Tips for Handling Landlord Disputes

I have an infestation of fruit flies/drain flies in the kitchen and bathroom. I have tried many methods to get rid of these flies but to no avail. I keep a very clean apartment and do not leave vegetables and fruit out. It is my understanding that this is a problem throughout the complex. I have discussed this with the office and they give a few suggestions like pouring bleach down the sink, putting ice cubes in the garbage disposal. None of these things work. I have found a drain gel online that I want to try. Shouldn't the apartment complex have to pay for this gel. Do I have a right to terminate my lease. I feel I am living in unsanitary conditions.

Problem with Landlord HELP by kimberly (NC) on July 11, 2008 @01:17
I had rented a house from my church's pastors daughter 3 months ago,and paid a $450.00 deposit plus 1st. months rent,
she did not give me a lease of any kind ( there was no lease) The only thing I told her was that I was needing to rent the home for 1 year she agreed. I had been living here for 3 months and had paid my rent on time never late, my problem is every since I moved here I had been having pluming problems in the kitchen since the first day I moved in, the water would not go down the drain and I had to dump water every day, the plumber was called out but he never fixed it and refused to come out again then I finely got the water down after the land lord told me what to do like boiled water and pour it in the sink 6 or 7 times and use Clorox well we got the water to drain that was 1 1/2 months ago and the drain had been trying to stop up just a couple times happening again off and on but I was able to get the water down, well this time I could not get the water to go down and I called my landlord and told her about it and some how water had gotten in only one of the drawers beside the sink where I keep my spoons and forks and it got messed it up I don't know how it happened,it was not down by me or my 15 or 16 year old now she's kicking me out for this saying I'm damaging the cabinets, the cabinets are NOT DAMAGEE ONLY ONE DROWER, she's giving me 30 days to move out and she wants a walk though my house only on the grounds of the damage drawer only, I'm disable and have 2 children, my house is clean , she has never been in my house other then the kitchen to collect her rent and her mail and my kitchen was clean then as well, please what are my rights, I have done nothing to be kicked out about other then reporting things, MY PASTOR TOLD ME IF I MOVED IN THE HOUSE THAT I WOULD HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HER,I LIVE IN NC, ITs A PRIVATE HOUSE. Its a very old house built in the early 1900's ,plumbing is slow in the bath room and she all so knew about that as well, and she has she has Ele, . problems that I'm told not to use to cut off at the breaker the kitchen light and porch light is messed up,PLEASE HELP i have only been here 3 months, I HAVE VERY LITTLE MONEY,i have the conversation between her and me is on a recorder as proff, can she legaly kick me out on them grounds? I told her i have done nothing wrong to be kicked out, im a christan and i go to her fathers church for 2 years, she dont even go, PLEASE HELP

I moved into my duplex home almost 5 months ago with my girlfriend. Right off the bat there were many things that the landlord was not honest with us about. We found syringes in the backyard and found out the next door neighbors are drug dealers. When we had came to see the place we asked about the area and he said it was "great" he later admitted to also finding drug paraphanelia but hadn't wanted to worry us! WHAT? Hello! This was our right to know! But the big issue right now is the fact that he is on a daily basis violating our right to "quiet enjoyment" when we first moved in, he mentioned he had a few things to do next door and then would be renting it out probably at the end of this month that we moved in. Needless to say, FIVE months later we endure loud pounding, shaking of the house from huge drills, strange people going in and out all day, the house smelling from all the chemicals, paints etc they use. Saws, hammers. One day we were literally woken up out of our bed thinking it was an earthquake as our bed was shaking..oh no it was just them...using a jack hammer! We have expressed out concern over and over and over to the landlord who only gets annoyed at us for complaining! Saying sometimes life just sucks. We explained to him that we are paying him rent for this house and we have the right to our privacy and protected under "quiet enjoyment" He literally laughed at us and said "i pay taxes to the state and still have to deal with road construction, sorry its just part of life and you have to deal with it".
This is NOT an exceptable answer and I am needing some help. He had us put down a substancial deposit when we moved in and said we can move out and forfit the money. NO WAY! We also suggested he reduce our rent considering what we have been subjected to and his original answer was he would consider that, and then he changed his mind and said he has a right to do work on the other side of the house whenever he wants. We have tried to be civil with him, and have been more than patient. Today as I am typing there is a constant pounding through the walls. I am so sick and tired of not being able to relax in a place that I am paying so much money each month for. Any suggestions? Please help or give me links to protect me on this? I live in Utah. Thanks!
A very very frustrated renter.

