I'm sure whichever city you're in has the equivalent of the LAHD (Los Angeles Housing Department). This is where you'd go if you were here. Just look up your city's housing department and contact their code enforcement department. Each city/state/etc. has their own laws, so check those out regarding your non-payment. Some cities and states require payment regardless of the issue and you can then sue or get reimbursed after the fact if the issue is proven. That is the same idea behind a parking ticket. You have to pay it by a certain date even if you shouldn't have received it in the first place. Then they may refund you the amount if they agree you shouldn't have been issued the ticket. Again, that varies, so look into your local laws.
in baltimore, you have to got to housing court and make a request, with documentation, to put your rent in escrow. nice thing is you have no lease. that helps a ton in many ways. dont fix anything without a written agreement. always ALWAYS document and get everything i writing when it comes to your end of the deal. also, always submit a statement of condition when moving into a place. it would be easy enough for him to say you broke all that shit, if there isnt one. i was screwed with by one of the worst building managers ever. learned a lot of very valuable lessons from my mistakes.
as someone stated, research the Florida landlord tenant laws. They are easily found online. Even without a lease you have certain rights and are considered on a month to month tenancy in most cases. You can withhold rent for repairs there are rules. Also, you can't withhold ALL the rent.. there is someone living in the place after all, so it obviously isn't THAT bad. Option B, as others have already noted, move. in florida: RENT WITHHOLDING FROM LANDLORD * You must be very careful to do what the law requires for a proper rent withholding!!! ALWAYS call the Consumer Affairs Division of your county or city regarding your landlord/tenant rights before withholding your rent. * If your landlord will not fix a condition which is in "material non-compliance" with the your local city or county property maintenance code, you may stop paying rent (rent withholding). Material non-compliance means that there are major problems in your house or apartment which your landlord refuses to fix. * Under Florida law, you cannot do the repairs yourself and then deduct that cost from your rent. * You can do a rent withholding so that you are protected by the law by taking the following steps: 1. Make a written complaint to your local city or county enforcement office. 2. Make a list of all the things which are wrong with your rental unit and violate the local code (for example, plumbing not working, roof leaks, etc.). 3. Write the landlord this letter: Date Dear (name of landlord): Pursuant with Florida Statutes, Section 83.60, I am notifying you of your material non-compliance with Florida Statutes, Section 83.51(1), and the (insert the name of your local code). Unless the listed repairs are made within 7 days of delivery of this notice, I will not pay rent, because of your failure to maintain the premises. List all things that are wrong Sign you name ___________________ Print your name and address. 4. Mail or deliver this letter to your landlord at least seven days before the next rent is due. *It is recommended that this letter be sent certified mail, return receipt requested. This is an extra protection for you in the event the landlord denies he ever knew about the material non-compliance. KEEP A COPY OF THE LETTER. 5. You must save the rent as it becomes due. Do not spend it, because, if the landlord fixes the house or apartment, you must pay him at least a portion of the rent, and, if he tries to evict you, you must deposit all of the money you have saved with the court until the eviction case is over.
Code enforcement has already been to the house. Code enforcement told me since there is no lease he will have hell evicting me. He told me since there is no lease he would have to pay for an eviction notice. He told me he won't do this because if he does all the non compliance issues will bite him in the ass and he will have to have legal contractors fix the issues which will cost him too much. Code enforcement told me he is hoping we just leave so he can have some rent a bums come in and make the place look ok for cheap and just rent it back out. Sad part to the landlord is I'm an sheet metal man. I had even discussed with him to put a new standing seam roof on for cost which is real cheap. He didn't want to do that and now the issues are to the point he will most likely have to replace the supports then the roof.
I dealt with an issue in my last place and my best advice is just get out. Get as far away as you can. Find a new place w/ a more responsible landlord because bad ones will just bandaid the issue without fixing anything properly. Sorry to see this. I called code enforcement (Montgomery County MD) and they got involved and forced the landlord to fix things, but they couldn't tell him "how" to fix it. So it became a subjective issue of, is he doing things properly? or just the bare minimum to get by. I see people saying renters have rights but in my experience renters don't have shit. The landlord has all the power. You can go through a bunch of different avenues but who has time for all that shit. Its a full time job documenting everyhting, writing correspondence up that you need to send to everyone, etc, etc. Again, just leave.
