Slum Lord Refuses to improve leaky moldy rental property

By LuLu

My husband and I have been renting this house for over 10 years. The house is not up to code it has no back door and no windows that open and the garage leaks so bad there is mold throughout. We’ve endured the home because of its lot location but have tired requesting he improvements and being refused so we’ve taken to making  improvements ourselves. we’ve put in a new fence costing us a 1400. plus labor we’ve also cleaned his huge pile of garbage costing us 450. for a dumpster plus 6 days of labor gathering more of his garbage left behind from his former renters and his from his botched roof repair where he left hills of tattered tar paper and boards around the garage. Amongst this rubbage is huge limbs from trees he had cut away from the garages roof over four years ago, so we’ll have to remove those too, and all at our cost. I have taken pictures of it all and have kept our many receipts for labor and supplies, but getting our landlord to pay for even half of it will be pulling teeth as he has several rentals non of which or up to code. He says he likes to keep costs down and rent up. Doesn’t ever want to sell only rent forever. Is there anything we can do? We’ve offered to buy this property over seven years ago and he doesn’t want to sell. He owns it outright, bought it for 38 thousand 20 years ago and we paid that amount in the first five years of renting it. There has never been any written agreement of any kind between us. We like the house but it needs serious repairs in fact years ago we had the terminx do an inspection on its condition and their response was to burn it as the foundation was infested with termites and wood eating beetles. Veins from outside plants  have now penetrated the walls inside. I don’t know what to do I love its location and want to improve it, but at my cost?? Is there anything we can do to protect our investments?   

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