I signed a renewal lease last year. My landlord offered $40 a month off the rent if I signed before the original lease expired. I did and paid my rent each month on time and in full. The complex was sold to a new company and a year later this company says they have no record of my previous landlord offering a $40 a month discount, therefore they are suing for back rent and interest. My previous landlord did not give me a copy of the discount adjustment which was separate from the lease but she did put it in my file, however the new company says they can't find it and they are suing me and most of my neighbors for back rent. I have proof that my rent has always been paid on time and on the front of the money orders I wrote For Rent.

I told my landlord I would be out of the house by the 1st of may and that i would be paying her the rest of aprils rent by months end. I left my residence for a few days for my boyfriends birthday. Upon returning we found that all of our things were gone. I called the police but by the time they answered my call we had found our belongings in the shed. We left the property with our things and upon looking through them we found that we are missing well over $500.00 in personal belongings. I know the law and know that what she did is completely illegal. How do I get my things back and how do I go about suing the crazy bitch because she is a frickin psycho!

I very recently moved to a small 1 bd house, naturally i was unaware of the house problems such as, the hot water tank was not hooked up, electical outlets burnt as well as the two breakers on this house being tripped all time cant run more than one thing at a time. Ok so on with the problems, Kitchen sink stopped up, leaks in the ceiling , shall I cont? WELL, the landlord sent a person to "fix" the problems....including the oven not working that now runs a 500 degrees no matter the setting.So the sink was unstopped for a few moments, when I came in from work it drained VERY slow, like it took overnight for the sink to empty, when it does it drains from a broken pipe at the back of the sink and goes into the bottom of the cabinet.The man also connected the water tank that has bad water i it , we have been running the water for 2wks now it is rusty and smelly still.
I called a couple of days later t say thanks for getting somebody on this stuff promptly however this still are the problems. Well to get on with it today an electrican came, looked at that, landlord came over unannounced barged in saying I am the land lord (whom my BF has never met, going straight to tank.LL says to fix that we need to cont to run the H2O(we have been for 2wks mind you)LL say if $ of just running it is the problem, I will take some off rent. BF stated BUT that has been done , not better and ask LL if he would like to bathe , eat off dishes cleaned in that nasty water. Well that made him angry he stormed out called me at work (not knowing who was calling)says who is that piece of shit in the house, I was like what who is this, THE LL! and he said it again, he said I am not fixing an F-ing thing while he is there I want him out. I said we have not violated a thing and that is not up to you to decide whom resides with me, he says he didnt sign a lease, I said he is listed a an occupant, review your own paper work. He said then I will evict you both, I said on what grounds(all the while I am asking what is going on, he did say once he said something about the H2O tank, I replied AND?) Nothing more was said. He then told me he was calling his Attny, I said yes please do, and I know my rights and you must make some of those repiars, he said I have a good repore w/ my tenants, I told him not with that attitude as well as he needs to rethink his actions and cool down (as he was yelling) He hung up on me. I have been there since march 1st 08, I cant not believe how he acted.I have never dealt with a person like this as a LL, my own family has been rental owners as well as I have been in Mngmnt myself in the same field. So now I am not sure what to do, I didnt ask him to come over and I spoke to him about it yesterday and asked politely if he would consider changing the tank to elec instead of gas due to gas prices. He laughed and said yeah if you plan on staying 5-10 yrs. I blew it off and just said OK. Now what? Oh he said before all this came about, as he was barging through that the elec will be fixed tomorrow....Guess I will see what happens there. I feel unsafe and do not want to burn up in some old house, I knew it needed work before I moved in but those are major deals, i dont even have hot water it is nasty , and the gas co will not light it say it isnt code, they told me oh they say that about everything. I know this is all gobbled up and misspelled I am now very angry about all this so please over look the errors. Oklahoma City

I HAVE PEOPLE ABOVE ME MAKING NOISE ALL NITE. ASKED LL TO REINSTALL CARPETING THAT WAS TORN OUT YEARS AGO, TO PAD THE NOISE,WHEN HE WAS REMODELING, AND APT WAS EMPTY.. HE DIDN'T. CANT SLEEP EFFECTING MY WORK. WANT OUT OF LEASE, SAYS HE HAS TO FIND A NEW TENANT FIRST. HAVE 5 MONTHS LEFT ON LEASE. I CANT WAIT, HAVE T START LOOKING FOR A NEW PLACE. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?? HELP

