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Can he just evict me because he doesn't like me?
by Anonymous
on August 28, 2014 @15:56
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I moved into an apartment in DC two months ago. My son and I were homeless before for a short while. I'd spent years trying to escape two abusers, and it took me going into the shelter to finally be able to do it.
Both my son and I are disabled. Due to what I make per year, I could not rent from most places that were managed by property managers. So I ended up paying a year up front to my current landlord.
A lot of things I can be lenient on, but he's become a controlling dick who only wants to see cash cross his palm, while only fixing things in his house that will get a quick rental. He's ONLY about getting his money.
My oven does not bake. It only broils. The appliance needs to be in full working order.
I do not have any smoke detectors in my house.
One of my windows does not lock, which requires me to lock the metal gate in front of my little vestibule. That can be a fire hazard, if I don't find my keys in time.
There is a live outlet that he took a plate off of, to put in his kitchen. He has not replaced the cover plate, and has no intention of doing so.
This place is a townhouse with an English basement apartment. I live in the apartment. There aren't enough trash cans for this dwelling. He won't buy any more from the city, I cannot afford to for another month or two, and the one I did buy the city won't collect from. Since he has a license for two dwellings, he should have two sets of trash and recycling cans. I literally cannot take out my trash and recycling regularly (I have to keep my indoor can outside to avoid the smell) because he uses the house cans for all his construction debris from his unfinished kitchen upstairs.
The entire property does not have heat. I preempted this and bought two panel heaters to go in the bedrooms. The unit in the living he claims heats the house does not. The knob just turns around and around. It does not even turn on, I think it's for show.
The doors are not insulated properly. I'll probably just end up getting those things you put in front of them to block the draft, but he has doors galore in the backyard, but won't think of putting one here or fixing what's here.
We have a HUGE mosquito problem, and it would cost him all of $20-30 to go to Home Depot and get something to spray the grounds with. He'd rather just not bother. Meanwhile, my son and I are being eaten alive. He expects me to pay for extermination, or dump bleach down city drains.
Oh, and I didn't get an air conditioner until two weeks ago. He'll probably try to take it too, given that "it was for upstairs". Meaning the people he has crowded upstairs. They're new renters who don't know the full aspect of what they're paying for. He'll spend their deposits, too. Firstly, this air conditioner doesn't cool the entire apartment, and secondly he should have had one waiting or have bought one. It's his responsibility by law.
We had a dog (at his urging, I'd not intended to ask to have one), but because the dog was afraid of him and barked each time it heard him, he started calling and complaining about him. So I gave him to a friend. Puppy is much happier where he is.
Also, dude has entered my apartment on multiple occasions when I'm not here. He lies and says now he's lost the keys, but I know when he's been in here.
All in all, I've been in compliance with my lease. He has not. He has his money, has spent my security deposit. He allows drunks to loiter on the property, and sets his trash cans by my windows. I keep the place clean, but I'm fed up with him now, and have a city inspector coming next Wednesday. Oh, and did I mention the place is infested with spiders as well?
The letter from the inspector is no doubt going to piss him off. But he can't just throw me out if I haven't done anything wrong, can he? I paid my rent, I have not and will not trash the place. I clean the grounds when I can, even though other people live here. He seems to think he can make use of me to write leases for his other tenants, yet is such an a-hole to me.
If he decides to just continue being a dick and complain, that's all he can do, so long as I don't destroy the place, right? He signed a year lease, and he's gotten (and spent) his money. He'll never refund me any months I don't stay here. I plan to stay until my lease is up, whether he fixes anything or not. I have nowhere to go. I don't have another twelve grand sitting around.
How safe from homelessness am I?
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Re: Can he just evict me because he doesn't like me?
by Anonymous
on August 28, 2014 @18:23
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Some of these code violations are SUPER CHEAP fixes: the lack of smoke detectors, the window that doesn't have a lock, and the outlet that lacks a cover plate. A cover plate for an outlet is under 50 cents for pete's sake, a window lock under $5 and smoke detectors can be had for about $10 each. The oven not working is also a violation of your local LL/T laws, as is lack of adequate heat. But a working used stove can be had on Craigslist for free sometimes (I got one once in perfect condition; the owners were getting rid of it because they were remodeling and the color didn't fit the new kitchen). Heating for the place (especially if it isn't large) could also be provided cheaply. Lack of air conditioning is not a code violation although it might be a lease violation if the lease says it will be provided.
I think you might find the following link very helpful.
http://ota.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ota/publication/attachments/Tenant_Survival_Guide.pdf
There is one thing you are at fault for...you apparently did not follow proper procedures in notifying the LL about the need for repairs. The proper procedure is to send the landlord a letter by certified mail telling him what is wrong and needs to be fixed. Then, if the LL doesn't respond, that is when you are supposed to contact the housing inspector. So you have sorta jumped the gun, if you haven't made the requests for repairs in writing and sent them by certified mail.
How safe from homelessness are you? Well, at least somewhat safe, I'd say. IF he gives you an eviction notice, you can challenge it in court. You can also ask for your rent to be reduced if " your apartment has mice or roaches, inadequate heat or hot water, or other unsafe conditions (housing code violations). If the judge finds that your landlord has violated the housing code, the amount of rent you owe can be reduced"
The above quote was straight out of the DC government Tenant Survival Guide I gave you the link information for above. I highly recommend your read it very carefully. Since a housing inspector is coming, there is certain information there that you really should know beforehand.
I'm sorry you have a slumlord. I know rents in DC are super high. I lived there 30 years ago, just after graduating from college, and could only afford to live in a boarding house. The rent was $300 a month for an unairconditioned shared bedroom (2 beds in the room) and a shared bathroom (shared with six or eight other people). But at least it was in a good neighborhood and clean.
Read that Tenant Survival Guide.
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