Foo - Morton's fork, serious apartment trouble.

I've got big trouble here.

I bought a house and now I want to break my lease. Problem: My landlord wants me to pay a lot of money, keep paying rent, and find a new tenant, which I guess is fair, except I don't want to.

More importantly, the building is falling apart and can't be fixed with me here.

There's a plumbing issue. There is damage from an exterior wall leak due to the weather and neighbor's lack of building maintenance. Fixing these would require me to move out. The plumbing issue is knocking this place easily out of code.


Okay, so easy solution, right? Call the city inspector, have them come out, declare the apartment untenable, break the lease. I move, then the damage can be fixed. It can't be fixed while I'm here: there will be no bathroom for weeks, and that is unsanitary and not acceptable living conditions. Hence my lease is annulled.

Problem.

The pluming issue was found due to the downstairs neighbor reporting a leak into their bathroom. This happened after multiple plumbing repairs in both bathrooms. Either the repairs were inadequate or incorrect or the issue was never noticed during repair.

I inspected the downstairs apartment.

I am not qualified to do this in any way.

I found two types of mold.

The downstairs neighbor goes on vacation a lot. The downstairs neighbor gets sick when here, and gets better when away for several weeks or a few months. The mold is making the downstairs neighbor sick, mold does that. I mean, maybe not, but something here is doing it and we know mold does that, this is a reasonable conclusion. More importantly, it could make them sick and it could cause long-term health issues.

The landlord cut that chunk of ceiling out and patched it with new drywall. This doesn't fix the issue. There is still a leak. There is still mold. It's now hidden.

Understand: these issues can cause severe health problems. If I call the city inspector, it'll be great for me: my lease will probably get broken, no penalty to me, though this will severely hurt my landlord. Moreover, the apartments affected or possibly the whole building could be condemned. The tenants may be forced to vacate, and the building may be declared unlivable until such time as proper repairs are made. This could make these buildings unprofitable to my landlord entirely and he may be forced to drop them.

If I don't call, people could unknowingly move into a moldy apartment and develop long-term health issues. Also not good.

Morton's fork. What do I do? One of these is a good cut-and-run strategy for me, both have negative impacts for others.

I'd call the inspector. The landlord is required to provide a safe, healthy place for people to live in. The building most likely won't be condemned, but it would have to be repaired.

The landlord needs to fix it. He should have insurance or some other means to take care of it.

Ask yourself how you would like to be treated if you were in this situation and go with that route.

Fixing mold is hard. It requires tearing out everything with mold in it. You have to not only fix the cause (whatever's making a supportive environment to incubate mold), but also remove the actual mold. That means removing pieces of the building.

That can't be done with people here. The people have to be removed first.

It most definitely will have to be repaired. I'm thinking if it's severe enough, though, the hazard may be too great to allow continued occupancy. Maybe not, but the black stuff is either mildew or it's a form of mold that WILL kill small children and the elderly; the green stuff is NOT mildew.

Paralysis by analysis. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated, make a decision and go for it. Speculating on the amount of repair needed is just that, speculation. Either call the inspector or call the landlord.

Paralysis by analysis. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated, make a decision and go for it. Speculating on the amount of repair needed is just that, speculation. Either call the inspector or call the landlord.

Maybe he could speculate over the mold

http://www.trimlinepaintinginc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/exterior-spackle.jpg

Maybe he could speculate over the mold

http://www.trimlinepaintinginc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/exterior-spackle.jpg

I see what you did there.

Buy the entire complex tickets to the same movie showing. While they are all out, burn the house down.

EPG?

El Coucho

A real-estate attourney would be worth their weight in gold here.
You'll want to be very familiar with the landlord-tenant laws for your area.
There are minimum standards the landlord needs to meet. These are set by law and can't be overturned by any lease.
With the inspection-data the attourney would be able to get you out of lease easily.

Why do you care about the other tenants? They will be but mere memories once you have been in your new home for several months.

All you are concerned about is getting out of the lease, and it appears you have a case, and now you need to support it with independent evidence from the city inspectors.

