Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible.
I entered into a rental agreement on a lower duplex starting Aug 2009. At the time, there were many repairs and fixes still to be done on the unit, including the sunroom ceiling missing half the ceiling from a leak (sunroom is ~10% of the sq ft of unit), broken window paynes, no blinds on windows, fridge/freezer missing shelves, porch and dining room lights not working, bedrooms needing painting, and more, in addition to no cleaning having been done (fridge, stove, windows, carpets, etc). At the time the lease was signed, ~1 week prior to Aug 1, the landlord stated that all that would be taken care of before I moved in. He also agreed to put an enclosure around the yard since I was moving in with a dog, as well as including some addition to the kitchen (counter or cart) since there were no counters. When I moved in, repairs and cleaning were not done. Landlord promised that it'll get done in the next few weeks, within the month max. I was naive not to get it in writing.
It is now Nov 5, and the repairs are still not complete.
August: Paid full rent on the 1st. Landlord still had not given me my copy of a signed lease. I was sleeping on the couch, still living out of boxes because the landlord waited until the end of the month to paint the bedroom and put blinds on the windows. He also stated that he still needed to paint the closets, which I told him not to because I wanted to unpack and move in. Tub was refinished, despite a leaky faucet. The carpet was cleaned. Sunroom ceiling leaked after a rainstorm, and I had to use my dog's swimming pool and other household objects to collect the water. A new trash bin purchased just the day prior had to be thrown away because it was stained yellow with the water and could not be bleached out.
September: Paid full rent on the 1st. Landlord still had not given me my copy of a signed lease. Landlord did no work on the unit whatsoever. He would state that he would be in on a particular day, and not show up at all, or have some excuse why he couln't be there. At the end of the month, I wrote him an email requesting a rent reduction for the next month based on the fact that I had paid 2 months full rent in good faith that it would all get done, but little work had been done. This email contained a list of repairs still needing to be done, listed below.
"The following is the list I have for work that remains to be done, in the order of urgency.
1) Signed copy of lease
2) Sunroom ceiling
3) Front porch light
4) Broken window paynes
5) Kitchen island/cabinet/counter
6) Missing refrigerator/freezer shelves and pieces
7) Fix dining room lights
8) Trash can replacement
9) Fix blinds that keep falling
10) Yard enclosure"
He threw out some excuses, but in the end agreed to $150 taken off my $850 rent in December, because he couldn't afford to have it taken out in October.
October: Full rent paid on the 1st, but received in writing that $150 would be deducted from my Dec rent. Landlord still had not given me my copy of a signed lease. Broken window paynes were replaced, dining room lights were fixed, trash can was replaced, blinds were fixed. Some work on sunroom ceiling was done. HOWEVER, after a storm, I had another leak in the sunroom. Apparently the landlord never tacked down the cover or layer on the upstairs deck because he was waiting to place a second layer before tacking it down. The cover blew away with the wind, and the rain water leaked in. The last leak happened in August, so he neglected to fix this for 2 months. Porch light was finally fixed so I no longer had to go in and out of my house in the complete dark on a not-so-well-lit street. Still no signed copy of the lease. Tub faucet still leaking.
At the end of the month, I write him another email stating that I would like him to consider a rent reduction for Nov as the repairs were still incomplete after 3 months, and I've had to suffer the additional inconvenience of dealing with a second, totally preventable leak. He calls back, sounding very upset, states the following (sumarized):
(i) Complains about how much money he's had to spend on the repairs. (Not my problem since I didn't cause them, and they existed prior to my moving in.)
(ii) He never agreed to any yard enclosure. (He had agreed though not in writing, and it was included in previous repair lists.)
(iii) He was being nice to add counter space in the kitchen. (True, but he hasn't even done this yet so shouldn't hold it over my head.)
(iv) He claims to not know about the fridge/freezer missing shelves. (It's been on past repair lists.)
