Landlord not making repairs

By Arlene

 We have been renting a house for 4.5 years. In that time our landlord has not made any repairs to the home.  When we moved in the one room downstairs was only the ceiling rafters and some paneling on the wall which had no insulation in them. We asked about having the room finished because it was an eyesore and could be used as a bedroom. We ended up paying for all the insulation and drywall. The landlord helped my husband with the work. He then dug up the ground in front of the back door stating he was going to pour cement there and in the front of the house to make steps off the front porch. That was 3 years ago and it is still not done. We put stepping stone down to the back door to have access with no mud.  When we first moved in I told him about the water backing up into my tub and bathroom sink when we use the washer he said he needed to vent the pipe. Still not done. I think about how unsanitary it is for my grandson to be using the bathroom sink when water backs up into the sink!!!   On Feb. 11, when the landlord came over to collect his 600.00 rent, I showed and  gave him a list of problems.  The major problems are, there is a leak in my living room ceiling and in the bathroom ceiling. The drywall in both rooms are showing extreme water marks along with cracking. The living room wall looks like it is pushing inward.  The leak in the bathroom is right by the bathroom light which we are watching very closely.  The list also included the vent for the hot water heater. It is right beside the steps on the side porch and when we had the sliding door open the fumes come in the house. I explained per the gas company the pipe is to be above the roof top. On the list is 2 of my outlets( one in bathroom and one in kitchen) have to be reset almost every time they are used.  When I bgave him the list he told me he would be here on Feb 15 to fix the issuses  so I stayed home for the day. At  1pm he knocked on the door and said he was too sick to work he would be over the next day.. Still not here.. He can’t be that sick when he washed his personal vehicle the next day then went to his camp over the weekend.  Oh and he is a building contractor and did most of the work in the house before we moved in.  The drywall in alomost every room does not not enough mud on them and are cracking majorly. Which he is aware of.  When we told him about the hot water vent he said he didn’t know their was any codes..OMG!!!   Now I worry because the gas company can shut my gas off after March 1 if the repair is not done!!!!  Can I hold the rent in escrow till repairs are done?  By the way we did have a water line freeze up but we handled that, in another one of his rentals a line froze and because he was out of town the tenant went without water for 3 days!!!   HELP…

Related posts:

Holy Cow, we couldn't find any other related post. Sorry. :(