r/TenantHelp

Edit: when we moved in we told them we had 2 service dogs and were looking into getting two rescues. Their response was just to have fun.

We were on a month to month in a house from a private landlord. Our lease said 2 dogs could be inside the home. We have four dogs but two of them are registered as service animals and we have their papers. On June 29th, the landlord texted my boyfriend screenshots of a video of our living room which they got from my social media profile. They said that we voided the lease by having four dogs inside the home and two of them had to go outside. We made it clear to them that two of them were service animals and therefore not considered pets. They said that they didn’t care about that and if we didn’t agree we could give our 30 days. Not wanting to be homeless we agreed to put two of the dogs outside. The landlord in a text message said he would be to view the house on 7/5 but never specified a time.

On 7/2 the landlord came by to drop off a bale of hay which he had promised us in June when we moved in because they gave us the home in disgusting conditions. There was rat poop everywhere. The fridge had to be deep cleaned to be able to be up to health code. The home is not up to fire or electric code. The window screens are broken. We have noticed that the rat poop keeps happening and told them about it. But they said they do not plan on putting any money into repairs. When they dropped off the bale of hay, they could clearly hear that I had put two of the dogs outside as they requested of us.

On 7/4, at 11:57pm, my partner and I got a text message from the landlord. He said he was going to be coming by on 7/5 at 12pm. We told him this wouldn’t work for us as my partner has to work fire duty and we requested he come Monday around 6pm. I also informed him that legally, he did not give me 24 hour notice of his visit and he also contacted me at an unreasonable hour. He said that it wouldn’t work and he had to come by and could just talk to me. I asked what he needed to talk about and he said about the pet situation. Before I could reply my partner texted back and said that they are not pets and that we could sue him for that but that we are trying to be reasonable. The landlord said he would reach out for a better time then.

At 4pm today on 7/5, my landlord knocked on my door like he was the police. All loud and with authority and served me the 30 day notice. I told him I felt that it was in retaliation but he and his wife swear they just decided to go a different direction with the house. I did not believe him considering less than 24 hours ago he only wanted to come by to talk about the “pets”. I told him I would be suing him for discrimination, for the state of the home, etc, and that I have receipts.

I’m just so mad and frustrated because I’m new to this state and now we have to find somewhere else to go. The great thing about this property was that it was in the country side no neighbors near us and we could have our farm animals in the barn area. I submitted a complaint to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the housing discrimination and am trying to reach out to a lawyer.

We are going to buy a property and move out but god, I’m going to bury them in legal fees. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

As the title states, my landlord/building owner has connected 3 of the 6 hot water heaters in the building to a shared line that supplies the communal washing machine and utility sink. There is no mention of this in the lease and tenants pay their own utilities. In addition, it looks like gas for the dryer is being siphoned off of just one unit's meter. On top of that, this is a coin operated machine, so a "double" charge for laundry. However, the lease also has no mention of the communal washer/dryer altogether.

Curious as to what the legality of this is. To me it seems illegal to have tenants unknowingly subsidize the cost of utilities for the washer and dryer, and the apartment should have a house hot water heater and gas meter just like there's a building electric meter seperate from each apartments'.

Wondering what the best order of operations is here - should I ask for the lease to be modified to include shared laundry facilities before addressing the main issue to avoid them being taken away/disconnected in retaliation or in the event the setup is illegal and they decide to not get a dedicated hot water heater? Not sure if it's best to contact the landlord first and then the city inspector if they don't respond?

Fortunately, doesn't seem like my gas bill is impacted much or at all, however, my hot water temperature is super hot even when I set the temperature control lower which makes me think I might be tapping into another unit's hot water due to the shared connection that was created. More than anything, it's the principle of it and the fact that some unit is being unfairly impacted by this more than others.

Thanks for any help!