The landlord is using the very reason why you are hesitating on this to avoid doing the work that is needed... dislocation of tenants who probably can't afford to go anywhere. Unless he is called on it, and the tenants face the short-term discomfort of finding somewhere else to live, they will likely live there and die there... sooner than they need to.

I'd call the inspector. The landlord is required to provide a safe, healthy place for people to live in. The building most likely won't be condemned, but it would have to be repaired.

The landlord needs to fix it. He should have insurance or some other means to take care of it.

This. And you'll be doing your fellow tenants a favor, even it seems like you might not be. They're now living in unhealthy circumstances with mold, leaky plumbing, possibly sewage and who knows what else?

Plus, from a business perspective, your landlord is trying to hold you to a contract for which he is clearly not fulfilling his side of the bargain while holding you fully to yours. He's a sleaze to whom you owe absolutely no loyalty.

Report the conditions immediately.

This. And you'll be doing your fellow tenants a favor, even it seems like you might not be. They're now living in unhealthy circumstances with mold, leaky plumbing, possibly sewage and who knows what else?

Plus, from a business perspective, your landlord is trying to hold you to a contract for which he is clearly not fulfilling his side of the bargain while holding you fully to yours. He's a sleaze to whom you owe absolutely no loyalty.

Report the conditions immediately.this

Call the inspector. Sounds like the building should be condemned.

Inspector.

You need a smack for signing a long term lease then buying a house.
Now living conditions at your low cost rental joint suddenly have become a severe health issue?

You're going to have to man up on this money issue and take some financial responsibility or just be a louse and squeal to the building inspector.

You need a smack for signing a long term lease then buying a house.
Now living conditions at your low cost rental joint suddenly have become a severe health issue?

You're going to have to man up on this money issue and take some financial responsibility or just be a louse and squeal to the building inspector.

This. If the reason you bought a house was because the old place was that bad, you did it out of order; you should have gotten an inspector in, and once he agreed that the place was that bad, you could have said the landlord broke the lease by not providing an acceptable living conditions. Or if he disagreed, you should have waited out your lease before buying a house. If you signed a lease agreement, a legal contract to lease the place, you have an obligation to pay the full amount of the lease.

......and WTF is "Mortons fork"?

Both are at fault, but the real question is, do you have any hot neighbors who are going to be displaced? If so, call the inspector and tell them that you might have room for a couple of roommates in this new house you just happen to have bought. Charge them a little rent at first to cover your mortgage and stop charging if it goes anywhere. At the very least, you get some eye candy and a bit of your mortgage covered for a while.

Both are at fault, but the real question is, do you have any hot neighbors who are going to be displaced? If so, call the inspector and tell them that you might have room for a couple of roommates in this new house you just happen to have bought. Charge them a little rent at first to cover your mortgage and stop charging if it goes anywhere. At the very least, you get some eye candy and a bit of your mortgage covered for a while.

What if the "hot"neighbors beat the living crap out of this person first for leaving them homeless?

......and WTF is "Mortons fork"?

I figured it was some hole-in-the-wall Maryland town.

But I guess not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton's_fork (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton%27s_fork)

What if the "hot"neighbors beat the living crap out of this person first for leaving them homeless?

And why bring up that you're the cause of their homelessness? Some tact would seem to be required.

But I guess not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton's_fork (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton%27s_fork)

So the rent-ducker took a creative writing class.

And why bring up that you're the cause of their homelessness? Some tact would seem to be required.

Just like a fart in a hot tub,the nasty truth will come to the surface.

Just like a fart in a hot tub,the nasty truth will come to the surface.

:thumb:Another creative writer in the thread.

I would subtly warn the other tenants so they have ahead start on finding another place. Then call the inspector.

I would subtly warn the other tenants so they have ahead start on finding another place. Then call the inspector.

Another great brainstorm:thumb:
Now all the soon to be homeless tenants form a lynch-mob for bluefoxicy.