I have two college students attending college in Tallahassee, Fl. As their parents, we were asked to be the guarantors for their lease. After several months, the leasing office call me and threaten to evict both of my children unless they or some one in their dorm styled apartment did not put the utilities in their names. Mind you, there are four seperate rooms in one apartment, each with bathrooms and the commons areas,ie, kitchen, living room and laundry room. They finally decided amongsts themselves, the tenants, to get the utilities transferred out of the property's name into their own. First, is this standard apartment policy for rooms that have more than one tenant at on address? Second of all, we pay their rent online via a rentpayment service. At that site, you have the option of paying the rent as well as paying anything other than the rent. We have used the "other" to pay their utilities to the leasing office in the past. Most recently, I recieved an email from the leasing office stating that both of my children's rent was past due and had late fees. I contacted the leasing office and they said that their policy was to pay whatever was owed at the time regardless to if we paid at that site for "rent" or either the "other" . Then this caused the rent to be late incurring late fees and they have some pretty stiff late fees. Is this legal and if not, what type of recourse can I take? Please advise. Thank you, Lcten@aol.com

Hello,
I have a bit of a problem. I rent out a property in NH on a long, steep hill. My lease reads that I am responsible for the snow removal on my walkway and my parking spot(s), but says nothing of the actual driveway. So far this season another tenant has been doing the plowing, but he has now moved out. My car had parts of its bottom torn off after attempting to drive up the partially plowed driveway. Would my landlord be responsible for any damages done due to the driveway not being safe? And also who will be responsible for having the driveway plowed after future storms?

MY PROPERTY MANAGER CALLS ME VERY VERY BAD NAMES EVERYTIME WE TALK ON THE PHONE. BITCH, VIAL NASTY WHORE. WE HATE EACH OTHER HE IS NOT THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING JUST A MANAGER( AND A PISS POOR ONE AT THAT) CAN HE JUST CALL ME NAMES LIKE THAT I AM AFRAID OF BEING EVICTED IF I LEAVE HIM HAVE IT. I HAVE LIVED IN BUILDING FOR 10 YEARS AND HE HAS ONLY BEEN RUINING THIS BUILDING FOR 2 YEARS WHAT CAN I DO I REALLY WANT TO GET THIS GUY

I moved into my apartment with my husband and 10 month old son about 4 weeks ago. We were supposed to move in on a Monday, well after I called all week waiting for a response I finally got to move in the following Friday. When I arrived at the apartment they didn't do a walk thru before I moved in and it was filthy. They came to clean it while I was out and when I got home I noticed they didn't clean much. I complained about it again and they sent a lady out who was very rude to me and was cussing in front of my baby (which I don't allow) She was not happy that she had to come out on a Saturday to clean so I gave her 2 things to do and told her to get out. My son crawls on the floor and after about 30 minutes of him being down there his knees and feet turn black. I've complained about this several times. I also keep finding push pins on the carpet which are in a very convenient place for my son to get them and put them in his mouth. I've complained about this also. They said then sent somebody out to clean the carpets again and I believed them because when I got home the carpets were still a little wet. However the next day I found another push pin and my son had turned black again. I waited a few days before I complained again. I took my sons black knees and feet to show them the proof on a friday in the eartly afternoon, the maintance man said he would call the carpet people and see what they could do and he would call me back asap. Monday morning I still had no phone call so I called the office manager and asked her what she was doing about my carpets, after catching attitude with me she told me they had been cleaned already but she would do it again. I mentioned the push pins and asked if she could make sure they were all up. She said "well I don't knwo what to tell you, they're not gonna go over it with a magnifying glass" She also made a comment that I thought was rediculous...it went like this "When I'm wearing white socks at home and I walk on my carpet my feet turn black too" I had to bite my tongue when she said that. I don't want to get evicted but I can't have my son turning black every 30 minutes and I'm going nuts thinking that he's swallowing push pins. Please somebody tell me what I can do.

Hi,

I'm not sure what to do...

I have lived here going on two years and I have always had a washer and dryer in my apartment.

Well, the dryer is not working (not spinning or drying) and the owners (which purchased our complex on 03/2007) told me that they are not going to fix the dryer because it's not in our lease that we have a dryer and they don't THINK that my apartment was equipped with a dryer.

So, I told them if they don't think it is there's then I will take ownership of it and fix it my self.

Well that did not go well, apparently now they believe it is theirs, but they just don't want to fix it!

