LL REFUSES TO FIX WATER PROBLEM

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I CAN DO ABOUT A WATER PUMP ON MY ELECTRIC ....AND IM ALSO SUPPLYING AND PAYING THE ELECTRIC FOR THE TENANTS UP FRONT TO HAVE WATER FROM THE SAME WATER PUMP... I ASK THE LANDLORD REPEATIDLY ABOUT TAKING IT OFF OUR ELECTRIC AND GIVING THE TENANTS UP FRONT THERE OWN WATER PUMP BECAUSE WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO KEEP PAYING A HIGH ELECTRIC BILL AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE DIDNT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT NO MORE AND STARTED TO GET VERY ANGRY OVER THE ISSUE ... I TRYED TO OFFER DIFFERRANT OPTIONS ON FIXING THE PROBLEM BUT HE DOESNT WANT TO HEAR IT...WE LIVED HERE ALLMOST 18 YEARS AND ALLWAYS FIXED EVERYTHING BECAUSE HE REFUSES TO FIX WHATS WRONG AND I HAVE KIDS... WE ALSO HAVENT HAD A WORKING HEATER IN THE 18 YEARS AND WE STILL CANT GET HIM TO FIX IT EITHER.. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND WHAT MY RIGHTS ARE IF HE TRYS TO EVICT US FOR ASKING HIM TO FIX WHATS WRONG?

[OHlandlord]

First, please turn off your caps. (Using all caps on the internet is equivalent to shouting.)

Next, let me understand you correctly. You have lived in this unit for 18 years and you have been paying for another unit to pump water all this time? Additionally, you have had no heat for 18 years? Forgive me for saying so, but why have you lived this long with these types of problems? What have you done in 18 years to get him to correct these issues? Do you have any documentation or proof of your attempts to get him to correct these things? Also, I need to ask what state you are in so I can apply state law to your situation.

hi,im writing back to your reply ... i live in delaware. i have no documents to prove i have been requesting him to fix these problems..i only been asking him verbally..we continued to live here because we can't afford to move anywhere else because of the cost of places and the cost of our bills..we have been looking for a place hopeing to get lucky and find something we can afford but no luck yet ...i only have some pictures of what this place looked like when we moved in and pictures of what we have fixed ourselfs... and we dont even get a thankyou from him or him offering to compasate us for what we done ...we also ask him to pump the septic tank out to cause it overflows all the time and it is connected to two places mine and the one up front which i know that is not suppose to be like that but they continue to let him go when someone calls the state on him..please help me figure out what to do .... thankyou

[OHlandlord]

You need to make all repair requests in writing, send it certified mail, return receipt requested to him, and keep a copy. This proves you made the request and that he received it. Keep the receipt you get back too.

It may not be required to have 2 septic tanks for the units, it is possible that they can share one. Only the code for that area would tell you if it is allowed or not. Still, these should be pumped regularly. Call the health dept. if he doesn't pump it out.

Are you exagerating about not having a working heater in 18 years? And why would you continue to pay to pump water for another unit for that long? If you haven't complained about these things before, it may be too late to complain about them now. After this long, a judge may rule that you didn't care about the heat or paying for the pump, or your would have complained or moved before this.

hi its me again just replying to what you wrote back....i have allways complained to him but its like talking to the wall cause he does not care about what go's on here cause he dont have to live here cause hes in a nice big house right up the street...and he even lets his mother right next to me live in a place thats fallen down ...and no im not exagerating about the heater ..everytime i say something he just go's on like we are suppose to fix it and he drives off and we dont hear from him again until rent is due again and everytime i see him i complain and it leads to an argument and he drives off...and i continue to pay for the water cause if i dont we wont have electricor water ourselfs cause its all hooked up in one unit and the only way not to pay for it would be not to pay our electric bill and i have kids and explained to you in the last comment i wrote that we cannot afford to pay for another place at ridiculous prices ... my husband is the only one that works cause i have health problems and cant work thats why we are trying to look for something we might be able to afford ...but unless a miracle happens and prices go down ..we will continue to have to live here.....

[OHlandlord]

Telling him about th electric problem does nothing. As you have witnessed, he just ignores it. Writing to him creates a paper trail that can stand up in court. You can possibly get back some of the oney you've paid for the other tenant to have the water pumped.

A couple of suggestions: Call the Public Utilities Commission in your areas. Some states require that shared utilities be disclosed in lease agreements. Can you unplug the pump or turn the breaker off to it? Turn it off when you are not using water. The other tenant will not be able to pump the water when it is off. He will complain to the LL. Then you can tell the LL that you absolutely will not pay to pump anyone else's water from now on. If it is in our unit, he will be unable to stop you from shutting it off (you rent that area). He will be forced to take action. Finally, please list your state. YOu may be able to rent withhold for this. Don't do this until I look up your state and you ask court officials if you can do this. Send the letter NOW. Then if he doesn't take action to give you an allowance for the other tenant's water pumping, you can start filing a small claims suit against him each month to recover a portion of the electric bill for the water pumped to the other unit. You have to be proactive if you want this to stop. Ignoring the issue or failing to take action and stand up for yourself will get you nothing but that large electric bill.

hi its me again . i just wanted to start off by saying thank you for all your advice with these issues.. you said you needed to know what state im from and im from delaware..so if you can find out what the laws are for this state for the problems we been speaking of i would truely appreciate it so much... before i turn off the breaker to the water pump i need to know if by law im allowed to do that and when i do , can he evict us for turning it off and also about complaing to him with the other problems we been talking about ,like the heater and all the other repairs we done while living here.. cause we really cant afford a high cost morgage or high rent ...i dont have a lease ,we just allways did month to month or year to year ,how every it may be taken cause we just never had a contract or lease... but if need to be, i have witness's for what has been going on here...would that be proof enough if we have to go to court exspecially if he trys to evict us ...i also need to know if he comes in to our residance with out our permission, can he be charged with trespassing or something? again i just wanted to say thank you for all your help...

[OHlandlord]

In Delaware, the LL can ask you to move out for no reason if you are on a month to month agreement. But he would have to give you 60 days notice in order to do this. So if he gave you notice at the end of this month, you still wouldn't need to be out until the end of April. He doesn't need a reason for this so, yes, if you complain too much, he can just ask you to move. Since it is your breaker and your electric bill that you are paying for, you can shut off any breaker you like. The LL won't be happy about it, I'm sure. But it is yor right. In Delaware, he has to give you 2 days notice prior to entering your unit unless it is an emergency. (He may try to claim the lack of water is an emergency.) Try to find another place to live soon. You will have to give him 60 days notice to move out too. But this guy has been taking advantage of you for too long. Good luck.