Alright, that's it, I'm berking pissed now. Legal advice for tenant / landlord issues please.

I signed a month-to-month rental agreement on 10/20 for this place through a property management company (Washington state). When i moved it there was an absolute laundry list of broken E36 M3 including major code violations like the smoke alarms not working, CO detectors being placed at the tops of the walls, loose railing for the stairs, and no mailbox. I have had to absolutely hound these people to get anything fixed and even fixed a ton of stuff myself (broken light fixture in the bathroom, cleaned bodily fluids off of the walls, got the ants out, got the rats out of the garage, cleaned the garage, and pressure washed all the mold off). The worst offense is that the *entire* downstairs carpet is covered in pet waste stains and they *still* haven't replaced the carpets (I have plastic sheeting down and remnant carpet on top of that).

But tonight, ohhh tonight was the LAST berkleying straw. I got home at 5:05PM with my 6 and 3 year old to find the WATER SHUT OFF. No notice, just BAM, no water! Door hangar says unpaid bills in the previous tenant's name. I call the rental office, which is supposed to be open, and get VM. Call the water company and they explain that the property manager never asked for the final bill and to have the meter started over in my name (they have to request as representatives of the property owner, I can't do it on my own, I tried the week I moved in) so they have no bills in my name and just unpaid accounts since August. I finally get a manager on the phone and got him to come turn the water back on after looking up my accounts from the previous two houses (I've lived in this neighborhood since 06). 

Tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM the property managers open and I want to be standing there with hand grenades. I am completely done with this crap. I want the water bill paid and put in my name by the end of the day and new carpets by the 22nd or I'm doing them myself and taking the bill out of up to the next 2 months rent (I found that RCW at least: Law. 

Now what other options do I have? I have never had a late bill in my life let alone had to deal with having a service actually shut off. I'm tired of E36 M3 in my carpet and not having keys to the garage door (which the previous tenant still has) and missing 5 doors inside the house (yes, for real, including the bathroom!). I'm ready to go full nuclear. I saved lawyer's costs on the divorce so I have a budget for legal representation. 

I don’t really know but I suspect some combination of whatever rental agreement you signed and local rental laws are the basis of your argument.

Not being a dick.....but this house doesnt sound rentable from the shape you are describing.....how did a property management company even think it would be ok? How reputable are they?

Go find another apartment to rent, and move out at the end of the last month you've paid rent for. Do you really want these people in your life? It's month-to-month and you can be free soon.

If you had a one-year lease, you'd take them directly to court and ask for immediate relief in the form of a lease termination and enough cash to make them not want to do this stuff again and pay your lawyer.

Take your legal representation budget, and put it towards finding a place ASAFP that is actually being maintained to a reasonable standard from day one.

In reply to Antihero :

It was suppose to be fixed before I moved in. I was in a bind because of the divorce and had to take it. They were less than a year old when I started renting. They have terrible reviews now.

In reply to chaparral :

If I leave before 11 months I lose my $1500 security deposit. Also there are literally 0 other rentals in my kid's school district.

It looks like you're found some of the legal stuff to read. Beyond that, what else does your lease say about property condition and repairs/maintenance? Was the laundry list of problems documented, and did that documentation give a timeframe in which they would be addressed? Do you have any means of communicating directly with the property owner and not just the property manager? 

Javelin said:

In reply to chaparral :

If I leave before 11 months I lose my $1500 security deposit. Also there are literally 0 other rentals in my kid's school district.

Quick reaction to my cursory review of LL Tenant law in washington.  Dont think above is enforceable under Washington law on month to month rentals.

LL has 24 hours to restore gas water electricity.  72 hours for plumbing , electric, appliciance repairs after written notification.

10 days for all other repairs.

At which point you have option to move out, have repairs performed, or do yourself so long each repair is less than one months rent....all repairs cannot exceed 2 months rent..

Also have option to vacate.

As a landlord myself, I always hate hearing these tales from the other side of the fence.  I do my part to keep up the neighborhood, and keep a fully functional place for my tenants to live in.  Current tenants have been in there 4+ years, zero complaints.  

Had to agree, GTFO of there is the best option.  It sounds like its a tight housing market there, though (as you said there weren't any other places in the school district) which means LL's are probably taking advantage of that- hence your situation.

I agree, getting down to the office today, when it opens, list in hand, and politely but firmly telling them this E36 M3 needs to be fixed yesterday, is the way to handle it.  In my experience, legal action rarely goes anywhere or benefits anyone but the lawyers.  Were it me, I'd consider squatting there without paying rent as long as major stuff goes un-fixed and the laws allow it.  Are there any houses for rent, maybe a duplex or something?  Short term, even one of those long term rental hotels?  A cheap RV in a park?  

In reply to Javelin :

I think you need to define your priorities...

- Your highest priority is your kids, and their school district. Don’t do anything that jeopardizes that.

- Your anger is justified.  But it’s not helpful.  Don’t let it jeapordize your number 1 priority.  If you get kicked out, or go through a legal battle, or are always frustrated or angry it could impact your kids badly.

- If the landlord is that bad, you probably won’t get your deposit back anyway.  Don’t use that as part of your decision making.

- E36 M3 on the floor is a health hazard.  Carpet cleaners are cheap to rent.

- A legal battle won’t get you what you want.

So, make a list, negotiate with them respectfully, suggest ways you can help them (stuff you can do, etc).  Don’t lose your cool.  Teach your kids a few lessons about negotiations and diplomacy.  

Then move forward, and start apartment hunting.

Don't let them win.  And don’t let your kids see you become less of a man because someone else is a jerk.