My landlord has suddenly started aggressively demanding that I pay a specific utility/bill, despite my signed tenancy agreement explicitly stating that the landlord is responsible for this payment.
I checked with the official government service and have written confirmation that the actual bill is significantly lower than the inflated amount she is demanding from me.
When I pointed out the contract clause, she escalated. Asked for arrears that I’m not liable for. threatened a rapid retaliatory eviction, and is weaponizing a property inspection to force an in-person meeting.
To make it worse, she contacted my ex (who doesn't live here) and texted him my private financial information, including the exact amount of housing benefits I receive,
I am an incredibly anxious, shy person and the constant text messages are causing me severe panic attacks. I know legally she doesn't have a leg to stand on, but the psychological intimidation is wearing me down. Has anyone dealt with a landlord like this? How do I stop being so terrified of the texts and what can I even do about this?? I Thanks in advance.

We live/rent in an 4-flat, and the building next door is also a 4-flat. The landlord next door doesn’t live there but has repeatedly threatened to cut my bike lock off the shared metal fence.

The bike is completely on our side of the fence. It doesn’t extend onto their property, block anything, or interfere with anyone.

Today, in what felt like an intimidation tactic, the landlord placed a saw blade on top of the fence directly above where the bike is locked.

What do we do?

Hello, I rent a room in MA in a building that's recently undergone new ownership.

Within my lease is the following clause: "Upon any agreement to sell the Property, or upon any change in ownership, the current Landlord, or future Landlord, may terminate this lease for any reason with thirty (30) days’ notice."

I'm currently on a set-term lease through next year, the landlord has said they would like to put me on their lease for a bump in rent and flexed this clause in the conversation as well saying they may want to execute it anyways for remodeling purposes. In the conversation we handled rent payments for my current lease and they accepted my rent for this month under my current lease's amount(sale was finalized last month). However it being put into question has me anxious, I'm not really in the position to be making moves right now and was assured previously that my lease would be ongoing until it was put into question. How long would they even have to enforce that clause in the first place? It doesn't give a window, only the events that it can be triggered with.

Thank you for your time and input.

[US-MO]

Eight years in this apartment, older building, still has the old screw-in fuse panel instead of breakers. Whoever wired it put about three-quarters of the unit, the three main rooms plus both AC units, on a single 20 amp fuse. So it blows a lot. Always has. I’d made peace with it.

Last year it blew when I had both AC’s on and turned on the microwave, and when I pulled the fuse, both the fuse and the socket behind it were visibly burned. Not warm, burned. I reported it in writing. The maintenance guy came, put in a new fuse, and left. Nobody looked at the socket. Nobody looked at the wiring. New fuse, problem “solved.”

This week it came back, worse. It’s now blowing under normal everyday use, and the replacement fuse gets hot to the touch with just one AC running. I pulled it and the metal contact inside the socket is corroded and pitted. I don’t have an electrical license but I’ve seen enough to know a burnt, high-resistance connection when it’s cooking a fuse in front of me.

So I emailed the owner, attached photos, and asked for a licensed electrician to actually inspect the socket and wiring instead of swapping another fuse. His reply was one email that managed to say all of the following: that it’s already been “repaired,” that I’m the only tenant with this problem so I must be overloading the circuit, that I should “move out if there isn’t enough electricity for my needs,” and that I’m “free to terminate at any time.” He did, to his credit, agree to send a real electrician Monday. But the message was unmistakable, he’d rather I leave than fix it.

And here’s the part that reframes the whole thing. My lease happens to be up at the end of next month, and they just sent a renewal offer. Another twelve months, at a higher rent, to keep living in the unit with the fuse that overheats.

I’m fairly sure I know what’s happening. They’ve been renovating and re-renting the other units at higher rates, and I’m the long-term tenant sitting in an under-market apartment they’d rather turn over. That explains both things at once: why nobody will spend money properly fixing my wiring, and why the tone is suddenly “have you considered moving.” It’s not a maintenance problem and a lease problem. It’s one landlord who wants the unit back, and the hazard is just something he’d rather I leave over than repair.

