and the dry out process started. The rooms were treated for mold spores. The baseboards were removed. Two feet up of drywall was cut out. I also believe that we had to prove the plumbing was fixed (not covered by insurance). We had no choice anyway - a pipe burst inside the wall. That's how I know this wasn't done right. I made an off-handed comment about being unsure why the insurance company wasn't called, but the boyfriend ignored me. We will make some calls when everything opens up. We have no renters' insurance. (We live too close to the beach and are uninsurable.) We moved all of our furniture out before it could be damaged, but we also can't claim hotel costs or anything with our own insurance company.
I'd contact a lawyer who will give you a free consultation. Free consultations are a normal deal around here. At least you know where you stand.
Call the courthouse and ask who you need to talk to there about city codes. Get a city inspector out to your house. Sorry but I feel this is a health/safety issue and goes beyond "my landlord won't repaint my wall and the paint is chipped" The city should step in and help you deal with your landlord.
The city's environmental codes agency (part of the health dept.) is who I called this morning. They were no help. DH called a former lawyer that he is friends with. He wasn't sure who to call, but said our landlord is awful and her dad is the former District Attorney. He seemed to think we have a hard battle ahead. DH is also friends with a guy high up at the water dept. so he is going to be our next call. So far we haven't heard from her at all this morning. DH texted her boyfriend and told him that we expect clean up and disinfecting before new carpet is laid. DS's carpet is still wet.
Oh, the landlord/tenant laws do state that we can vacate immediately in a hazardous situation. But, as Farouk stated, she may retaliate and give us a bad renter's recommendation and sue us for the remainder of the lease (Dec. 31). We also have nowhere to go. Closest family is 6 hours away We have no close friends here. DH doesn't even have a job after Dec. 31. We certainly can't afford extra expenses. The reality is we are in a small town as outsiders. This is a land of "who you know".
I'm so sorry that you are having to deal with this on top of everything else going on. Praying the landlord steps up and takes care of things the right way.
1. Called the Health Dept. main office--no help 2. Called the Environmental Codes office again--no help 3. Called the City's Public Information Hotline--gave us a number for MS Legal Services. DH called but could not stay on the line for a wait time of over an hour. 4. Called a lawyer that we know-- He had no idea who to refer us to. 5. Called a city worker that we know--He also had no idea how to help. Meanwhile... I have done a bazillion loads of laundry (every towel in the house was thrown on the floor in an attempt to stop the water from going further). DH's clothes were stacked in the floor of his closet, which flooded, because we sold his dresser in anticipation of the upcoming move. They all had to be washed. The landlord did finally call today and said she was sending someone out today to clean up. So far we have heard nothing else. We stressed the importance of remediation, but she didn't seem to take that seriously. She did say she has finally realized that they will have to gut the back part of the house and completely redo the plumbing when we move out. The house had been gutted and redone before we moved in. We were the first to live in it post-Katrina. She cut a lot of corners (other places as well) and is now paying for it. I would honestly live without carpet for a discount on rent, if she would ensure that the place is sanitary and clean!!