I pay them rent every month and if my dishwasher, refrigerator, a/c, or water heater have trouble it would be no problem (I think), so what's the deal with the dryer not getting fixed?

I Need Help!!!!

Can anyone refer this poor college student to the proper legal aid in NC?

Hi everyone, these landlords think they are above the law and I am so frustrated with them. That's why I love my job. I am an Independent Associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services and at least 60% of my clients are of this nature. I can help you get an attorney through our legal services plans. $26.00 per month will let you consult with the attorney(as often as you like on as many different matters as you like) and advise you of your rights and inform you if the ladndlord/property manager/property manager are violating your rights. You have the right to stand up for yourself! Do it! Don't get pushed around anymore. You have rights....fight for your rights.

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Julie

I signed a lease over a week ago (August 19th) and the lease itself starts on August 21st. My landlord said he would clean, fix-up, and paint the apartment (since it had not been done since the last tenant moved out). He said he would be done by August 23rd at the latest (keep in mind the lease itself says the 21st.) I've called him every day since the 23rd in order to find out when he would do these things so that I could finally move in. Eventually I left messages saying that I would do these things myself. I have also mentioned taking legal action.

As of right now, he still hasn't returned my calls, the apartment looks the same as it did when I signed the lease, and I'm living with friends, which is inconvenient because I have a dog.

I want to just get the repairs over with myself, with the help of friends, but I don't know if I can do that without his permission. (Which I have requested numerous times in the voicemails I have left him.)

Any advice?

Landlord entering my apartment without notification.

I recently have moved almost completely out of my apartment, however my lease is not done until the end of the month. When I came to finish cleaning my apartment and move the remaining furniture out today I had a very disturbing experience. Not only had the landlord/crew been in my apartment without notifying me, THEY HAD LEFT MY PATIO DOOR AJAR with stains and some of their equipment on the floor! I was extremely upset because anyone could have come in the open patio door and steal my belongings! Since today is a Sunday, the office was not open to even discuss this with them. I am not sure how to handle this with the landlord. I don't want to end on bad terms since I have not had a walk through yet. I am afraid that they will withhold my deposits if I cause trouble, but I feel like this is UNACCEPTABLE!!! I am debating if I should get the police involved since they entered without notification and left my apartment wide open for thefts or other serious damage. What should I do?

The new landlord put up gates, and is now demanding ridiculous amounts of money for devices to open these gates ($35 for remotes, $15 per card). Not only do we have to pay to live here, but we have to pay to get in/to our apts now...
Is this legal? Is there anything we can do?

My husband and I wanted to move our teenaged kids into the suburbs of Seattle due to the fact that they had just spent the last 15 years in Montana and felt that moving to the city was enough of a shock to them. We looked at this " townhouse" with a man, who is not the manager. All seemed awesome, gleeming white walls throughbout the apartment, new light fixtures, pergo flooring, floorstone in the kitchen and bathrooms, really nice and a bargain so we thought for this close to Seattle ( 1195.00 for 3/2). Mind you we looked at this place in the daylight. We signed the necessary papers and was eager to move in, finally a big place, good schools and peace of mind. The first few nights were peaceful mostly due to the fact that it was raining and everyone was inside. 4th of july weekend i met my neighbor who blasted me with a line of racially inappropriate slurs. This is a colored lady with a white husband. I asked what i had done to her and her family thinking we could talk about it and she informed me that I was a trashy white bitch who thinks she is better than anyone else. I did the adult thing and went inside and shut the door. I called the man who showed us the apartment and he had informed me that everyone in and around our complex where section 8 tenants even tho we are not. I wanted to terminate our lease right away thinking that there was probibly a family who could use this apartment more than my family and i could. Management was standoffish and said that the complaint would be noted and that she would take further action if needed. This went on for about a month with the comments to my family members and I. I put a 3 page list in writing and submitted it to mangagement and not long after recieved a 3 day notice for failure to pay, which the rent was dropped off at the management office were we were insturucted to do so by management. She says that she never got the rent. In the mean time while all of this other stuff is going on, my 14 year old son was on the porch at our place fixing another childs bicycle and a 43 year old black lady who was drunk and not a tenant in this building, came over and started yelling at the child, my son told this lady to please go home and she let him have it with the racial slurs which turned into a yelling match and finally she pulled a large knife on him telling him that he would stab him. I called the police to come out and when they did they informed me that they would talk to her. This woman is amazing to me. She sits with the teenagers in the complex till the wee hours of the morning with the music blasting. The group sits around and drinks and smokes dope. what is scarry is that the lady watches children and has a tall beer in her hand 24/7. There has been drug and gang activity in the complex and even a pimp with his ladies. I was informed by managemnt that here is nothing that can be done about any of the things that are listed on the letter that i had written to her stating the reasons why we would like to terminate residency. they only thing i got was an eviction notice and a key scratched car.

