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Bad Landlord advice for Tenant

KeystoneDeac10

KeystoneDeac10

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Ok pit. I come hat in hand looking for some advice. I have a close family member that recently started renting a house out in the suburbs. She knew she was going into a somewhat older house and that there would be some inconveniences, but it has turned out to be far worse than originally thought.

Issues:
- The deck out back has been inspected since moving in and a professional has deemed it unsafe and written that it needs to be removed. The tenant was told not to use it
- Wiring is most likely faulty and lights will just stop working at times and then eventually come back on
- a Plumber looked at some things and determined that much of the work done either needs replaced or will be breaking soon
- AC has broken
-Washer and Dryer have broken
- Locks on front door needed replaced (was seen as a saftey issue)
- Many many other small breakages and issues

Landlord:
I realize it doesnt really matter that she is a huge bitch, but thats my impression anyway.
She has repeatedly responded to written and verbal complaints by saying that its an old house and these things happen or that you should have known this might happen
Said that the AC and washer and dryer are not life threatening so she would think about it and get back to my family member. Its been over a week and damn its hot.
She has not done anything about the deck and just said to stay away from it ( i suppose i can understand this)
She has not offered any rent reductions when asked for it

So I know its unfair to just say Pit, give me my answers... but what are the best ways to educate myself on this? Other threads seem to suggest that not paying rent, or paying less than full rent could be a really bad idea. Would it fly to get things like AC unit and Washer dryer repaired and subtract cost from rent?

I am going to pay a visit tomorrow and will be looking at the lease to see if anything stands out. The place is in PA if that helps at all (not sure if its state laws or county that come into play)

Thanks for any help, Pit
 
What state?

In VA you can pay rent to the court if you've been "constructively evicted". The court holds onto it while any legal issues are resolved.

Always pay rent.
 
State is Pennsylvania.

Thanks for the reply, Cav. I'll have to look into that, but it sounds like the bar for that is probably pretty high no?
 
Constructive eviction would be my first thought too. With all of the issues, your friend might have enough to prove it (the AC and safety issues could be enough). Also, is there anything in the language of the lease that discusses repairs? And make sure your friend handles contact with the landlord through writing.
 
What does the lease say about breaking it. Often a provision to break a lease with 30-60 days notice.might change if there are.safety concerns or promises in met.
 
I would start with threatening a violent retribution and then if that doesn't work then start leaving dead animal carcuses on her doorstep. Hire big guys to wear a suit and sunglasses and just hang around her house. Constantly call her house in the middle of the night and leave voice messages in pig latin.
 
I know that the Virginia legal aid society has a lot of information on this issue on their website so I imagine PA's would have a similar resource.
 
DeaconCav06 said:
I know that the Virginia legal aid society has a lot of information on this issue on their website so I imagine PA's would have a similar resource.
Click to expand...

Why would he need to go to a website when I just provided all the information needed to handle this swiftly and effectively?
 
Whether she would win or not is irrelevant. Whether she has a good enough claim to send a good demand letter matters way more.
 
Make sure all communications are in writing and documented.

In VA you can pay your rent into an escrow account (that is managed by the court) rather than directly to the landlord.
 
Thanks for the help here. I am definitely going to look into the constructive eviction thing and see if it could apply. I am visiting this weekend and hopefully going to get a copy of the lease.

I was told that the lease has a provision in it that says all repairs must be handled by the landlord. It appears that PA tenant law states that after a certain amount of time, a tenant may do repairs on their own and deduct this from the rent. Assuming both things are true, I would have to believe that a lease can't trump state law and that you can't just agree to give that right away.

Bojangle, the above might be more useful in a demand letter than anything else, I am thinking.

And finally... tags arent bad. I expected more tbh
 
This thread is called giving bad landlord advice. You all are missing the point.
 
tsywake said:
Is it bad enough that you could get a county inspector to come out and potentially condemn the property for safety issues?
Click to expand...

I don't know if its that bad, but I do have some serious doubts about some of the wiring, indoor air quality and additions that were put on the house at different points. Its a house in a somewhat nicer neighborhood that has been neglected pretty badly, but has had enough cosmetic work to make it at least look ok. Ideally something like this would only be a last resort to get out of the lease. The best case scenario would be getting the repairs done and just finishing out the last 6-8 months of the lease then GTFO.

Its definitely another angle though and I'll let her know. Thankfully, there are no known ghosts
 
Seriously, put everything in writing and document it (pictures). I bet if she gets out of the lease, the landlord will try to blame the damage on her.
 
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