Landlord ignores phone calls and won't help me.

[arthur_toafk]

I live in PA...

I had an issue with the ceiling leaking that began the week I first moved in, so I called the landlord. He lied to me and said he would fix it, and did nothing. I called two weeks later... same response. I told him I would start withholding rent unless he signed a statement I wrote saying he agreed with the facts at hand, and begin (not complete, just begin) fixing the leaky roof. He complied and got his rent check. I got a signed statement from him saying it took a month to get repairs started.

Then the roof leaked again. I did the same as before, only didn't feel like chasing him down in person to get a signature, so I kept calling every two weeks for months. He wouldn't pick up the phone or return my calls. I finally wrote him a letter (my lease says USPS correspondence between our addresses is considered legal correspondence) saying I would withhold rent. Still no response!

I sent a second letter two weeks later informing him that I would deduct rent (pro-rated by area of the bedroom and days since I began withholding rent) in addition to withholding. The next day, two repairmen begin fixing the bedroom where the leak occurred.

I sent him another letter 3 weeks ago thanking him for the repairs (the day they were completed), and urged him (again in writing) to call or write me to discuss payment (I wanted to be reasonable about how much the rent should be pro-rated - and I explicitly wrote this in the letter). He never called.

I sent a mailing a week ago with the pro-rated rent check and a letter saying that if he can't communicate with me, he can't cash the check. Paraphrasing from the letter: either he calls or writes to discuss it, or he cashes the check and by doing so accepts the pro-rated amount I calculated.

It's been a week now and he hasn't cashed the check or called. What am I supposed to do? Chase him down, videotape our encounter, and draft a new statement to make him sign. Hunting him like a dog to get some face time isn't something I want to do on principle, but I don't know what's left at this point...

-Nate

PS. He seems nice enough in person, and all the other tenants of my apt complex agree. But, they also think there are communication issues in his company (so much so that repairmen are frequently never sent out). I'd rather burn him too much, as I'd like to keep the place next year...

[Lexus]

If the problem of your house is still persisting you can contact with the Health Department. It may be authorized if the landlord is not responding to Health Department requests and the problems are significant. If authorized, the tenant will be given instructions to establish an escrow account in a local bank into which all rent payments and fees must be paid exactly as specified by the lease. If, after six months the problems have not been corrected, the Department will authorize payment of the money to the tenant and the lease will be voided. If the landlord makes the repairs within six months, he will be authorized to withdraw the deposited rent.

Whoa. Hold on here. You cannot dictate the terms under which he cashes rent checks that are rightfully his to cash. In addition, you are lucky he didn't move to evict you as a result of withholding rent. You had no right to do that.

You are lucky this guy seems to be as docile as he is and seems to want to avoid unpleasantness and confrontations. I would have you in court so fast your head would spin.

You have a lot of nerve trying to tell him he can't cash HIS rent check unless he speaks to you. Perhaps a judge needs to teach you landlord/tenant law. It's really too bad this guy doesn't know either.

[DBrasner]

Originally Posted by Unregistered Whoa. Hold on here. You cannot dictate the terms under which he cashes rent checks that are rightfully his to cash. In addition, you are lucky he didn't move to evict you as a result of withholding rent. You had no right to do that. You are lucky this guy seems to be as docile as he is and seems to want to avoid unpleasantness and confrontations. I would have you in court so fast your head would spin. You have a lot of nerve trying to tell him he can't cash HIS rent check unless he speaks to you. Perhaps a judge needs to teach you landlord/tenant law. It's really too bad this guy doesn't know either.

First off, yes, he probably can withhold rent. Part landlord/tenant law reads that a tenant may do so if a necessary right("important and vital to the occupation") is inhibited. So, if the leak was a large one and interrupted his normal use of the room, he likely had a right to withhold rent. However, if the landlord fixes the problem, the tenant has a duty to pay all withheld rent. The tenant may pay to have the issue fixed then deduct that reasonable amount from the next month's rent (but this must be done after giving the landlord a reasonable amount of time to fix the issue himself).

Also, if the leak was a bad one, it could constitute constructive eviction by the landlord and the tenant would have had the right to vacate the property and receive appropriate costs (if necessary). However, by remaining in the property, he removed this option.

All in all, the tenant has a right to withhold the rent but must make his account current upon the issue being fixed. A deduction from the rent for inability to use some of his property could be appropriate but nothing in the laws state an implicit right to do so. It would need to be worked out between the landlord and tenant. Call the department of housing, they are there to help you. They want you to call, so use them.

Originally Posted by DBrasner First off, yes, he probably can withhold rent. Part landlord/tenant law reads that a tenant may do so if a necessary right("important and vital to the occupation") is inhibited. So, if the leak was a large one and interrupted his normal use of the room, he likely had a right to withhold rent. However, if the landlord fixes the problem, the tenant has a duty to pay all withheld rent. The tenant may pay to have the issue fixed then deduct that reasonable amount from the next month's rent (but this must be done after giving the landlord a reasonable amount of time to fix the issue himself). Also, if the leak was a bad one, it could constitute constructive eviction by the landlord and the tenant would have had the right to vacate the property and receive appropriate costs (if necessary). However, by remaining in the property, he removed this option. All in all, the tenant has a right to withhold the rent but must make his account current upon the issue being fixed. A deduction from the rent for inability to use some of his property could be appropriate but nothing in the laws state an implicit right to do so. It would need to be worked out between the landlord and tenant. Call the department of housing, they are there to help you. They want you to call, so use them.

He can only withhold the rent money if he informed the landlord in writing but still has received no relief to the problem.

Tenants cannot arbitrarily withhold rent without going through the proper and necessary steps to justify it.

You idiot, it's okay for a landlord to ignore a tenant is it? Well it's not, landlords are getting away with murder, bullys holding tenants to randsom a lot of the time and causing untold amounts of stress. You're obviously one of them.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Whoa. Hold on here. You cannot dictate the terms under which he cashes rent checks that are rightfully his to cash. In addition, you are lucky he didn't move to evict you as a result of withholding rent. You had no right to do that. You are lucky this guy seems to be as docile as he is and seems to want to avoid unpleasantness and confrontations. I would have you in court so fast your head would spin. You have a lot of nerve trying to tell him he can't cash HIS rent check unless he speaks to you. Perhaps a judge needs to teach you landlord/tenant law. It's really too bad this guy doesn't know either.

[goddessoflubboc]

That post was over TWO YEARS old. Move on.