ive lived in my apartment for a year as of next month...i had a 6 month lease but have never been asked to sign a new lease...a few months ago my bathroom ceiling began leaking from a toilet over flow from the apartment upstairs...my first attempt at asking the maintenece man to fix it was unsuccessful as he never showed up...then 2 days later after it stopped leaking he showed up...by this time i had to pile almost every extra clothing item and every bed sheet i had to get up the water in the bathroom...well after the maintenece guy finally got here he said the people upstairs had flushed a wad of paper towels...well today the same has happened...my daughter woke me up saying the bathroom is flooding again...well now its destroyed all kinds of medicationa nd various other things since theres a cabinet above my toilet where all the water leaks down onto first....its been 3 hours since i called the maintence man now and he has yet to show up.....can i sue for the items that have been destroyed or egt it taken out of my rent...any help would be appreciated

deth4u@msn.com

I am having alot of problems with my apt. Alot of police activity...swat team and everything. Then the landlords keep entering without an appoitment or my consent. Plus I get nowhere with the office with anything...just end up dizzy from running iin circles...can I get out of my lease? I dont even care about my deposit or such I just dont want to go to court....

I live in a two bedroom apartment with my husband and our 2 todder kids. I just found out that I am pregnant. Does anyone here know if I will be forced to move out because of having another baby being overcrowded in a 2 bedroom home? Im very worried. Thank you!!!

I moved into my first apartment only 1 day ago and killed 19 large black spiders and 21 roaches and still continue killing them. I notice that none of the windows in the apartment doesn't close all the way. There are holes and cracks that needs to be sealed up. The air conditioner doesn't properly cool the apartment. There are thick white cobweb outside my apartment door and surrounding areas at all point of entry into the apartment. I have a small child and very afraid for him. I cried before bringing this concern to my the property manager. I requested a move to another apartment, she refused stating I should have inspected the apartment thoroughly. I really don't know what to do in this situation. Sometimes I feels like moving my kids right now to a better and safer environment and never to return but this will more than likely affect my credit and I don't want that.

I am having a current problem with my landlord. I own(ed) a bicycle. The last time I used it was in April, and then summer break began, and I locked it to the bike rack in front of my apartment complex. It had a flat tire, and the seat was torn a little. It was a little rusty, but that is how it was when I bought it used. I just wanted it to use around campus. I began working full time and going to class part- time in May of 2007. My parents moved to Tallahassee, and I began slowly staying with them, and not at the apartment, but I left all of my belonging (except for a few clothing items) at the apartment (including my bike.) I returned about a month later to discover that my bike was missing. I reported it to the front office. Luckily, as I was telling one of the ladies that work there, another resident overheard me and chimed in with a "oh, I saw the maintenance guy cutting the lock off the bike. He said he was going to throw it away." The manager was made aware of the situation, but she refuses to do anything about it, claiming that the bike was tagged. I told her that I had been gone for nearly a month, and that if the bike was tagged, I would not have been aware of it. She still refused to do anything about it. I called "corporate" and they are in the same mindset. What do I do to get these people to "fess" up to what they did and at least apologize and admit that they were wrong or even pay me back for the bike and lock they destroyed?

Yes i am having current problems with my landlord. I went on a 3 week vacation and when i returned my water was broke and there was mold growing above some of the windows it took him a week to replace the water heater and has done nothing about the mold ive been looking for an atterney.

