Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

[Breaker]

Lived in the house for three years,never have been late on rent, initial move in fixes were never fixed after repeatedly asked,now ceiling fell in over major bathroom due to leaky roof ,been telling landlord for 3months about it and sent a written letter of 14 days to repair and that was 30 days ago and keeps putting my family off,with no fix yet,only excuses of what's taking them so long. House smells of mold and bathroom completely not useable but they demand rent and I do not want to pay .do I have any right to withhold until fixed and what about the 6moths past I've dealt with this. Not fair considering I pay to have a 2bath home and only have 1for the last 6months .

[sandyclaus]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

Lived in the house for three years,never have been late on rent, initial move in fixes were never fixed after repeatedly asked,now ceiling fell in over major bathroom due to leaky roof ,been telling landlord for 3months about it and sent a written letter of 14 days to repair and that was 30 days ago and keeps putting my family off,with no fix yet,only excuses of what's taking them so long. House smells of mold and bathroom completely not useable but they demand rent and I do not want to pay .do I have any right to withhold until fixed and what about the 6moths past I've dealt with this. Not fair considering I pay to have a 2bath home and only have 1for the last 6months .

Your state's LL/T laws will govern whether or not rent withholding is legally available to force the LL to repair. If your state doesn't allow for it, or you don't follow the proper steps, it can backfire and you potentially face a nonpayment eviction.

One such step for states that do allow for rent withholding is documentation of unrepaired conditions that constitute a significant hazard to health or safety, which means a call out to local code enforcement for an inspection. I'd start with that. And DO NOT spend the rent money!

So, in what state is the property located?

[Friend In Court]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

Lived in the house for three years,never have been late on rent, initial move in fixes were never fixed after repeatedly asked,now ceiling fell in over major bathroom due to leaky roof ,been telling landlord for 3months about it and sent a written letter of 14 days to repair and that was 30 days ago and keeps putting my family off,with no fix yet,only excuses of what's taking them so long. House smells of mold and bathroom completely not useable but they demand rent and I do not want to pay .do I have any right to withhold until fixed and what about the 6moths past I've dealt with this. Not fair considering I pay to have a 2bath home and only have 1for the last 6months .

A leaking roof, ceiling having fallen in, mold ridden rooms -- these are violations of every city's housing code.

You need to contact your city's health and/or building department and order an inspection. It appears to fail under both departments -- health and building.

Once the inspection report is made, the landlord will have Xdays to remedy it or face fines and/or if the condition is bad enough, not be allowed to rent it.

With a correction notice from the city, my guess is you will see workmen on the job within just a few days.

[Breaker]

Your state's LL/T laws will govern whether or not rent withholding is legally available to force the LL to repair. If your state doesn't allow for it, or you don't follow the proper steps, it can backfire and you potentially face a nonpayment eviction.

One such step for states that do allow for rent withholding is documentation of unrepaired conditions that constitute a significant hazard to health or safety, which means a call out to local code enforcement for an inspection. I'd start with that. And DO NOT spend the rent money!

So, in what state is the property located?

Nebraska

[Breaker]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

Its Omaha neb I've looked under the landlord tenent handbook several times but always get confused . I mean its really the ll seemed to sue all their ten nets for every thing in which I've looked up the company on google and ended up finding out t,obviously too late ,that they are sort of slum lords. Now I feel this could go the wrong way but want what I pay for .

[gail in georgia]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

Well, you've been looking in the wrong places. A quick "google" search pulled up the following options that a tenant in Nebraska has should a landlord fail to make needed repairs within a reasonable amount of time....

Landlord and Tenant Handbook-LAS

Gail

[Breaker]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

I have read it many times but still seems to be confusing

[goddessoflubboc]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

You clearly understood the 14 day notice which you've done.

Now you can sue the LL to repair the unit (specific performance) if you wish to stay, or you may move out.

What you may NOT do is withhold rent.

[Friend In Court]

Re: Landlord keeps putting off roof repair but wants rent

If this landlord is reported to the Health/Bldg Dept the problem will get cured. And much more quickly than trying to sue with evidence and expert witnesses lined up to document the damage and cure. Suing is the remedy if one has nothing better to do for the weeks or month it will take to get to court. And then try to enforce an order should one get a favorable judgment.

The Health and Building Departments can force the landlord to make the repairs, they can come out and issue their report within the week. And the landlord will have to make the repairs or else the City can shut his rental down.

There are several ways to do something. Suing is the longest, most ardurous, most unpredictable and where one has to pay court fees to file and attendant fees to produce their evidence, the most costly and time consuming!