Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? - Landlord Forum thread 317562

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Stacey on April 16, 2014 @10:27

Dear Bill, I am not a slimy tenant out to live for free. Our family has been homeowners before and even were landlords. In our current situation while my husband is a grad student it made more sense for is to rent for the short term we will be here. For a room to flood and still have wet drywall 2 weeks later, mold is a real concern and can cause real issues particularly in young children of which I have 3. I'm sorry you have such a chip on your shoulder. We have no intention to withhold rent or stop paying. We do feel that we have been inconvenienced and only after becoming firm with the LL about leaving via a formal letter (despite numerous phone calls and texts) did he become serious with starting repairs. We are paying a premium to have a certain amount of usable space which we do not currently have. Why do you feel it is unreasonable to ask for a reduction during the time we don't have full use of our house?
In addition, I did not mention that starting in January a different (non-egress) window in the basement living area had a leak and we had to continuously bail the window out for 6 weeks every time it rained or the snow melted because LL dragged his feet for 10 weeks before finally figuring out a solution to the problem. Verbal, text and email requests were not addressed and we had to write a letter and it still took LL almost a month to fix. We were about to withhold rent the following the month until repair was made (which was legal) and he fixed that one March 28, 2 days before the bedroom flood. So LL is aware of house drainage issues.

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Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by jannie (IL) on April 16, 2014 @10:57	[ Reply ]

I think you are being reasonable about asking for a reduction of the rent. (The increase in electrcity would be very small) I would also suggest that you do things in writing (mail) as a follow-up -- rather than just e-mail, text. I doubt very much if LL insurance will pay for any of the water problem (flooding). And, it is sometimes not as simple as drainage or plugged gutter. Last year many people in our area had water in their basements due to excessive rain and prior dry weather - so there were foundation problems they never realized. Your LL may have to do more to the basement (some sort of foundation or water system)that they expected to solve the problem. Good luck.

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Bill on April 16, 2014 @11:10	[ Reply ]

"We were about to withhold rent the following the month until repair was made." "I am not a slimy tenant out to live for free" If you give the landlord too much trouble he will simply declare the place not fit for habitation, cancel your lease and serve you notice to vacate. How does he know the place is not fit for habitation? Because, you keep telling him it is. Believe me, the landlord is going to be much better at this than you are what with your mold complaints and rent withholding. He has already told you to move on. Take the hint. You have both feet on a banana peel headed for the front door and you do not even see it coming.

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Stacey on April 16, 2014 @11:22	[ Reply ]

He does not want us to move. He told us we could break the lease and that might be better for both of us because at the time (when the floods first happened) he didn't want to invest in a property he was not going to keep. However he has changed his tune and now wants us to stay- which is why the repairs and mold remediation are being made. I suspect this is because he is not prepared to move forward with his construction plans quite yet. We are still looking for a suitable alternative at this time and will continue to do so. In the meantime he is working to make the room habitable again.

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Anonymous on April 16, 2014 @11:23	[ Reply ]

Also we never did withhold rent or threaten to do so. We were just prepared to do so for April had the window not been repaired, but he did repair it. Once you give written notice the LL has 14 days to repair and if that is not done you can legally withhold in my state.

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Bill on April 16, 2014 @11:55	[ Reply ]

You are not hearing what I am saying. You have both feet on a banana peel headed for the front door and do not even see it coming. The first time you withhold rent your landlord is going to serve you with a notice to pay or move out in three days. If you are still there in three days he will proceed with an eviction that will add permanent harm to your credit record. This is legal in California. Your landlord will be much better at this kind of thing than you believe you are. Get your stuff packed. No matter how you slice it, you are headed for the door.

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction?

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Anonymous on April 16, 2014 @12:55	[ Reply ]

And the moment he declares his own place unfit for habitation is the moment the landlord opens himself up to a breach of contract suit. The tenant then gets their moving costs as well as the difference between the rent they were paying and any increase in rent to a different landlord for a comparable place. Did you think the lease only bound the tenant?

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction? by Bill on April 16, 2014 @13:40	[ Reply ]

I so wish you knew what you were talking about.

Re: Reasonable to request a rent reduction?