I have been living in this building for almost 5 Years now and have loved it. All neighbors get along and hang out together, we sit in front of the building and talk to one an other we play cards and bean bags together. Have cook outs together. Well we did before about a year ago. It was like we were all one big family, and when the landlords needed help or were goin out of town we all chipped in the take care of the building together. Because we cared like that. Like I said all up to a year ago when the building got a new owner. Since then lots of rules have come throu, crazy request aswell and weird things happening.The rent went up over $50.00, and we had to signed was a peice of paper stating if we were agreeing to month - to - month, 6 months, or one year. No actual lease. Our landlords were givin a 30 day eviction notice, so that is no job and no place to live in just 30 days, just like that, and no reasons why. They tried to contact that owner and got no return calls or messages except for that the job is covered and the apartment is already rented. Well now they have been out for almost 2 months and the apartment is still vancant and there is no one taking care of the building or the lawn but us the tenants. I myself water the lawn, just because I care about the building and I want it to look nice where I live. My neighbor has put a bid in for taking care of the mowing and tree triming and nothing came from it, he even did the work and still not even a thank you to any of us for our help with keeping up the building. One of the owners employee's has been charged with mulesting a girl, and turns out he was a unregister sex affender. The pool has been shut down for over a month and come to find out that the State Health Department shut it down due to a communical disease. No tenants we notified of even the pool closing in general just a notice on the gate from the Health Department. There is a $50.00 charge if we get locked out of you apartment, and owner of the building lives in one of buildings. All apartment keys are not kept on site. $250.00 fine and eviction if any pet that is not on the lease is even cought visiting the apt. The new owner is very earrey (probly spelled that wrong) but he makes someone not feel comfortable to even be around. When we are outside and he happends to drive by he will speed up when he goes by. Him and his employees do not talk to any of the tenants and all his employees have been instuted not to (by him) even be friend with any tenents.
What do you think? Is there any thing that I can do that is not going to threting my living in this building? I have never wanted to move so bad but just not in the right place to move right now. He has changed all views I have on ever renting again that I just want a house that I own and don't have to worry about getting 30 days to get out.

I live in Baltimore Maryland, and I really feel like I have a slum lord for a land lord. This house, no matter how much we spray, will turn up larve( baby flies) everywhere, on the window sills, in the sink, you name it. We CANt get rid of it. Also, there is a horrible, horrible odor coming from the unfinished basement. We cant get rid of it with cleanning, candles, potpourri, anything. I feel as thou it is incredible unhealthy but dont know what to do about it...we have three months in our lease but I really want to leave now. I am four months pregnant and I am worried about the air conditions. Also, there are resident mice and rats in the cupboards. We have already killed 13 of them in 7 months, put all pet food in clear air tight containers, and still they are here. Last week I was napping and heard a loud bang, only to come into the kitchen to find that there was water coming out of the cupboards, drawers, oven, and walls flooding the wooden floors and also the basement. I didnt know what to do and called the landlord to no avail. Finally I had to call 911. They said the water main busted in the walls. Anyone have any advice for a worried pregnant wife??

My husband and I have lived in our apartment building for nearly 4 years. Recently we started receiving notices from our building manager for leaving property outside of our apartment. Our lease states that we rent the inside of our apartment only and that outside space is at the discretion of the owner. We make a very concerted effort to keep our apartment, including the courtyard space around it, neat and attractive. The items he has complained about include gardening tools and a cigar, but he has also complained about things that were left by a handyman. Several other tenants have things around the courtyard such as an empty rabbit hutch, empty flowerpots, rusted metal bookcase, ashtrays, tables and chairs. No one else has received a notice and the tone of the notices has been very harsh and threatening. He has never spoken to us about this in person, even though we regularly see him around the building. We have been very good tenants and have never received any complaints before this. We frequently clean the courtyard, wipe down the communal washers and dryers and do our best to keep the entire apartment building in good order. We feel singled out and harassed. Our best efforts to comply have been met with another notice. What is out best course of action? Can our building manager evict us for this? If he does evict us, do we have any recourse? How can we protect ourselves when we feel so singled out and attacked?

I live in Michigan and have been renting an apt for 9 months now, lease due to expire end of Oct. I have a regular lock and a deadbolt on my door. I do not lock my deadbolt when I leave my apartment just the door handle, so I found it very strange when I came home one day and couldn't get in, then realized my dead bolt was locked. I was suspicious that management had come into my apartment without notice/consent but had no grounds to prove it. Well today I had gotten off a midnight and was sleeping around 5pm. I heard a knock at my door so while I was still undressed I went to look through the peep hole figuring if it was my bf(doesn't live with me nor have keys) I would let him in, if not I would ignore it and get back to sleep. My peep hole sucks so as I was squinting to see who was there I hear the keys go in the lock, unlocking my door! I was re-locking the door handle and dead bolt as they were being unlocked and someone was on the other side trying to push the door open and jiggling the locks. I yelled out "excuse me!" and I hear "this is Julie from management" in response. I yell through the door that I needed to get dressed, did so and then opened the door. I stood there stunned as she goes "did I wake you up?" and gave me some lecture about how my bf's dog is not to even visit here without being on the lease and she is not to be on the deck, etc. I was really too shocked/terrified thinking someone was trying to break in to say anything. After she left I dialed the police department to file a report, but being as it was after hours only got a msg to call 911 for emergencies. Being as she had left, apologized for waking me and didn't seem to be a threat anymore, I didn't feel it qualified for 911 but will certainly be calling first thing in the morning to report it, and then calling the company that manages my apt to notify them.

