Do I have to pay my lanlord

[enich28]

I live in an apartment with my family. We've been here for two years and our landlord refuses to fix our apartment. Our ceiling is falling in the bathroom, some of it already has, we have appliances turning on and off on their own due to an electrical problem. Tiles are coming off the floor because of a leaking pipe that I had to fix on my own. The basement in our building lets water come streaming down the walls and even over top of our fuse box. We have no fire extinguishers or smoke detectors. Do I really have to pay rent to him for him to do nothing? Can he evict me for not paying rent until the work is done? Both me and the tenants downstairs have kids and neither of us should have to pay rent for an apartment thats falling apart and is a fire hazard.

 

[bob235]

I believe you can withold the rent and put it in an account and once the repairs are complete then you can release the money at least this is what I was told, my five dogs almost died from carbon monoxide poisoining from a faulty furnace, there were several problems in the home and we put the money in a bank account finally got the landlord to fix the problems then paid him his rent and moved out.

Good luck and don't let the landlord get away with it !!

 

[susieb29]

Do I have to pay rent

I just found out the hard way that if you don't pay your rent, your landlord can start eviction and win. I am not an attorney. But if your living conditions are unbearable and they seem to be illegal, call or visit your local housing authority before you stop rent. You can later supoena the housing authority on your behalf. If you stop paying rent first, you become the "at fault" person. :no: I am just trying to help cuz my landlord kept shutting off the hot water then entering my apartment without my permission erego letting my epileptic cat outdoors. I stopped paying rent. He sued for eviction. Housing Court addresses the landlord taking back his property. I should have called housing authority then proceeded to file papers with court. Good luck, PS He stopped messing with the hot water and I changed the locks so that the cat can't "let herself out" dunno: according to him she unlocked 2 sets of doors herself to get out, he was't in my home)...:angel I got a new place lined up.

 

[Duranie]

You cannot automatically withhold rent. You really need to research your states landlord tenant laws. Have you sent your LL a certified letter demanding the repairs be made? You might want to google landlord tenant act for your state to see if there is any sort of mediation that is offered for these types of disputes.