Charging fees to repair/Blaming me liable

[eldonraines]

I moved into my privately owned condo in Feb. of 2009, was shown at night with a flashlight, there was no reasonable walk through or checklist of any kind. Shortly after I notified the owner and property manager of a very loose railing on the second floor balcony - obviously unsafe. Nothing was done - it was said that was the HOA's responsibility.
Eventually the HOA came without any notice and placed extra brackets on it, while I was not home, apparently with a ladder from the outside. I was very upset about the way this was handled and it is still very loose and dangerous. The owner visited in August and saw the poor fix, yet has still failed to do anything.
Also in August I made the owner and property manager aware of a bi-fold door rotting out at bottom from moisture by the washer and dryer, possibly a leak. The door and leak have yet to be addressed - Now the door has fallen completely off the tracks and there is mold/mildew of some sort building around the area and into the adjacent bathroom - which I do not even use.
Finally the medicine cabinet in the bathroom just fell off the wall. It was held by three screws only anchored in drywall - not stable - could have caused injury falling. ***I'm now being told they will come to look at the damages finally, 1st of all they want a $50 administrative fee just to come out, then they will assess the damage and if they determine it is not a direct result of the condition of the building I will be liable for any repairs.
I am not willing to pay any amount to anyone because this condo has problems that are not in any way caused by me. Furthermore, neglecting to repair unsafe conditions before I moved in and after I've made aware many times I feel may be grounds to break the lease. What should I do? Leave, break lease and risk getting in legal issues? Is there a way I can make them repair these things without being held to the cost? What's my next move?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Did you notify the owner and property manager of the bi-fold door rotting at the bottom in writing? It's always good to do these things in writing so that you have documentation should questions come up later.

The medicine cabient "just" falling off the wall is questionable; three screws anchored only in drywall would not cause this to happen without some other issue causing it to come away from the wall.

The doors and the cabinet are not justification for you to break your lease without the risk of financial penalty. The loose railing on the balcony..perhaps...although it is apparent you are aware of this.

Your best bet is to let them do what you've requested they do previously; come in, assess and repair these issues.

Gail

 

[eldonraines]

I did notify the owner by email, which could be retrieved for documentation that the door was a problem. What I'm really curious of is if they can actually charge me $50 just to come out. It says in a rental agreement that after 15 days any repairs requested they will charge that fee if deemed applicable.
I don't think it's applicable as it's something covered under their responsibility anyway - It has plumbing, water, etc.. checked as landlord's responsibility, however, this agreement and lease contradict things on each other such as the lease saying $25 late fee period, no mention of any other fees, whereas the rental agreement states no less that $50 per occurence.
It happens that after reviewing this today I had paid nearly $200 extra for being over 2 weeks late upon the direction of the property manager, now I'm seeing that I never agreed to that.
Bottom line with the door, water leak, railing, and medicine cabinet is this; railing was agreeably pre-existing and a safety hazard, door problem is caused by a plumbing problem which is clearly stated it is a landlord responsibility, and medicine cabinet was not due to any negligence on my part (it is too heavy to only be supported the way it was - I know as I used to do remodeling and you can tell by looking at it and the holes that it simply slipped out, it was not due to excessive force or misuse, only poor installation). Can they refuse to fix these things if I don't pay $50 administrative fee?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Yes; they can refuse to come out if you don't pay this fee. It sounds from your posting that the cost of such was listed on your rental agreement (which, I'm assuming you saw when you moved into the place or signed your lease).

Gail

 

[eldonraines]

Ok, that stinks. Well how about this - I can reattach the cabinet. I can do my best to keep the leaky, moldy area thats rotting a door out as clean as possible. I can try not to fall off the balcony. I refuse to pay them $50, if I move out can they hold me liable for the damage to the door or anything else that suffers water damage?

And I didn't see the $50 clause originally, overlooked it, or had forgotten. I don't understand that - it's the house having problems - leaking area, unsafe rail, faulty installation of a fixture. If the roof falls in and I call to let them know will there be a $50 admin fee to come out? Rhetorical question of course. Thanks for all your help