My question is that being as it is obvious she assumed I wasn't home when no one answered and was going to let herself in with no notice/consent and I do not suspect it is the first time, do I have legal grounds to break my lease? I no longer feel safe/comfortable in my own home knowing I am being violated by the apartment staff like this. I do not wish to live here anymore but can't afford all of the fees of breaking the lease.

My neighbor and I have been dealing with each other with loud music issues for several months, We have met with the property mgr and the owner and they are doing nothing about, The music is so loud that it rattles my walls and it is very unpeaceful! I have gone through appropriate channels of authority and I also have gotten the many many many police officers involved. Like I said, we just recently met with the propert mgr and the owner about this issue, and he said that "we" ( the neighbor and I ) need to deal with it. I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS AND HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WORK IT OUT FOR ALMOST A YEAR NOW! What should I do???

January my husband I and three children moved into a another house. This house is a older double wide with a huge fenced in yard. We pay our rent three months ahead of time. Well after we moved in we noticed that we only had hot water for a couple of minutes and sometimes not at all. So the landlord came over that weekend. He stated that the element was going out and that it was our fault because we use to much water. He went across the street to the neighbors house and yelled that we were his shitty tenants and that we use up all the water. He did not get a new hot water heater until the next weekend. After he put in the hot water heater he lectured us and told us that if we did not stop doing the dishes all day and taking so many baths that the elements were going to go out on this to. We are hardly home; therefore we do not use that much water! Then he started telling us that our kitchen was a mess and that he was evicting us. I said you can not evict us for a good faith complaint. He was obviously retailiating. Our kitchen was messy becuase we had cold water! We could not do our dishes. So I said no we are hiring a lawyer. A week later we had no hot water at all. At first I thought that he turned the hot water off. So I called the sherriff. He did not turn the hot water off, we just didn't have hot water something was wrong. We called him, wrote him two letters to inform him about the problem. It took him nine days to fix the problem. He did not install the hot water heater correctly in the first place. By law this is supposed to be fixed within 24 hours. Now I am past the eviction date, waiting for the court date. He is trying to say that we are hold over tenants. We have done nothing wrong but want hot water

What to do with a Landlord that gets physical with you (?)

Recently I had a situation where my Landlord whom has been routinely and maliciously violating Cal. Civil Code Section 1940.2 and 1954 (This code deals with the Owners need to serve a 24 Hour Written Notice prior to entering a dwelling, unless it's an 911 emergency which this was not), Health & Safety Code Section 17920.3 (Which specifically states what the Landlords Legal Duties to Perform are and they are duly noted).

For months (from Dec 2005 to March 2007), this Landlord / Property Owner has refused to make any and all required repairs to his rental property.

So recently I called the Los Angeles City Dept. of Building & Safety and filed a formal complaint against my Landlord "Jose Raul Martinez".

When the Inspector came out to inspect the house, he duly noted over one dozen violations and has since issue a Substandard Condition Order that the Landlord must address within the next 30 days or face fines and possible prosecution by the City Attorney's Office and or County D.A.'s Office.

These repairs are so severe that the property should have never been rented to me and my family in the first place and this Landlord has been acting in "BAD FAITH", since day one.

A few days ago he was on the grounds after 5 p.m. without notifying me again, s I called 911 and filed a trespassing Police Complaint against him with the L.A.P.D. while I was on my portable cordless telephone, he grabbed it out of my hand leaving very deep bleeding scratch marks (I call them claw marks, I have digital photo's of them that I took after the incident occurred) thereon my right hand.

I notified the L.A.P.D. of this too and they incorporated it into their Police Report on April 16, 2007. On Friday April 28, 2007 I went to the Los Angeles City Dept. of Building & Safety to obtain a copy of the inspector's report (it was 4 pages long and duly noted 12 violations).

When I arrived home about 4:30 P.M. the Landlord was again at the property in the back yard area, I informed him that I had mail for him and therein the mail I attached a copy of the 4 page Los Angeles City Dept. of Building & Safety Report.