The thing is, I’m house hunting anyway. I do want to go. I just need a couple of months to actually buy a place instead of getting forced into a short-term rental in between. So I want to ask for month-to-month, or a short two-to-three month extension, at my current rent, without accidentally blowing up the renewal offer and getting hit with “twelve months or out by [date].” Complicating it, my lease has a double-rent holdover clause, so I know I can’t just overstay the end date and figure it out later.

What I’m trying to figure out:

Is it worth pressing the safety issue, documenting the corroded socket, and escalating to city code enforcement if they try another fuse swap instead of a real fix, even though it probably makes the landlord want me out faster? Or am I creating friction for nothing since I’m leaving regardless?

How do I ask for the short-term/month-to-month arrangement without handing him the excuse to just end it? We actually want the same outcome, me gone, we just disagree on the timing, and on whether I should have functioning electricity while I’m still here.

Would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who’s dealt with code enforcement on an electrical hazard, or negotiated an exit with a landlord who clearly wanted their unit back.

We recently gave notice of our intent to vacate our current apartment. Our landlord replied back registering their intent to start showing the apartment ASAP, as an open house for 1 hour every day starting on the weekend during the day and during the week after work until the apartment is rented.

While I recognize that in WA they legally can show the apartment on 24 hours notice, my issue is that this is a blanket statement requiring us to permit entry every day. That doesn’t seem okay. Practically speaking though, we want to be around as long as we have things in the apartment. We cannot be there on Monday when they want to show it, due to a prior commitment - after that I’m actually fine for them to show it whenever so it can just be over with.

My question: based on the text of the law, can I refuse entry until the landlord and I can come to an agreement on what constitutes a reasonable schedule? If I refuse the showing on Monday but am not physically present to refuse entry, what happens if the landlord shows the apartment anyway?

This is the relevant law:

> The landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant, and shall provide notice before entry as provided in this subsection. Except in the case of emergency or if it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two days' written notice of his or her intent to enter and shall enter only at reasonable times. The notice must state the exact time and date or dates of entry or specify a period of time during that date or dates in which the entry will occur, in which case the notice must specify the earliest and latest possible times of entry. The notice must also specify the telephone number to which the tenant may communicate any objection or request to reschedule the entry. The tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter the dwelling unit at a specified time where the landlord has given at least one day's notice of intent to enter to exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers or tenants. A landlord shall not unreasonably interfere with a tenant's enjoyment of the rented dwelling unit by excessively exhibiting the dwelling unit.

So long story short my landlord raised my rent from $950 to $1,050, the house has termites and mold in the attic space caused by a leaking roof and no proper ventilation, my power went out a few days ago after a high wind came and a big tree limb fell on the power line pole on the house.

and I told him about it and all the issues going on with the attic while he was here, he had my power back on yesterday within 2 hrs. He told me he wasn’t going to do anything about the termites because he had already got an exterminator this was 3 years ago they treated one spot under the house that was it.

Then I told him about the floor joists collapsing in the corner of the bedroom he told me he wasn’t going to do anything to it till after I move out.

I think he told me he was going to fix the roof and gutters but I feel I shouldn’t have a rent increase and living like this. I told him I was wanting to get my own place within the next year or so.

I’m fed up with landlords and renting the past 2 landlords I’ve had all screwed me over kept my deposits for no reason one of them even said “we don’t do that” when I asked about it.

I’m taking every little thing I put into the property, leaving nothing behind. I have receipts for it all.

I’ve been in this house for 6 years, told me he likes me I take care of the house, then turns around and raises my rent

NEVER RENT FROM A FLIP FOR PROFIT LANDLORD!

For context, I live in an inner-city apartment complex that primarily rents to immigrants and working-class people. When things break, they stay broken for a long time before they are fixed. I have frequently gone a whole week or more without power or AC because there was an issue with the switch box or some other problem. We had an entire block burn down because they were using cheap tar. I have family who live in another block of the complex, where the AC barely works for the entire building. It's a mess.

