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Thread: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

  1. #1
    Featured Member Miss_Luscious's Avatar
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    Default Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    So my husband and I moved into this house in August. WE are just renting until we get everything right to buy a house. When we moved, we asked the landlord if he lived in this house and decided to rent it out now. He said no, he never lived here. The previous tenants had been here for two years and moved out the day before we moved in. They told us he has a couple of other properties he rents out as well.

    When we moved in and did the walkthrough with the landlord, we noticed that the patio door would not close all the way. This is of course a safety concern and we wanted it fixed right away. It took him until the day before Thanksgiving to fix it. In that time we also noticed the master bathroom shower leaked down to the half bath in the basement. The ceiling and wall to that bathroom were destroyed and had to be taken down. The guy who came to fix it said the floor of the master bath would have to be completely redone because the wood was rotted and mildewed and the tiles was all cracked. They fixed the ceiling and the wall of the half bath but said we couldn't use the shower in the master bath because it would leak down and mess up the half bath again. The floor was supposed to be fixed the next week. That was in November as well. Nothing has been done. We have now discovered another leak in the ceiling of he basement and we have no idea where it's coming from. We called the landlord and told him about it yesterday and he said he would send someone to take a look but no one showed.

    So today I go online a start Googling to see if I can find any complaints or anything about him. He had one of his other properties foreclosed on in May 2006 for non payment of taxes and it just was transferred to the city in December. He has this residence listed as his principal residence even though he bought it in 2004 and he has never lived here. He also has the house where we send his rent checks listed as him principal residence as well (I do believe this is actually where he lives). The previous tenants told us he recently (in the past year) refinanced this house.

    Now my understanding is that you can not have 2 principal residences. Also, if he refinanced this house as his principal residence as opposed to his rental property isn't that fraud? He would be getting the tax benefits of both houses without having to pay the higher interest rate and such for investment properties, right?
    So here are my questions:
    1. Do we have any legal recourse with the maintenance issues? Can we get out of our lease? We have a bathroom we can't use and probably a bunch of mildew floating around the house. I have two small children and I don't want to mess around with mildew and/or mold.

    2. Is the way he is doing business (2 principal residences one of which he never lived in) illegal? I'm not planning on getting him in trouble; I just want to know for my own personal information.

    We were planning on staying here until we ready to buy a house (3-4 years) but in light of these things we are definitely leaving. I just want to know how soon we can do that.
    "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." - Bertrand Russell

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    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    Ya'll bitches need to calm down. Cerously.
    In other words: Boo-motherfucking-hoo

  2. #2
    Featured Member Sinder's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    I think you have a pretty good case against him...at least you would in Canada. Talk to a lawyer. He is definately an uber-fuck up of a landlord. If the place fails a home inspection, I don't think he can rent to you in the condition it is in unless an arrangement has been made between both parties where if you fix or repair anything, you will be reimbursed for it. That's how it works for us here. we have a nifty lil' thing called the "Landlord & Tenants Act"

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    God/dess Lena's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    In Pennsylvania you can put your rent in escrow until he fixes the problems.



  4. #4
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    Yep, that's illegal. There should be a government office in your area to deal with issues such as these. If you like, you could always threaten to rat him out to the IRS if he doesn't fix the problems, but at any rate your lease is not binding because he is not upholding his end of it. Landlords are legally responsible for maintenance and upkeep of their property, especially where health risks are involved (and mold is definitely a health risk).

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    ^ Not to mention a shower that could fall through because of rotted wood.

    You can call your local courthouse and ask them who would be responsible for making your landlord bring the house up to code.

    As for the other stuff...there is nothing you can do about it. The IRS will catch it if he tries to write off taxes on both places as a principle living property. But, if that was done to get the house refi'ed...eh...its kind of a grey area there. You get more refi options on a home that you are OO as opposed to a NOO property. I've seen several people do that...not for cash out, but for lowering the rate. Is it GOOD to do? No, probably not...but it's still a grey area...and he'll be fine as long as he doesn't try to claim both properties on his taxes.