*This place is a Mecca of advice for winning friends.

Another great brainstorm:thumb:
Now all the soon to be homeless tenants form a lynch-mob for bluefoxicy.

*This place is a Mecca of advice for winning friends.

And you really thought he was going to get serious advice in the foo without any random inane ideas? Have you been here before?

As for a serious note, it sounds like it's an unsafe place to live and you really out to call the inspector (can this be done anonymously)? If he doesn't have a problem with it (or the slumlord has bigger pockets), you're on the hook for your legal requirement under the lease and no wriggling off for you. If he does shut the place down, you got lucky - this time (unless you went into a place that had problems for just this reason).

I hate dealing with landlord-type issues. It's looking like I'm about to have to go the legal route to get my security deposit (plus interest plus interest on last month's rent as proscribed by our state law) back and it's going to be a major pain in my ass. Our state is very tenant friendly, but I'm trying to finish up the last few months of my job here, will be going house hunting in a state 1000 miles away next month, and preparing to move there in the next 4 months or so and start a new job. The last thing I have time for is haggling with a dreadful person about money through the courts, but we are talking about a fairly significant (to me) amount of money (could increase my down payment on my next house by say 1-2% give or take).

I own rental properties, and if there were mold growing in any of my houses, I would want to know about it PRONTO! Hubby & I stress to all the idiot college kids we rent to call us if anything is out of order - from a leaky faucet to... well, whatever! I would advise the OP to make sure the landlord is aware of the problem - sounds like he has - and if he can't get a defined plan of remedial action, to call the inspectors. While it might be a pain for the other tenants, it will be healthier for them in the long run.

Aside from that, OP should read the lease carefully, and if the habitability section is being violated, OP would have cause to break the lease... if the landlord doth protest, the building inspectors can come to the rescue.

I own rental properties, and if there were mold growing in any of my houses, I would want to know about it PRONTO! Hubby & I stress to all the idiot college kids we rent to call us if anything is out of order - from a leaky faucet to... well, whatever! I would advise the OP to make sure the landlord is aware of the problem - sounds like he has - and if he can't get a defined plan of remedial action, to call the inspectors. While it might be a pain for the other tenants, it will be healthier for them in the long run.

Aside from that, OP should read the lease carefully, and if the habitability section is being violated, OP would have cause to break the lease... if the landlord doth protest, the building inspectors can come to the rescue.

Most likely the Natty Light and weed fumes will kill any mold at your WVU rental house(especially if it's the hockey team).


*You really think college kids want to contact you?

Most likely the Natty Light and weed fumes will kill any mold at your WVU rental house(especially if it's the hockey team).


*You really think college kids want to contact you?

correction - rural hick idiots? Glenville State College... and we get the more of the music major crowd. We have it all worked out - hubby is thier pal & Mr. FixIt & I call when the rent is late!

correction - rural hick idiots? Glenville State College... and we get the more of the music major crowd. We have it all worked out - hubby is thier pal & Mr. FixIt & I call when the rent is late!

good cop / bad cop. Excellent.

Devil's advocate. Say you move out. Don't call the inspectors, don't give landlord an opportunity to stop you. He comes after you for rent and penalties while waiting to find new tenant. You say, "I'm not interested in living in your moldy apartment." What's going to happen? He, operator of moldy apartment, sues you? I doubt it. He'll just find a new tenant.

Good luck.

correction - rural hick idiots? Glenville State College... and we get the more of the music major crowd. We have it all worked out - hubby is thier pal & Mr. FixIt & I call when the rent is late!

Music major crowd?
Sure wish I was a wildflowerweed/Natty Light vender in your town.

I own rental properties, and if there were mold growing in any of my houses, I would want to know about it PRONTO!

+1

Tenants are sometimes hesitant to report a problem. (Depends on the tenant.) It can get worse or cause more damage. More communication is a good thing about this sort of stuff as early intervention can save some major headaches.

(I'm not a landlord any more. I used to be, sort of, but didn't own property. I was renting a place, and renting out rooms from it.)