(v) He stated that maybe I should move out if I'm so unhappy. (I'm asking for the essential repairs to be done so I can live in peace and just write him a monthly check. Nothing beyond what would be expected by ANY tenant occupying the space.)
(vi) Accused me of being $50 short on my last rent. (I promptly looked up my online banking and told him the check number, amount paid, and date posted of my rent check.)
(vii) Starts saying he has concerns about my dog, despite having entered into a rental agreement (with no additional pet rent or pet security deposit) knowing that I own a dog. (I ask what issues, since she doesn't bark (is a silent breed) and is completely housetrained. He claims that the the house smells. I only notice a musky odor in the sunroom, where the water had been leaking and most likely causing damage or possibly mold. There may be a slight pet smell in the rest of the home (friends have told me it is not noticible), but nothing that would not be removed by a thorough carpet cleaning at time of move-out. Also, with the heat on in WI, all the windows are currently shut and sealed with plastic sheets. So the house is a bit stuffy.)
(viii) Flatout refuses to consider a rent reduction for Nov. Hinting that he'd rather have me move out than do so. (Which is idiotic considering he won't be making any profit off the unit).
Towards the end, he basically started to try to fault me for anything he could think of. Too bad I'm a good tenant.
November: I agree to pay full rent for Nov. I decide to dropt he yard enclosure issue since my dog is well-trained enough not to need it. I am considering telling the landlord to forget about the kitchen counter add-on because I fear it'll take him another 3 months to get that done. The landlord dropped off the lease the other day, though it's still missing a signature from him. That leaves 3 essential repairs: (1) Sunroom ceiling/upstairs deck exterior; (2) Missing refrigerator/freezer shelves and pieces, and (3) leaky tub faucet.
If he gets these things done this month, I'll put the issue to rest.
However, because of his actions in the preceeding months, I am concerned that things WILL NOT get done this month. IF that is the case what legal recourse do I have? I feel I have been more than reasonably patient (3 months!) and should be entitled to some compensation.
How do I do so with a lousy landlord who's not willing to be fair and reduce the rent as compensation? Am I legally entitled to any?
I entered into a rental agreement on a lower duplex starting Aug 2009. At the time, there were many repairs and fixes still to be done on the unit, including the sunroom ceiling missing half the ceiling from a leak (sunroom is ~10% of the sq ft of unit), broken window paynes, no blinds on windows, fridge/freezer missing shelves, porch and dining room lights not working, bedrooms needing painting, and more, in addition to no cleaning having been done (fridge, stove, windows, carpets, etc). At the time the lease was signed, ~1 week prior to Aug 1, the landlord stated that all that would be taken care of before I moved in. He also agreed to put an enclosure around the yard since I was moving in with a dog, as well as including some addition to the kitchen (counter or cart) since there were no counters. When I moved in, repairs and cleaning were not done. Landlord promised that it'll get done in the next few weeks, within the month max. I was naive not to get it in writing.
It is now Nov 5, and the repairs are still not complete.
August: Paid full rent on the 1st. Landlord still had not given me my copy of a signed lease. I was sleeping on the couch, still living out of boxes because the landlord waited until the end of the month to paint the bedroom and put blinds on the windows. He also stated that he still needed to paint the closets, which I told him not to because I wanted to unpack and move in. Tub was refinished, despite a leaky faucet. The carpet was cleaned. Sunroom ceiling leaked after a rainstorm, and I had to use my dog's swimming pool and other household objects to collect the water. A new trash bin purchased just the day prior had to be thrown away because it was stained yellow with the water and could not be bleached out.
September: Paid full rent on the 1st. Landlord still had not given me my copy of a signed lease. Landlord did no work on the unit whatsoever. He would state that he would be in on a particular day, and not show up at all, or have some excuse why he couln't be there. At the end of the month, I wrote him an email requesting a rent reduction for the next month based on the fact that I had paid 2 months full rent in good faith that it would all get done, but little work had been done. This email contained a list of repairs still needing to be done, listed below.