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    Featured Member Miss_Luscious's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    Thank You everyone. Such Smart and Saavy ladies we have here on SW. I'm talking to him tommorow and I'm giving him a one week timeframe to get the floor fixed or else I'm calling the county.
    "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." - Bertrand Russell

    "It's just a matter of people having low self esteem and being way too easily offended." -Random Guy on a Internet Forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    Ya'll bitches need to calm down. Cerously.
    In other words: Boo-motherfucking-hoo

  7. #7
    God/dess Gynger's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    Please also keep in mind, that if he is currently paying a mortgage on the house in which you rent from him, and the bank forecloses, you will be out of a place to live.


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    Featured Member Miss_Luscious's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gynger View Post
    Please also keep in mind, that if he is currently paying a mortgage on the house in which you rent from him, and the bank forecloses, you will be out of a place to live.
    Yep, I know and that makes me nervous too. We're moving up our house buying to within the next year so soon these issues will be behind us.
    "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." - Bertrand Russell

    "It's just a matter of people having low self esteem and being way too easily offended." -Random Guy on a Internet Forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    Ya'll bitches need to calm down. Cerously.
    In other words: Boo-motherfucking-hoo

  9. #9
    Veteran Member blayze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    ok, here's a link:
    http://www.peoples-law.org/housing/ltenant/llt.html

    a bit dry. but there's some good info in there.

    a few snippets that are pertinent:

    The courts have held that where the tenancy began after the mortgage was recorded, the tenant has no right of possession against the purchaser at the foreclosure sale. To evict a tenant in possession, the purchaser should request the court to issue a Writ of Possession. The tenant must be served with notice of the purchaser's motion for the Writ and must be given time to respond. This ensures at the least that tenant will know that he may be required to leave.

    However, if the purchaser accepts rent from the tenant, a tenancy is established. The tenant is now entitled to proper notice to vacate.

    Where the lease predates the mortgage, a foreclosure sale will generally not end the lease.
    Foreclosure of Property-
    The Maryland Code provides that the purchaser at a mortgage foreclosure sale has the same rights and remedies against the tenants of the mortgagor (tenants' original landlord) as the mortgagor had, and the tenants have the same rights and remedies against the purchaser as they had against their original landlord on the day the mortgage was recorded. (Maryland Code, Real Property, Section 7-106)

    did he refinance while you were living there? i'm not entirely sure if refinancing (if he did it through another bank) would consititute a new mortgage on the house, thereby giving you tenancy after a foreclosure. *shrug*

    also: Forcing a Landlord to Make Repairs

    If there is a ”serious and dangerous” problem in the place where you rent, the courts can force your landlord to make repairs. The legal term for the paperwork is the “Petition in Action of Rent Escrow,” which is filed in the District Court, is available in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) and can either be completed on-line, or downloaded and printed on your local printer, and completed in pen. Do remember that the District Court does accept handwritten forms.

    Baltimore City has a special rent court division of the district court, with its own clerk.
    They can be reached at:
    501 E. Fayette St.
    Baltimore MD, 21202
    410-878-8640

    and further:

    Lack of decent maintenance is probably the prime complaint of tenants. Close to it is the way tenants are often treated when they complain about needed repairs-- with indifference approaching hostility.

    Therefore, many tenants feel that they have the right to withhold rent-- to put it in "escrow", i.e., keep it or put it in their own bank account until the repairs are made. This is not the legal way to establish rent escrow.

    Rent escrow is a procedure established by a judge and involves paying rent to the court until repairs are made. In Maryland, the rent escrow process was first established in Baltimore City. Later, Baltimore County and the state passed similar laws.