With the no-lease, I'm changing my support to save your money and time toward something else. Live there until it isn't worth inhabiting since it is essentially free now due to the landlord's intentional neglect.
Fuck man just get out of there. Why do you even want to fight with him about eviction or repairs? Just leave ..
Leave NOW! The landlord could say you haven't paid any rent since the rent was raised to $1000.00. Why would you live in a place like that? Black mold, health concerns, etc. Greg is right on.
I earn my living as a landlord in Alabama. The laws vary from state to state. Research yours. In my state, a tenant may withhold rent to make necessary repairs. The landlord has a reasonable amount of time to address legitimate concerns after being notified in writing of the tenant's intent to make said repairs. Usually that would be 48 hours from receipt to initiate repairs, not complete them. You may withhold actual repair costs and present the landlord with the receipts in lieu of rent. Be reasonable in case you end up in court. Your brother in law cannot charge $400 to fix a leaky faucet. A verbal rental agreement is legally binding in most states. Since it has no end date, tenancy can usually be terminated by either party on 30 day written notice. I would move. No one should pay money to live in an unhealthy home. If you did not document your contacts with the owner regarding the leaky roof, etc, he will most likely attempt to lay the blame on you for allowing the property to deteriorate without his knowledge. You can probably cause him a few headaches, but I would just put him and his crappy property behind me.
Trying to get out now. Been trying to buy a house now for months. The investors are buying everything up. I have tried to get into too many houses to be rejected by a cash paying buyer. I have everything I need to get into a house. Just playing in a game of when will the investor money dry up in time so I have a chance .
Best of my knowledge is to follow this course of action, so that way he can't sue for back rent and end up with a lien against you. That could play hell with getting a mortgage in the future. As someone from the accounting side of life, if I had a tenant that I didn't like I would have no problem making a deal to help him move out by fixing the issues in the trailer. In exchange, you'd have to fix it to code and you keep your rents saved to move elsewhere and then I'd hit you with a 1099B at the end of the year. It's kind of like getting one over on the person who screwed you out out of cash, because I'm gonna make you work for more than it would cost me to get it fixed and in exchange, you're gonna pay money in taxes for the work you did for me. Either way, I win. I've been lucky though. Until I got a call from Rent-a-Center yesterday, I've been fairly lucky with tenants and haven't had to go through much bull shit. But when someone calls me with an issue, I go fix it. As far as getting a building condemned, my step-sister did this to her landlord. The state made her move out of her apartment and the landlord had a tenant in the place before she was off her ex-husband's couch.
Check property listings here http://www.homepath.com/ Fanny Mae foreclosures. They are typically listed with a period of time that only owner/occupants can make offers before opening it up to investors. They also have some favorable loan terms tied to them.
no.. you do not have to put it in an escrow account.. you must follow the rules outlined above that i posted (THAT is the law (in FL)
there is no need to rush to buy a house in this economic climate. You will not see runaway appreciation like you did in the housing boom for decades.. if it were to ever happen again. That said, just rent for now, take your time to find something. Ask for a termination policy in your lease that allows for say a 60 day notice and pay a 1 month's rent fee to break your lease. That way if you do find a cool place, you can give 60 days (or whatever they agree too) and all it will cost is 1 months rent. I have that very term in all my leases anyway as i rent to lots of grad/phd students, and professionals that sometimes get job transfers, or just get married. I usually rent the place during the notice period and pocket the 1 month termination fee (but would rather not do the extra work). there are TONS of nice rentals that can be had for less than ever before.. in many areas. People bought lots of rentals or additional houses thinking they would flip for big profit. now many are stuck with stuff, and as you are finding, investors are grabbing them up and .. you guessed it.. renting them. But that means there is a bunch of stuff to choose from. And during the boom, there were FEW rentals because everyone that had a pulse was buying a house for primary residency. One concern is VERIFYING the "landlord" actually OWNS the house you are gonna rent. A scam here in FL recently, was a guy collecting whatever he could up front from unsuspecting tenants, only to find out later these homes were in foreclosure. The bank just hadn't taken the home back yet (it can take years). So ya may ask to speak with the landlords lender, or verify online that they own the house free and clear. Talk with neighbors, etc. do your homework. But there are lots of nice homes for rent and the home values will not be climbing at any measureable rate that will have you feel you missed the boat. Even interest rates are likely (from everything i see/read) to be pretty stable for some time. No measurable increases for a year or more.
