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View Full Version : problem with landlord/owner - in a rental



PhL0aTeR
08-02-2007, 18:18
OK, I'll try not to make this long and drawn out.... here is the situation...

We (GF, friend and myself) found a house to rent earlier this year. It was appealing to us, because they did not require a deposit, or a pet deposit, and it was a grand a month for a 4 bed/2 bath/1 car garage. Having no deposit, i knew there would be some things wrong with it, and after moving in i fixed a bunch of things.

Prior to moving in, we had verbally talked about replacing the carpet with tile instead of used carpet, like they told us he wanted to do. The owner smoked, and even since the old carpet was ripped out, the stench is still in the house, although not as bad. I told the landlord that I might be willing to help pay for the materials to install the tile, but things have come up every month and left me shorter than i needed to be.

In the 3 months we have lived here the plumber has been here 3 times fixing different stuff. The last time we had a problem, one of our outside spigots sprung a leak and was flooding the basement, and we shut the water off. I called the landlord, he called owner, owner says call this company (i guess he had a deal with them). this particular company cant do it, and now its after hours, and the other places will be charging an emergency after hours fee, so owner says it will have to wait. I get a bit pissed off about this because we have been better tenants anyone could have hoped for in a rent house, as I keep the yard cleaned and mowed, i have excavated 2 trailer loads of trash from the property and taken it to the dump, something that we were supposed to be reimbursed for but havent seen anything. ANYways, it was at this point when i decided that rather than raise the value of a home that the owner could care less about, i would let them install carpet in the house, since we have been without for 3 months, just walking on the mudstained plywood floors. So last month when i paid my rent, I told the guy i didnt want the tile, and i wanted the carpet cuz i wasnt willing to "invest" for a person that didnt give a shit if their tenants had water or not. He said ok, and i havent heard anything from him. My GF went and dropped the rent check off to him tonight and asked aboutt he carpet and was told that we wouldnt be getting carpet, that we "had our chance" and was going to have to live with what we have.

What are my courses of action?

2ndChildhood
08-02-2007, 18:30
how much of the original agreement do you have in writing?

If the answer is none then there isn't much you can do.

HunterCO
08-02-2007, 18:32
I am no attorney but unless you have it in writing I think your SOL. You may just have to move out and tell him to pound sand.

chrisguy
08-02-2007, 19:34
Did you sign a lease? Also not a lawyer but I agree that what you do or don't have in writing will probably control the outcome. Did a quick google search for "tenant's rights" + Colorado and found this, which doesn't sound great but there may be a ray of light:


Landlords in all states except Alabama, Arkansas and Colorado are responsible for the physical condition of rental property, both when you move in and during your tenancy. This responsibility stems from the landlord's duty to offer and maintain housing that satisfies basic habitability requirements, such as adequate weatherproofing, available heat, water and electricity, and clean, sanitary and structurally safe premises. Even in the three states that have not adopted this habitability rule, local or state housing laws may impose substantially the same requirements on landlords.
from http://www.lectlaw.com/files/lat09.htm, under #10.

If you've got MS Word or other editor that'll handle .doc's, might wanna dig here too:
www.dola.state.co.us/cdh/landlords/landlordtenantrights.doc

Good luck

car-15
08-02-2007, 20:18
if you are in colo. springs, below is a link to the city's code page maby you can run across something in there something in there? that may be your only option, unless you call channel 11 call for action, they seem to have good luck making slum lords "come around"
http://66.113.195.234/CO/Colorado%20Springs/index.htm

PhL0aTeR
08-02-2007, 21:27
yeah, basically I just need some carpet installed. I am somewhat familiar with HUD laws, although i dont know if the same type of laws apply to rentals, i assume they do since alot of it is about safety, and if theres a tear in the linoleum, by HUD standars it must be patched, even if its with a peice of duct tape.

Just as an update, here is a letter I typed up and delivered to the landlord today.




Date of Request: 08/02/2007

Request Generated By: Jesse XXXX

PRIORITY:
X URGENT (ASAP)
 Rush (1-2 Days)
 Normal (approx. 1 week)

LOCATION OF PROBLEM:

 __XXX XXXXXX Dr W Colorado Springs, CO 80916 – Main level bedrooms, Living area, stairs___


DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM:
There is no floor coverings in these areas, only the plywood subflooring. Nails that need to be hammered in are prevalent, there is tackstrips and splinters all over the floor creating a safety hazard. I made a verbal request for carpet on 07/01/2007 while paying rent. This is my formal request for floor coverings.




Please complete form and give to Landlord, have landlord sign receipt.






___________________________________

Signed – Landlord (acknowledgment of receipt)

<MADDOG>
08-02-2007, 21:37
I am no attorney but unless you have it in writing I think your SOL. You may just have to move out and tell him to pound sand.

+1

Plenty of slum lords with far worse conditions than that. Do a search on "Terry Ragan".

Great-Kazoo
08-04-2007, 07:58
www.troubleshooter.com go there and see what they can do. echoing everyone else nothing in writing your're SOL
$1000.00 per month. thats a house payment