Shoddy construction, or normal wear and tear?

One morning while at work my wife explained over the phone that our 3 year old daughter noticed a crack in the ceiling. Within minutes she notified our landlord and explained the situation, at which time they told her that they would fix the problem in a couple of days. After about 15 minutes our ceiling completely fell in without reason destroying our living room, and almost harming my family. Afterward my wife called them back and told them what happened and after a couple of hours a man arrived to asses the damage . He was baffled and strongly urged us to vacate the home since the installation could harm our children. The landlord relocated us to a hotel at their expense. We routinely checked the progress of or home being fixed and found that during our 3 week stay at the hotel, work was only performed for four days. Initially we were told that the roof would be replaced, then that only the drywall but that the entire house would be repainted and re-carpeted to atone for the immense inconvenience. In the end the ceiling was replaced in the living room and the carpet was replaced. Just a week prior to this we were looking to move but they lowered our rent and we decided to stay. However, after feeling neglected and angered by them wanting rent and reimbursement for the hotel cost, we moved out. Our lease had expired 3 months before and had not been renewed. A friend told me that we should seek our security deposit and last month's rent since this was one in a long line of problems with the house through no fault of our own. The question is, is he correct or are we liable in any way? We do have a list of past emails between us showing problems and the delays to address them and in some cases not at all. We also have pictures of the damage caused which also shows no water damage although this was their claim to the accident and not shoddy construction, what is our next move. Thank you

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered One morning while at work my wife explained over the phone that our 3 year old daughter noticed a crack in the ceiling. Within minutes she notified our landlord and explained the situation, at which time they told her that they would fix the problem in a couple of days. After about 15 minutes our ceiling completely fell in without reason destroying our living room, and almost harming my family. Afterward my wife called them back and told them what happened and after a couple of hours a man arrived to asses the damage . He was baffled and strongly urged us to vacate the home since the installation could harm our children. The landlord relocated us to a hotel at their expense. We routinely checked the progress of or home being fixed and found that during our 3 week stay at the hotel, work was only performed for four days. Initially we were told that the roof would be replaced, then that only the drywall but that the entire house would be repainted and re-carpeted to atone for the immense inconvenience. In the end the ceiling was replaced in the living room and the carpet was replaced. Just a week prior to this we were looking to move but they lowered our rent and we decided to stay. However, after feeling neglected and angered by them wanting rent and reimbursement for the hotel cost, we moved out. Our lease had expired 3 months before and had not been renewed. A friend told me that we should seek our security deposit and last month's rent since this was one in a long line of problems with the house through no fault of our own. The question is, is he correct or are we liable in any way? We do have a list of past emails between us showing problems and the delays to address them and in some cases not at all. We also have pictures of the damage caused which also shows no water damage although this was their claim to the accident and not shoddy construction, what is our next move. Thank you

Did you end up renewing the lease or are you still a month-to-month tenant?

Did you give proper notice before you moved? (Depending on your state, 30 days or more in advance is usually required.)

Regarding ASKING for your security deposit, that would be absurd. It doesn't belong to the LL, it belongs to YOU. The money is held to cover damages YOU caused to the property or to pay for any unpaid rent, fees, etc. still due when you left. If you didn't give proper notice, then additional rent would be due to make up the balance of the notice period not given.

The SD funds are never to be used to repair items due to wear & tear. That would be considered the LLs cost to bear. And the ceiling coming down is NOT something you would have to pay for unless you directly caused it to happen.

As for reimbursement of the hotel stay during the repairs, did the LL advise you sooner than the 3 wks when the work was completed? He was obligated to pay for alternative housing OR abate your rent for the time when the rental was uninhabitable. He chose to put you up in a hotel - HIS choice. You are under no obligation to reimburse him unless he said the repairs were finished and you continued to stay in the hotel, and even then, only for the period that you overstayed.