Shady landlord...

[trillium131]

I am asking this on behalf of my girlfriend.

Let me tell the whole story, just a shortened version without unnecessary wordiness.

She was out of a job and homeless for over three months...
She lived in a homeless shelter. They got her an apartment... The landlord, essentially, is that shelter. A man by the name of Fred Kane is her official landlord.

When she moved in, the apartment was uninhabitable. There was no heat, and no water. After a month without these necessities, her landlord offered her one month free rent until the utilities were restored. She accepted.

Not too long after she moved back in once things were repaired, she came home to find water flowing out her front door, and the door of the other apartment in her unit (two apartments each unit, three units) She ran into her apartment, and realized that the pipes had burst next door. (The apartment next door had been vacant for months... They did not turn off the electricity to it, or drain the pipes, which I was told is standard procedure if an apartment is to be vacant long.) Her case manager/homeless shelter staff left the window open on that vacant apartment. Thus, it was their fault the pipes burst. Nobody could get ahold of Mr. Fred Kane or his wife... My girlfriend got the water dept. to shut off the water, and spent hours on the phone arguing with homeless shelter staff to get the landlord's wife's cellular phone number.

Her apartment grew mold... black mold, possibly toxic. She told them, and they did nothing.

Not too long after that, one of them appeared at her door (for what reason, I cannot recall) and managed to violate Ohio state law stating that a landlord must give a tennant 24 hours notice before coming over unless it's an emergency or their presence is requested, etc.

Soon enough, things started disappearing from her apartment while she was at work... first, it was $12 worth of batteries... then one day she came home and found food wrappers on her porch, footprints, a handprint on her window, and found all of her fruit & grain bars gone, along with some gunk on her counter, and the box was on the counter as well. She never leaves food out...

We suspected the maintenance man. There was no proof. She brought up the fact that things were disappearing at a meeting with her case manager, and they brushed it off. One of her neighbors (also a tennant of this shady individual) stood up for her.

She took her rent in one day, and she got a call saying she hadn't paid. The lady she gave her rent to cashed the money order and didn't make a note of it. Thus my girlfriend was needlessly harrassed about her rent.

By the time she could cash her paycheck , pay her rent, and buy a tiny bit of gasoline, she can't even afford groceries for that week. She also has bills. She cannot pay her rent in one go. Her landlord was angry about that.

Last time she paid her rent, she was told "No more. Next month if you can't pay it all at once, you can find a new place to live." I already know that they can't evict her without going to court...

Her neighbors are up for eviction. They refuse to pay rent (rightly so) because their upstairs plumbing is broken. This pours what they flush down their toilet directly into their stove and kitchen sink. They don't have to fork over money until he fixes that. He says it's their fault, and they have to fix it, which is incorrect. It can't be proven that it's their fault, and it's the landlord's responsibility to fix it anyway. He's pulling the same ridiculous stunt that he did with my girlfriend to take his sweet time with the repairs, save he's not offering free rent.

Someone called him in and reported him to the EPA or somebody for the unsanitary conditions... My girlfriend was screamed at, basically harrassed, for it. They blamed her, and she did no such thing. She did contact the BBB about him, and they redirected her to fair housing.

Unless there is a clause in her lease designating that she cannot pay in installments, her landlord cannot demand otherwise, can he?

My suggestion to all of them, is to pool their limited resources and obtain as good a lawyer as they can to fight this man in court.

What can be done?
Does my girlfriend really have to pay him rent in full just because he says so?

If he takes it to court, would a judge rule against him at hearing all the stories of his shadiness, non-compliance with the law, and general mistreatment of his tennants?

My suggestion is that ya'll quit a crappin in that there stool.

[OHlandlord]

First, your GF has a LL and she knows his name. While he may be affilliated with the shelter, her LL is not the shelter and they are not responsible for any of this. Quit calling the shelter for problems with your LL. Calling the shelter is not the same as notifying the LL. It will not be considered proof that he was told of the problems. The LL abated her rent for the period when her unit was uninhabitable. That is one correct way to compensate the tenant & is the most common way.