Its too late now, but you should never have moved in with it in that condition.   Tell them to fix it before you move in.   We had a similar experience where we rented a house that had never been cleaned after the previous tenant left.  It was nasty.   Typical lazy ass property manager who does nothing except pick up he check.   When we left, we cleaned the house pretty damned well (wife even cleaned the oven) , but the damaged carpet from before was, of course, still there.   Guess who lost their deposit?          

Do you an option of contacting the property owner? It may be an issue of the management company holding the funds that the owner has been paying them for these repairs. Or the owner may also be a stingy douche as well.

Have an inspector from the board of health stop by?  Then again if the deem the place unlivable then what?  Does the landlord have to put you up some place or are you on your own?  Tread carefully is my best advise. 

Best advise is to have a backup plan in place before you start getting adversarial. 

Its easy to say this now but you should have inspected the place before you signed anything. 

  If you inspect and find problems you either walk away or tell them to call you when everything is repaired and if you have not found something else by then you will come back and re-inspect.     

"You don't get what you expect, only what you inspect."

I don't know about Washington but when I was renting in NJ a certified letter with a delivery receipt containing all the issues, your date of notice and your proposed course of action was what it took to get things done. Start the paper trail in case things get worst. Some states allow you to withhold rent or use your rental money to pay for repairs directly (which you already seem to be doing)  but I know in NJ you also had to provide written notice of that as well.    

Do you have shared custody, and does  your ex live in the same district? If so it may not matter where you live, as long as it is in a reasonably commutable area.

Is this the ONLY place available to rent? Have you exhausted all options? Craigslist, zillow, rent.com, trulia, a google maps search of "apartments", walking around and looking for "For Rent" signs? 

What about word of mouth? Do you belong to any church/synagogue/house of FSM? If so, contact them and describe your plight--I know of many people (at least in the double-digits) who have found renters this way. 

volvoclearinghouse said:

As a landlord myself, I always hate hearing these tales from the other side of the fence.  I do my part to keep up the neighborhood, and keep a fully functional place for my tenants to live in.  Current tenants have been in there 4+ years, zero complaints.  

Had to agree, GTFO of there is the best option.  It sounds like its a tight housing market there, though (as you said there weren't any other places in the school district) which means LL's are probably taking advantage of that- hence your situation.

I agree, getting down to the office today, when it opens, list in hand, and politely but firmly telling them this E36 M3 needs to be fixed yesterday, is the way to handle it.  In my experience, legal action rarely goes anywhere or benefits anyone but the lawyers.  Were it me, I'd consider squatting there without paying rent as long as major stuff goes un-fixed and the laws allow it.  Are there any houses for rent, maybe a duplex or something?  Short term, even one of those long term rental hotels?  A cheap RV in a park?  

I do not know about there.. I know in NJ you can withhold rent to get repairs done as long as you prove you actually have the rent in hand. In other words, if they try to evict you, you can go to court and show the judge that you have the money to pay all the rent current and past due and are holding it from the LL until repairs are made.

mad_machine said:

 

I do not know about there.. I know in NJ you can withhold rent to get repairs done as long as you prove you actually have the rent in hand. In other words, if they try to evict you, you can go to court and show the judge that you have the money to pay all the rent current and past due and are holding it from the LL until repairs are made.

That's what I'd do.  Judges love paperwork and stacks of well-organized documents.  If you ever do end up in court, being prepared AF and dressing nicely and having good manners goes a LONG way towards winning your case.  

Generally, laws are written to favor tenants, in some cases very favorably.  Especially if it's not an owner-occupied rental.  They may have 3 to 6 months before they can actually evict you, and if they threaten you, call the police.  Realize this is all a PITA to deal with, especially with kids involved and all, but unfortunately you're in it now.  I wager even one month of "free" rent will be close to recouping your lost security deposit.  In the mean time you can find another place to rent.  

Any of these places work for you?

dean1484 said:

Have an inspector from the board of health stop by?  Then again if the deem the place unlivable then what?  Does the landlord have to put you up some place or are you on your own?  Tread carefully is my best advise. 

Best advise is to have a backup plan in place before you start getting adversarial. 

Now that was brilliant. Turns out I can have that drive and if the state determines that they knowingly rented me a place that wouldn't pass code that I can get all of my money back plus damages. That's my ace in the hole. 

Invite the managers, by force if necessary, to spend a weekend in your hovel they feel is so graciously ready to be rented for an amount I'm sure is near extortion rates because rent seems to be ridiculously high in E36 M3holes. When they refuse, and since it sounds like the law has your back here, stop paying rent immediately until they fix it, while still pursuing another place to live. 

It's great to pretend to be the bigger man and even fix the E36 M3 for them, but they are not going to give a flying berkeley until it affects their bottom line, so start affecting it hard.

Talk to other tenants of the company, see what their situations are like dealing with these slumlords. 

If your ex still lives in district, would it be that difficult for you to live outside of it and just take the kids to school on your days, or could you work with her to have them on weekends instead of during the week?

Find a specialist local lawyer, have a consult, bring all your paperwork, and evidence. Surely you took dated pictures of these conditions when you moved in, didn't you? 

jharry3 said:

Its easy to say this now but you should have inspected the place before you signed anything. 

  If you inspect and find problems you either walk away or tell them to call you when everything is repaired and if you have not found something else by then you will come back and re-inspect.     

"You don't get what you expect, only what you inspect."

 

I did inspect and documented everything. I have 270 photos of the condition and damage of this place and sent an emailed inspection and repairs lost to the property manager, owner, and property management service coordinator, all three of which acknowledged receipt. This was before I signed. 

Contact the housing office for your city. They will have the answers you desire.

Forcing a landlord to spend money is a difficult fight if there are no safety violations, and calling them to the attention of the city will make the landlord even harder to deal with. GTFO and undo any repairs you made before you leave.