The Landlord went crazy and started to act very violent towards me. I went inside the house got my video camera and recorded him while I called 911.

The L.A.P.D. advise me it was a civil matter and that they couldn’t or wouldn't get involved even though the Landlord was Physically Trespassing, Harassing me and my Family (it's like slow torture)(?)

I believe it's not only a civil matter it's also a criminal matter given what my Landlord has done already and what he plans to do in the future (more Harassment, Threats Etc.).

In Los Angeles, the Landlord is only allowed to perform repairs during normal business hours 9-5 Mon-Fri. (Unless it's a true emergency)!

Otherwise he must leave and come back to finish his work on another business day during business hours per Cal. Civil Code Section 1954.

This Landlord thinks it's legal for him to should up without any type of notice, regardless of the time of day (this is pure Harassment and a violation of right of privacy and quiet enjoyment).

Initially when I moved me and my family into this Three (3) Bedroom One (1) Bath House in Granada Hills, I had no idea that the house had the habitability problems that it did, our Landlord and his female partner (*girlfriend???) never disclosed this data to me or to my family, we found out all of the problems the hard way after the fact.

If he had told me about all these Habitability Problems I would have never rented this house from him for the $1,400.00 per month!

Note, some of the problems had been covered up and other existed but without my knowledge (or until I tried to use the Appliance (Heater? AC Unit, the Stove and Oven, Electrical Outlets, faulty Plumbing, Kitchen Fan Lamps and a list of other things).

In my eyes he is a "SLUM LORD LANDLORD" of the worse kind, who is not from this country (he's from El Salvador, Central America) thus he doesn't believe in our legal system, laws and the rights of our citizens!

So why the _______ is is he here (?)

It appears that this situation is headed for the Superior Court, I have started to video tape and photograph the Landlord whenever he is on the property after normal business hours 9-5 Mon-Fri (per the L.A.P.D.), in addition to all the duly noted habitability violations and problems with this house / rental property.

This evidence can then be used to prosecute him for Harassment / Acts of Terrorism, Trespassing and others as well as other violations under California Civil Law that this Landlord has intentionally and maliciously violated.

One biggest mistake with this Landlord was we never had a formal written lease or rental agreement, it was all done verbally.

But I do keep good notes and records and I pay him with certified funds (money orders that are proof of rents paid).

If I do go to court I will be demanded a full refund of all rents paid from Dec 2005 to the Present Date, Plus Legal Fee's and Court Costs. I may also demand Punitive and Compensatory Damages for his intentional and malicious violations of my and my family rights to privacy!

If you want to write to me about this situation, or if you have any really good advice for me I can be e-mailed at TheItalianice2006@yahoo.com.

I live in Los Angeles California. Recently, the handyman had the railing on our balcony repainted. However, he gave us no verbal or written notice this was going to happen. He had the crew come in on a saturday morning (I had already left for work, but my nieghbors have the exact same apt and balcony and were at home)and moved, rather haphazardly, all the items on oour balcony. They put a plant in our fountain which spilled dirt and destroyed the pump, knocked over our planers spilling dirt and plants onto the astroterf we had put down, cut off the lights we had on the railing, broke down our "bamboo" that we had up around the balcony, and cut the wires that we had tied it on with, spilled the ashtray we had put outther for our freinds who somke so that there is ash and ciggarette butts in the terf, and about 20 other things which would make this post just to long. We have lived here for 1.5 years, The real question is; is the balcony included in the area defined as the "dwelling space." In other words, does a landlord have to give notice that they will be on the balcony and moving (and destroying) our stuff. Any ideas, suggestions?

My gas bill is in the landlord's name, which means THEY get the bill sent to them and have to send me a copy to pay my portion. However, there have been disputes within the family and the landlord duties have changed hands a few times. This entire winter I did not receive one bill from them, despite the fact that I wrote two letters when i paid rent two different times (i made copies of each photocopied next to the check) asking for the bill. Now, more than 6 months later, I have received a letter from the latest family member stating that he is the new person in charge of landlord duties and that he will get a gas bill to me soon.

My problem is that I am not prepared, nor do I think I should have to pay any backpay for the gas. It is obvious they have been making the payments because my gas was never shut off and shut-off notices do come to the house (even though the monthly bill does not) and i never got one. I am willing and able to begin paying the gas from this point forward, but I wonder if there is any legal right I have to deny paying backpay?