The LL is responsible for the water damage to the unit, but not to the GF's belongings. Renter's insurance would have covered her belongsings. If she didn't have it, she has no recourse for those. But the LL must repair the damages from the broken pipe. He can then seek reimbursement from whomever left the window open and is responsible.

You don't know that the mold is toxic. You have no idea what kind of mold it is because it hasn't been tested. Only 1% of all types of mold is harmful, the other 99% are either benign (neither harmful or helpful, or beneficial (like penicillum and blue cheese molds). You have to have it tested to see the type of mold and the mold level in the unit before you can hazard a guess about any toxicity. People always jump to the conclusion that all mold is bad when that simply isn't true. In cases of mold, you need to call the health department to have it tested. They can cite the owner and make him repair.

A LL doesn't need to give 24 hours notice to come to the door. Only to come INSIDE the unit. If he comes to the door and requests in without a 24 hour notice, she can simply state that she requires the state's amount of notice and ask them to come back the next day. A LL can come to the door to talk to the tenant without any notice.

Without proof of who is entering the unit, she cannot accuse anyone. She needs to report the entries and thefts to the police department and the LL. It may be maintenance, it could be a former tenant (if he didn't change the locks), it could be another tenant who somehow got hold of a copy of her key. Again, the case manager has nothing to do with this so don't involve them. Simply request that the unit's locks be changed as someone is gaining access without permission and items are being stolen from within the locked unit.

A money order can be traced and reported stolen. She can get a replacement money order if the person to whom it was made out never received it. Contact the office or store where she bought the MO to get the phone number for their office. She will need the receipt to give them the MO number. Always get a receipt for any rent payment except a personal check (which one could get a copy of from their local bank if needed). Who accepted the MO in the office? They should be reported to the LL and the police.

To get the repairs made, write a written letter detailing what needs fixed and why and mail it certified, return receipt requested. Keep a copy. (Don't call or talk to the LL about this. Don't email them. None of those are proof that you asked about the problem.) Ask that he begin repairs within 10 days and that he contact her to tell her when he will start repairs. If he does not, then call the health dept. or the local building/code inspector to inspect the unit ONCE THE TIME HAS EXPIRED FOR THOSE 10 DAYS. (Remember you have to allow him time to repair.)

If this is not submitted in writing and you have no proof that he received it, it will be hard to retain an attorney. OH state law says he must get written notification and be given time to correct and repair before you can rent withhold, repair & deduct, sue him, etc. Get the letter to him ASAP. And direct the other tenants to do the same for needed repairs. If he does not repair, call the clerk of court and ask for the correct procedure to rent withhold. If you don't rent withhold correctly, by court procedures, you can be evicted.

The LL is correct to demand all his rent at once. Rent is due (all of it) on the first of the month. The LL does not have to accept partial payments of rent in OH. He can refuse partial payments, post a 3 day notice on the 2nd of April, and file for eviction by the 8th. OH is a "no second chances state". He does not have to accept the rent in installments or late. I suggest she pay it all on the first.

Finally, the problems with her LL cannot be considered if she doesn't document them and have proof that the LL knew about them. (Just because the tenants say he knows about them is not proof for a court.) Additionally, if he files for eviction due to non-payment, the problems may not be considered at all. If the GF does not have proof that he was notified of them, or that he had time to repair, the judge may not consider the problems because there will be no proof that he was negligent. The judge may only ask if the GF paid the rent then order the eviction. Since this is already the 22nd, even if she mailed the letter today, he wouldn't get it until probably the 25th or 26th. That's only a few days before rent is due again. The judge may not consider that enough time to allow him to make repairs. Also, she hasn't deemed the problems bad enough to do rent withholding with the court or to call the health dept. She may be lucky and get a sypathetic judge, but don't count on that. She has to document problems with the unit to protect herself.

Write the letter and mail it CM, RRR. Pay rent in full on the 1st. If he doesn't start repairs within 10-14 days, call the health dept. or code inspection. Good luck.

Very Helpful Input!

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