Filing Complaint Against Landlord

By Kirstin

My landlord isn’t being very ethical, so I think its time to file a complaint against my landlord.  I called my several local government offices in Aurora Colorado to find out where I could file a complaint.  Finally after contacting my State Senator, his office referred me to the RPA.

I’m so glad I found the RPA.  I didn’t know if such an agency existed.  After coming to the site, I found our there is a $35 filing fee.  So I thought I would see if I could get some opinions on whether I should file a landlord complaint or not.
Here’s my landlord problem:
Firstly, my landlord is actually a nice guy and I don’t want to cause any problems, but honestly I’m tired of getting no resolution to the following issue.  About 3 weeks ago my apartment had been broken into.  The thief damaged the door and window to my unit and stole close to $1200 worth of my things.  (Plasma TV, DVD’s, Stereo, and Jewerly)
I have renters insurance, so my things are being covered by my renters policy even though I did try to get my landlord to cover the cost first– he pointed out some clause in the lease that required me to carry renters insurance, so I called them and they (American Family) have been great.  I actually just got a check for $1058 (after my deductible)
So the problem is this, my landlord STILL hasn’t fixed my window.  He’s got a piece of plywood screwed up and doesn’t seem too concerned about replacing it.  I know it sounds lame, but I really hate looking at that ugly wood and just want to have a window to look through.  I don’t invite my friends over because, I’m almost embarrassed by it.  (I know, I know– I should grow up)  So, what do you all think??  Should I file a complaint against my landlord to force him to repair the broken window pain?  Do you think I have been reasonable enough to allow him 3 weeks, or does glass replacement take longer?
I’m not really worried about the filing fee, that’s nothing… but I am concerned about whether it makes the most sense based on the situation.  Are there any other options?  I have asked him by phone on 3 different times to fix it, and still no results.  When I called local government offices, they wouldn’t tell me what to do– just that I could sue him (No plans to do that, its just a piece of glass) or File a complaint.  So, really, that leaves me with the option to file a complaint or continue begging my landlord to fix it.
Thanks for your advice…  I just want to do the right thing.

Edited on: Friday, February 26th, 2010 2:37 am

14 Responses to “Filing Complaint Against Landlord”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Jane007

February 26th, 2010 12:12 am

Kirstin I had same kind of landlord problem.   I too debated whether to file a complaint against my landlord.  Eventually after a week or so, I got frustrated and filed a complaint.
My only regret was that I didn’t file one earlier.  Ever since my complaint my landlord has been very responsive to me.  There’s no question, you need to file!


Scott Peasron

February 27th, 2010 12:26 am

Hey Tony!  Great advice!!  You always give short but precise answers, very well said.


Tony Richards

February 27th, 2010 12:29 am

Thanks Scott… I appreciate your compliment– just doing my part to help society, :)


Tony Richards

February 27th, 2010 7:15 am

The answer is simple:
Should I file a complaint if my landlord has been fair?  No!

Should I file a complaint if my landlord has NOT been fair?  YES!!
You will have to decide, you know what I think.


anonymous

February 28th, 2010 4:39 am

I done the official complante thing.  It werked good for me.


REDCAT34

March 1st, 2010 12:23 am

If you don’t stand up for yourself, who will?  I think its clear what you need to do.  Now go file your complaint.  Don’t forget to request that the landlord reimburse you for RPA Filing Fees.  Heres the link: http://www.rentalprotectionagency.com/complaint_center.php


Melissa

March 2nd, 2010 8:33 pm

You should probably check the laws in your state before you follow my advice, but this is what I did once in a very similar situation.
First, send him a formal letter stating that you need the repairs made on your apartment within 30 days or you will have the repair done and paid for by yourself and deduct the cost from rent. Send him another similar notice before the 30 days are up (say, a week before.). Sign and date both letters and make copies.
If he doesn’t have the window fixed, pay for it to be fixed yourself and deduct the cost from rent.
It may sound stupid and petty to you to be irritated about a piece of plywood screwed over the broken window, but if it were me I’d be extremely irritated! You are paying for heating/cooling and it’s probably leaking out around the wood, not to mention that it’s a safety hazard and pests (such as bugs and spiders) may be getting in!


Smart Jane

May 10th, 2010 8:27 pm

Oh, baby! File a complaint and enjoy the results. We did this in Anchorage and the creepy, low-life landlord has to follow the laws now. Thank God for laws.


melissa rattner

March 27th, 2011 6:25 am

My landlord is constantly making excuses not to fix things. She threatens to evict us if we don’t pay, but we have numerous problems to the point where the village needed to come out.


Mikkala

October 3rd, 2011 8:37 am

Hi all,

Here in Iowa City, my landlords office was closed on Saturday, the first day of October, 2011 so I could not pay the rent on time! Now, I will be charged a $20 late fee on Monday the 3rd of October. Is this ethical?, and what can I do about it?

Thanks!


Dan

October 18th, 2011 11:16 am

I know that in MN if you give your landlord a written notice to repair the window and if he doesn’t in a timely manner that you can go down to your local county courthouse, file a complaint and give the courts your rent, then the court will pay the landlord the rent once the repairs are made. I believe your landlord would become little more motivated once he receives a letter from the courthouse instead of a rent check.


Anonymous

October 26th, 2011 5:56 pm

I’m reporting my landlord because at the time of signing the lease the landlord & I agreed that since my husband is deployed for an entire year & just incase he comes back home sooner than a yr can we break the lease once we show her a copy of Orders & now that time has approached like now she’s going against her word and tryna make us pay rent for the remaining of the lease! Here’s some things others should know about this woman & her husband they both are bad at assisting their tenants with their requests about the property, she’s REALLY bad at returning phone calls & responding to msgs from her tenants! For example, I called her at the beginning the month & reported that the trees were hanging low on the front deck & like a little over a month from that day forward I informed her that we were moving, she then sends her husband out to tend to my request I reported to her a little over a month ago. Somebody should do something with this woman & husband cause I’m not leaving this situation alone because it’s wrong!


tara

June 16th, 2012 1:04 am

Ok but what if I’m needing a hole in my bathroom fixed and he doesn’t want to spend the money to fix it. That what he told me and I did everything he asked me to fix and he still hasn’t come to even look at the problem.


Newtonmr4

May 22nd, 2013 7:51 pm

Just curious…I have lived in my apartment for a year and a half now on a one year lease and month to month after. The month to month rate was verbally communicated and now he rescinded his offer and gave us 2 days to decide if we want another year lease. Obviously I am frustrated but do I have any legal right to be? In our contract it doesn’t specify any terms for ending month to month options.


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