A few months ago, a worker accidentally broke my window, and it was fixed within an hour. Yesterday, the same window was broken somehow. I submitted a ticket yesterday, and they told me to come back the next day. Today, they said they are ordering parts. I went into the office in person today with City Code Enforcement on the phone. The office management refused to give me a timeline or speak to Code Enforcement. Code Enforcement scheduled an inspector to come over on Monday. I also threatened to take them to the Justice of the Peace if it wasn't fixed by Tuesday. To my understanding, if something is endangering my safety, they have 7 days to fix it.

I chose to meet them in person before doing all of this to give them a courtesy. I JUST WANT MY WINDOW TO BE FIXED AND FOR THINGS TO BE FIXED IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Was what I did the wrong move? And what should I do next?

I am worried about retaliation. City Code Enforcement told me that they cannot help with retaliation if the management retaliates against me, and I read the only thing I can do is go to the Justice of the Peace, but it's hard to prove and expensive.

I am a working-class person and cannot afford much and I need to be able to renew my lease when it's time, cannot afford to live anywhere else as nearby apartments are much more expensive, and everything else is much farther from work

I just don't want to be treated this way

Edit: To be clear, the reason I am taking action this early is that I live alone, and I am currently missing work to stay in my apartment due to the fear of someone breaking in

Hello everyone. I recently opened a law firm three months ago and I’ve been helping people get their Security Deposit back from unruly landlords.

Unfortunately, I’m only barred in the state of Florida, but if you have been denied your security deposit anywhere in the state, please send me a message as per Florida statute I will be able to file suit and get you back the entire amount assuming your landlord did not take the proper steps.

My landlord got pissed off that we asked to keep the AC on. There’s a heatwave, temp at least 100 & request was met with an angry response. Are we wrong in asking for AC? We feel like husband made the decision to rent without discussing with wife because while we have always been extremely respectful of the opportunity to rent, she does not seem thrilled about our presence. One day we were walking to our door to come home & we heard her yelling, “it’s MY house & I don’t want anyone in it!”
He is so wonderful & we absolutely love him. It’s very depressing here & we really don’t deserve her anger. All we did was answer an ad for an apt. 😔

Hello 👋🏻 I live in , San Jose, CA. USA. I'm a 26 yr old. Educated, Female; I am a quiet tenant who has lived in my ADU at a house. There is one other tenant. All separate entrances, private. However, I've been feeling anxious because my Landlord put up a camera outside almost pointing at my front door. There is a second flood light (very bright LED) almost adjacent to it that almost pours into my bathroom window.

I am quiet, full-time employed, pay rent, like living here, all good. Sometimes there's skunks, shady folks, people speeding in their muscle cars but it's relatively safe in my neighborhood I just wish I would have been notified on paper about this. I understand my unit is in the backyard and people want to deter pests and criminals. However, when I walk to the kitchen at night and two cameras, one bright floodlight go off every time, it feels obnoxious and like I have little privacy.

This family is nice and has an autistic toddler an elderly Grandma, so I get the security, I just really like my privacy, but just getting a Studio Apartment is so expensive right now. 😞

I am not mad or being weird I'm just trying to get an opinion. How would you feel? I know he has the legal right to put cameras on the outside of the house on the property. However I just get blinded by the flood lights whenever I want to go outside to the kitchen. I'm a night owl and I feel like I can't go outside at night. 😞

Hi,

About a month ago, I signed a lease for a new apartment in a new city with a lease start date of July 14. I just graduated college and am moving to another state for work. I was about to pay all the move-in fees and first months rent when I received a voicemail at work from the leasing office stating “I know that you pre-leased an apartment, long story short, the resident is not going to move out because apparently their military orders have changed.” At this point, it’s highly unlikely I would be approved for another apartment complex in time considering all the hoops I had to jump through already to be approved for an apartment based off of an offer letter only (moving from $18/hr summer job to $135k new grad role).

