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Question about renter's rights
quietguyintheback
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi all,
I know there's a pretty broad wealth of knowledge around here, so I figured that I could at least get some kind of superficial advice.
A friend of mine rented an apartment from a slumlord. When she moved in, the place was filthy. My family and I spent two days cleaning to make it not so nasty. Let me give you an example of how nasty this place was. The landlord allowed her to paint if she wanted to. I was sanding the kitchen cabinets, prepping them for primer, when one her other friends asked who was making bacon. Yes, there was that much old grease on the cabinets.
He also said that there was no heat, and he had the gas turned off because the building was too expensive to keep heated. He gave her a couple of space heaters instead. Keep in mind, this is in Kansas. It got down to negative temperatures over the winter.
She really liked the potential of the building, though, and sub-let out part of it as studio space. She toughed out the year, and didn't renew her lease.
Now, her landlord is keeping all of her security deposit and invoicing her for damages and repairs, many of which can be attributed to not maintaining heat throughout at least two winters.
What kind of recourse does she have here?
I know there's a pretty broad wealth of knowledge around here, so I figured that I could at least get some kind of superficial advice.
A friend of mine rented an apartment from a slumlord. When she moved in, the place was filthy. My family and I spent two days cleaning to make it not so nasty. Let me give you an example of how nasty this place was. The landlord allowed her to paint if she wanted to. I was sanding the kitchen cabinets, prepping them for primer, when one her other friends asked who was making bacon. Yes, there was that much old grease on the cabinets.
He also said that there was no heat, and he had the gas turned off because the building was too expensive to keep heated. He gave her a couple of space heaters instead. Keep in mind, this is in Kansas. It got down to negative temperatures over the winter.
She really liked the potential of the building, though, and sub-let out part of it as studio space. She toughed out the year, and didn't renew her lease.
Now, her landlord is keeping all of her security deposit and invoicing her for damages and repairs, many of which can be attributed to not maintaining heat throughout at least two winters.
What kind of recourse does she have here?
quietguyintheback on
0
Posts
Barring that, there's always the good old lawsuit
What kind of damage are we talking about?
Also, in NY the Attorney General's office mediates security deposit disputes. I don't know if the Kansas AG does as well.
Contact a tenant board. This kind of shit is usually their bread and butter.
Aaah, well that will be hard to prove was a tenant's fault. I guess the next question is documentation, do you have proof the heater was never turned on? Pictures of the resultant damage? Cause if cornered, slum lord is just going swear the heat was always turned on.
As to the theories you can claim, i'd argue there are three that might apply:
- Implied warranty of habitability,
which is generally seen as non contractable, IE, if the apartment doesn't meet minimum standards of livability (such as having heat on), then landlord is liable for rent and other damage to the tenant.
-Constructive eviction:
Some states recognize that while you might be able to live in the property, the quality of the property is such that your full enjoyment and use of the property is diminished. In these cases the decrease in full use of the property can result in recovery of the ratable portion of the loss of property use (IE if you can prove you lost 20% of the property use, then you get 20% of the rent paid over the term of the lease)
-Contract breach:
Advise your friend to read the contract formed when the lease was signed. Many landlords fill their documents with boiler plate, however, landlords generally have a paragraph or two explaining what their obligations are to the leasee. These usually include what they will provide to the tenant in terms of repairs, heating, and amenities (like a stove and microwave, fridge or guarantee to ensure that such items are serviceable) If this language exists in the lease, then your friend can sue in court for breach of the contract.
I know I said three likely claims, but there is a fourth possibility, which I haven't seen in many states: Per se liability:
- Some states, like Utah and D.C. specifically spell out what landlords must provide as a minimum in order to live inside a home. This means that a statute was written that determines what must be included in any tenant dwelling. Violations of the statute give rise to a claim of per se liability (IE because the statute says what is required to own an apartment complex and make it available to tenants, violation of the statute creates a legal liability). If there is no state law on the subject, check city or county ordinances. Some counties or cities provide ordinances that dictate the requirements for a property to be classified as a multiple dwelling housing unit (apartment). In Utah, for example, Salt Lake County requires that, for a building to properly qualify as an apartment building, each dwelling must have a stove or some other utility for which to prepare meals, heating, conditioning, serviceable locks, and various other things. (NOTE that because these might be considered code violations they may not give rise to liability or standing to sue: again this is very state law dependent therefore your mileage may vary significantly)
For information about what the law in Kansas is, you can just check google, most if not all states have their laws published online, and the same goes for county and city ordinances.
Best of luck
I didn't think these were as rare as ATI makes them sound, but I've really only got any experience with the landlord tenant rules in my area. Which, again, is why it's important to try to find someone locally to give specific advice.