    Rent escrow laws cover situations that could threaten the life, health and safety of tenant: defective heating equipment, bad plumbing, bad wiring, structural defects such as leaking roof, defective stairs, lack of heat and hot water when the landlord is required by the lease to provide them, etc., and in multi-family dwellings, rodent and vermin infestation, etc. Such laws do not cover items like lack of fresh paint, worn wall-to-wall carpeting, small cracks in walls and ceiling, etc.

    The first step in the rent escrow procedure is for the tenant to inform the landlord of the needed repair by certified mail ( a written notice from a housing inspector is also sufficient). The landlord must have a reasonable time to make the repair -- beyond 30 days is normally considered unreasonable.

    If the landlord does not make the repair, then the tenant may file for a rent escrow hearing. Such affirmative rent escrow allows the tenant to seek rent escrow before having to withhold rent. Many tenants, however, after giving the landlord reasonable time, withhold rent and are taken to Rent Court by the landlord. At that point, the tenant may request rent escrow. Although this is normally a faster process, it does involve some risk for the tenant.

    If the judge does not grant escrow, the tenant may have to pay late charges and court costs.

    To establish rent escrow, the tenant must have a case which would include the following:

    *

    proper notice to the landlord
    *

    repair which could affect life, health and safety
    *

    damages which were not caused by the tenant
    *

    a condition which has not been remedied
    *

    the tenant has not refused reasonable entry for the landlord to make repair
    *

    the tenant has a good rent record

    The tenant must also have the full rent to pay to the court.

    If the decision is in favor of the tenant, the judge may order the landlord to:

    *

    make the needed repair
    *

    reduce the rent to an amount that fairly represents the condition of the premises
    *

    order the rent to be paid to the court with a refund of part of the rent to be given to the tenant when the repairs are made

    If the tenant desires, the judge may also end the tenancy.

    The hope in a rent escrow situation is that the landlord will make the needed repairs after receiving the tenant's certified letter and that the tenant will not have to go to court. This is more likely if the tenant also files a complaint with a local housing inspector.

    Baltimore City law now allows rent escrow to be used to cover items not essential to health and safety, if such were promised in the written lease or in a written inducement to rent. For example, failure to repair a dishwasher or failure to provide promised free parking.
    ----------------------------------

    i hope this helps, i've had many problems with landlords. the mainthing you wanna do is make sure that you know your rights, and do not allow them to be trampled once, because once you give up a right to your LL, that is basically permission to violate that right again and again. make sure you do everything exactly as the laws state, and each time you correspond with you LL copy and paste the laws that you are refferring to onto the letter, so that they know you're not just pulling outta your butt.

    keep a copy of everything you send them, dated, etc. so you have proof just in case you need it for small claims court.

    what i did was mail them a copy, keep a copy, and tape one to my door when i was having a LL issue. she kept coming into my apt all the time without letting me know, etc. so i terminated the lease.

    also, here's the link to your local code services website. these are the poepl you call to inspect the house and they'll tell the LL what needs to be fixed to bring it back to code.http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dh...e_E/code_e.asp
    Last edited by blayze; 01-17-2007 at 05:52 PM. Reason: add more links

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    Featured Member scorpio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    It is fraud to claim a house as an owner occupied property if it is a rental. If you can find the lenders information, you could always write an anonymous letter if he pisses you off.

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    Featured Member Miss_Luscious's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my landlord doing something illegal?

    Well I confronted him about all the problems and lo and behold, they were all fixed within 2 weekends. He even has some people here right now painting the kitchen. I told him that I would have to call the county if he didn't fix everything ASAP and he was all apologetic and said it would get done right away. He didn't give a rat’s ass before but once I said "THE COUNTY" he was all extra helpful. We're outta here next year anyway but I'm glad he got things fixed.

    Thanks for all the help and information!
    "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." - Bertrand Russell

    "It's just a matter of people having low self esteem and being way too easily offended." -Random Guy on a Internet Forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    Ya'll bitches need to calm down. Cerously.
    In other words: Boo-motherfucking-hoo

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