Moving out within a month and going over the home and discover some scratches... the floors are 30-40 years old and weighing the options of what I should do for these scratches..
LOCATION:GA
I (renter) started the process of attempting for my landlord to fix a rodent issue that has been going for the last 2 or so months. During this process its been discovered (and verified by code enforcement, pending citations to confirm) that there was a previous code compliant for rodents around 5 years ago and 1/2 of the listed livable space located in the basement has no permits that were pulled to convert the basement. I verified with code enforcement via email and also on the phone that the only permits every pulled were from over 20 years ago and confirmed via county tax records that on file, the home is a 3bd/2bath with an unfinished basement. The home was listed as a 5 bd/3bath and 2 of the"bedrooms" are in the basement along with the 3rd bath equipped with a full kitchen(gas,) an office and 2 other open area spaces. I also realized in this home, there is 1 fire detector in the hallway upstairs and one downstairs in the closed laundry room (so given the size and layout of the home its missing 80-90% of the fire detectors that should be connected between upstairs and down). The landlord has blocked my ability with the pest control company to receive any information regarding how the treatment is going or verify any notation on the account regarding what techs have said on site( they advised given the timeframe and how the rodents are being caught, they would suspect a sewer breach of sorts and thats outside of what they can handle.) The landlord is now refusing to address anything beyond the steps she has taken and advised they are 100% compliant with ga code.
Here's the thing, after I sent a certified letter requesting they look into the plumbing which was ignored, while speaking with code enforcement to gather information a complaint was filed and the officer came out and advised there will be citations once everything is verified. To my knowledge the landlord isn't aware that theres been another case opened so he's only focused on the rodent issue and has advised that we communicate only through the courts due to late rent(yes, it will be paid thats not an issue.) At this point when I answer the dispossary I believe a countersuit is in order because of the newly discovered issues and at this point I dont even want to live here anymore. Since he lied about what this house is, can the contract be "voided" back to the beginning, like deposit and maybe even some rent back for the 1/2 of the house that isn't even legal or safe? Im.also nervous because apparently the code enforcement can make us leave the home completely or vacate us out of at least the basement area. Ive been trying to get in contact with legal aid/ ga barr association and havent been able to get anyone so any input would be great on how to handle.