help, my landlord is a COMPLETE pest, what to do??
By Harry by the beach
Hello all…
My landlord and his wife are older and retired. I think the landlord might also have a touch of OCD. Long story short, since he doesn’t appear to have any hobbies, he obsesses about his rental property (it’s a tri-plex). I have only been here for 8 months, and he or his manager have been in my apartment perhaps 10 times or more for various minor things. It seems he just creates issues to keep busy. Examples include: wanting to measure my stove to replace the rear unit’s stove; replacing the light fixture in the bathroom (even tho the thing worked just fine); resurfacing the front door frame so that the door didn’t stick as much (I made no complaint about this at all… he just decided it needed to be done); touching up the paint in the bathrooms; removing built-in heaters in the bathrooms because they were not safe; one time he and the manager just came in to look for any potential future maintenance issues!
He has always given at least 24 hours notice or more, as required under the lease. But this is getting ridiculous. In the early stages I always pushed back on these intrusions, by letting him know that the repairs, etc were not necessary in my opinion. But he always insisted. I recent told him straight-up that all of these intrusions were getting to be too much, and I can’t tolerate any more of this nonsense. I explained that I work from home, and that his apparent hobby of tinkering in my apartment interferes with my professional life.
What are my options? Should I demand a reduction in rent for his breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment? I mean, he does give proper written notice by email, but I think all of these intrusions might still give rise to a breach of the covenant, notwithstanding he has given notice. Do I have the option of just moving out and then sueing him to reclaim some portion of the rent I already paid for his breach of the covenant?
I have a month-to-month lease, so could move out at any time. But sheesh, I just don’t feel like moving so soon. And I do like the unit and location.
Thoughts?
Edited on: Thursday, August 21st, 2014 6:40 pm
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