eewillison
02-09-2006, 04:23 PM
On October 17th at ( pm, the electrical wires leading into the house I rent caught on fire outside of the house; the fire dept and electric company came out, and deemed the home a fire hazard in its present condition, and cut off service. They say that the condition is due to landlord neglitence and lack of maintenance on my landlords part.
They wont restore power to the home until he makes repairs and it passes inspection. I called him immediately and left a message, and they left a note for him on the door of the residence. To this date, no repairs have been made....landlord doesnt answer phone calls, yet calls my roommate and says I have the nerve to call them (the building is jointly owned by two people; one Ive seen before, and one I have never met) since they claim I owe them money from back in January/February.
They are unable to show me proof that I owe them...rent is current. They give the impression that I owe something, so they dont need to do repairs. We have no electricity. I called city building inspector and he gave them a 24 hour notice to fix the problem (by 1;30pm today) it is still not fixed. The landlord refuses my calls, yet calls my roommate and said that it takes time...may not be fixed until November 1st or so. The building inspector says whether I owe money or not, they MUST fix it.
They talk of eviction based on imaginary money owed to them from January/February 2005....We are in process of moving anyway (going to buy a home) and they are aware of this. The landlord always resists fixing things, and that is the reason for us wanting to purchase a home and move. What can we do? We arent prepared to move yet...told landlord definltely by years end we would move...but right now we need electricity!!! Can a landlord expect us to live in a home without electric, hot water, no stove, no heat etc.??? I think we should be financially compensated.
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it is saturday october 22.....still no electricity....landlord left a door at my home UNLOCKED....i locked it....today he said the reason it wasnt fixed is because the electrician couldnt get inside......why should i allow the landlord to leave doors to my home unlocked???? I dont live in the best neighborhood........and the electrician did some work on it yesterday...he said my landlord just contacted him that day....due to my calling building inspector?????? i am anxiously awaiting a response.
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In Ohio, you can find your answer to this problem in our Frequently Asked Questions Section. That is at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq1.html
You should stop calling your landlord and start putting all of your communications with him in writing. If you keep copies, it will be a lot easier for you to prove what went on if this thing goes to court in the future.
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i have also put it in writing......i call him from a cell phone for which i receive a bill that shows all my calls, missed, incoming, outgoing etc. and the time, date, and duration of each call.......think will show that i have made attempt to contact him when i receive a bill that has many calls from me to him that all are less than 1 minute???
__________________________________________________ _______________
Letters are better. There is no way to prove the contents of the phone call, but the fact that you can show you made it is in your favor. But letters are best if you want to exercise your rights under Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.07.
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It took him 8 days from the time the electricity went out to fix the problem; for those 8 days, we had no lights, heat, or way to cook....we went out to eat, had to take showers at others home, purchase ice for an ice chest to keep food from spoiling, etc. We kept receipts.....now it is time to pay rent.......I feel that we deserve some sort of financial compensation; reduced rent, etc. Rent is due by the 5th....will discuss this with landlord when he asks for rent....if he refuses, I suppose I will just refuse to pay any November rent and he can take me to court.......we purchased our own home (in process of doing so) and should close the deal and be moving within 10 to 14 days.....
__________________________________________________ _______________
You would be unwise to not pay the full rent for November. While the landlord has certainly breached the lease agreement and cost you money, your breach by not paying November's rent will create a cause of action against you as well as a basis for the landlord to file an eviction action against you.
Your best bet would be to pay the full rent, move out citing the breach of the lease agreement upon the landlord's part (8 days without electricity would be hard for a judge to swallow) and then sue the landlord for your damages in diminished rental value and for the extraordinary costs you incurred.
Be sure to videotape the place before you leave.
They wont restore power to the home until he makes repairs and it passes inspection. I called him immediately and left a message, and they left a note for him on the door of the residence. To this date, no repairs have been made....landlord doesnt answer phone calls, yet calls my roommate and says I have the nerve to call them (the building is jointly owned by two people; one Ive seen before, and one I have never met) since they claim I owe them money from back in January/February.
They are unable to show me proof that I owe them...rent is current. They give the impression that I owe something, so they dont need to do repairs. We have no electricity. I called city building inspector and he gave them a 24 hour notice to fix the problem (by 1;30pm today) it is still not fixed. The landlord refuses my calls, yet calls my roommate and said that it takes time...may not be fixed until November 1st or so. The building inspector says whether I owe money or not, they MUST fix it.
They talk of eviction based on imaginary money owed to them from January/February 2005....We are in process of moving anyway (going to buy a home) and they are aware of this. The landlord always resists fixing things, and that is the reason for us wanting to purchase a home and move. What can we do? We arent prepared to move yet...told landlord definltely by years end we would move...but right now we need electricity!!! Can a landlord expect us to live in a home without electric, hot water, no stove, no heat etc.??? I think we should be financially compensated.
__________________________________________________ _______________
it is saturday october 22.....still no electricity....landlord left a door at my home UNLOCKED....i locked it....today he said the reason it wasnt fixed is because the electrician couldnt get inside......why should i allow the landlord to leave doors to my home unlocked???? I dont live in the best neighborhood........and the electrician did some work on it yesterday...he said my landlord just contacted him that day....due to my calling building inspector?????? i am anxiously awaiting a response.
__________________________________________________ _______________
In Ohio, you can find your answer to this problem in our Frequently Asked Questions Section. That is at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq1.html
You should stop calling your landlord and start putting all of your communications with him in writing. If you keep copies, it will be a lot easier for you to prove what went on if this thing goes to court in the future.
__________________________________________________ _______________
i have also put it in writing......i call him from a cell phone for which i receive a bill that shows all my calls, missed, incoming, outgoing etc. and the time, date, and duration of each call.......think will show that i have made attempt to contact him when i receive a bill that has many calls from me to him that all are less than 1 minute???
__________________________________________________ _______________
Letters are better. There is no way to prove the contents of the phone call, but the fact that you can show you made it is in your favor. But letters are best if you want to exercise your rights under Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.07.
__________________________________________________ _______________
It took him 8 days from the time the electricity went out to fix the problem; for those 8 days, we had no lights, heat, or way to cook....we went out to eat, had to take showers at others home, purchase ice for an ice chest to keep food from spoiling, etc. We kept receipts.....now it is time to pay rent.......I feel that we deserve some sort of financial compensation; reduced rent, etc. Rent is due by the 5th....will discuss this with landlord when he asks for rent....if he refuses, I suppose I will just refuse to pay any November rent and he can take me to court.......we purchased our own home (in process of doing so) and should close the deal and be moving within 10 to 14 days.....
__________________________________________________ _______________
You would be unwise to not pay the full rent for November. While the landlord has certainly breached the lease agreement and cost you money, your breach by not paying November's rent will create a cause of action against you as well as a basis for the landlord to file an eviction action against you.
Your best bet would be to pay the full rent, move out citing the breach of the lease agreement upon the landlord's part (8 days without electricity would be hard for a judge to swallow) and then sue the landlord for your damages in diminished rental value and for the extraordinary costs you incurred.
Be sure to videotape the place before you leave.