I’m very unfamiliar moving, tenants rights, and the tenant experience in general, so I was just wondering if anyone has any advice?

Many thanks

It's incredibly obnoxious. I've been keeping track of the notices of entry and without fail every single month there's always SOMETHING, for about the last year. This most recent one is an "insurance inspection". Last time it was to inspect my fixtures, inspect the fire alarm, inspect the water meter, floor plan audit, vent cleaning.

Now I understand the vent cleaning and fire alarm test as they're legitimately maintenance... But what about the "insurance audit" and "floor plan audit"? The kicker is they actually already did a "floor plan audit" about 7 months ago and asked to do it again for some unknown reason. The water meter was also inspected last year. The fire alarm I've also had inspected about 3 or 4 times in 3 years.

In my last apartment, I had I think one single notice of entry in about 5 years to inspect the smoke alarms, outside of maintenance requests I asked for myself. Other than that, it was peaceful. Is this normal? Is there something I can do to enjoy the peace in my apartment for any amount of time?

So my brother and his girlfriend decided that they dont want me to live with them, and so they told me I had to be out within 30 days, now they are saying they are putting a protection order on me, so I have to be out within 3 days, we got in an argument but I never threatened or harmed anyone. I need help, I dont want to be a criminal but I dont want to be homeless.

Utah.

Moved into a home that was atrocious and managed by a big property management company in the valley.
We got it cleaned up and had a standard property management experience.

I moved out in mid April and turned over keys etc even thought my lease on paper ended at the end of the month. 32 days after I move out I get a $400 bill against my security deposit for, in their own wording, was paint damage requiring touch up. It also noted the paint was at the property.

I’ve been fighting them but wondering at what point is it useless? If we are still in a stalemate do I file in small claims court? Let them do that?

Our shower has broken 3 times in the past month, our apartment's new plumber has replaced our (personal) vintage knobs with ugly new ones, and I sent this email out of frustration after our shower turned off after 3 minutes:

"The plumber did something and it broke our shower. Can we please call [other plumber]? This [new plumber] you keep sending us has broken our shower twice now, and it’s been a total of 4 days of non working shower for our rent that we could request back. We are trying to be patient but it’s very frustrating. Please advice on how to get this fixed asap. Water is not turning on whatsoever. We will take 1 day off our rent if this is not resolved by tomorrow. "

Is this legal grounds for eviction? i'm really nervous and freaking out - I live in Cali btw

Hey guys, I posted earlier about my landlord demanding to come tomorrow July 1st to clean our house. In the past, his "cleaning" meant opening our bedroom closets and moving our personal clothes, which was so invasive we had to call the police.

Well, things just got worse. Two hours after my post, he showed up at our door claiming there was an emergency "water leak under the bed." Because he said emergency, we let him in. But there was absolutely NO water leak anywhere. He just used it as a fake excuse to search every bedroom, look under our beds, and make us open our closets to check everything.

He still plans to come back tomorrow between 10 AM and 2 PM for his scheduled "cleaning and inspection."

What should I do tomorrow? Since he already searched the whole house today under a fake excuse, can I legally lock him out tomorrow and refuse entry? Please help.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OntarioLandlord/s/qbHigcydPN

Edit: Thank you everyone for all your help and advice!

Based on what everyone is saying, I am refusing entry today. I am keeping my doors locked and I will not let him in.

I also have plans now to file a T2 form with the LTB for the harassment and the illegal entry from yesterday. Thank you all again for helping me protect my family!

Location: Leeds. The contract for our house started today and we were planning on moving in on Friday, however we can’t because the previous tenants (who’s contract has well ended) are refusing to leave. We’ve already paid a months rent and utilities but the landlord and agency say there’s nothing we can do. Squatters rights or something? But it’s like, get out of my gaff please. Does it not count as breaking and entering? Well maybe more like entering and staying. Idk how jarring is that though. Not really sure what we’re supposed to do now.