"The following is the list I have for work that remains to be done, in the order of urgency.
1) Signed copy of lease
2) Sunroom ceiling
3) Front porch light
4) Broken window paynes
5) Kitchen island/cabinet/counter
6) Missing refrigerator/freezer shelves and pieces
7) Fix dining room lights
8) Trash can replacement
9) Fix blinds that keep falling
10) Yard enclosure"
He threw out some excuses, but in the end agreed to $150 taken off my $850 rent in December, because he couldn't afford to have it taken out in October.
October: Full rent paid on the 1st, but received in writing that $150 would be deducted from my Dec rent. Landlord still had not given me my copy of a signed lease. Broken window paynes were replaced, dining room lights were fixed, trash can was replaced, blinds were fixed. Some work on sunroom ceiling was done. HOWEVER, after a storm, I had another leak in the sunroom. Apparently the landlord never tacked down the cover or layer on the upstairs deck because he was waiting to place a second layer before tacking it down. The cover blew away with the wind, and the rain water leaked in. The last leak happened in August, so he neglected to fix this for 2 months. Porch light was finally fixed so I no longer had to go in and out of my house in the complete dark on a not-so-well-lit street. Still no signed copy of the lease. Tub faucet still leaking.
At the end of the month, I write him another email stating that I would like him to consider a rent reduction for Nov as the repairs were still incomplete after 3 months, and I've had to suffer the additional inconvenience of dealing with a second, totally preventable leak. He calls back, sounding very upset, states the following (sumarized):
(i) Complains about how much money he's had to spend on the repairs. (Not my problem since I didn't cause them, and they existed prior to my moving in.)
(ii) He never agreed to any yard enclosure. (He had agreed though not in writing, and it was included in previous repair lists.)
(iii) He was being nice to add counter space in the kitchen. (True, but he hasn't even done this yet so shouldn't hold it over my head.)
(iv) He claims to not know about the fridge/freezer missing shelves. (It's been on past repair lists.)
(v) He stated that maybe I should move out if I'm so unhappy. (I'm asking for the essential repairs to be done so I can live in peace and just write him a monthly check. Nothing beyond what would be expected by ANY tenant occupying the space.)
(vi) Accused me of being $50 short on my last rent. (I promptly looked up my online banking and told him the check number, amount paid, and date posted of my rent check.)
(vii) Starts saying he has concerns about my dog, despite having entered into a rental agreement (with no additional pet rent or pet security deposit) knowing that I own a dog. (I ask what issues, since she doesn't bark (is a silent breed) and is completely housetrained. He claims that the the house smells. I only notice a musky odor in the sunroom, where the water had been leaking and most likely causing damage or possibly mold. There may be a slight pet smell in the rest of the home (friends have told me it is not noticible), but nothing that would not be removed by a thorough carpet cleaning at time of move-out. Also, with the heat on in WI, all the windows are currently shut and sealed with plastic sheets. So the house is a bit stuffy.)
(viii) Flatout refuses to consider a rent reduction for Nov. Hinting that he'd rather have me move out than do so. (Which is idiotic considering he won't be making any profit off the unit).
Towards the end, he basically started to try to fault me for anything he could think of. Too bad I'm a good tenant.
November: I agree to pay full rent for Nov. I decide to dropt he yard enclosure issue since my dog is well-trained enough not to need it. I am considering telling the landlord to forget about the kitchen counter add-on because I fear it'll take him another 3 months to get that done. The landlord dropped off the lease the other day, though it's still missing a signature from him. That leaves 3 essential repairs: (1) Sunroom ceiling/upstairs deck exterior; (2) Missing refrigerator/freezer shelves and pieces, and (3) leaky tub faucet.
If he gets these things done this month, I'll put the issue to rest.
However, because of his actions in the preceeding months, I am concerned that things WILL NOT get done this month. IF that is the case what legal recourse do I have? I feel I have been more than reasonably patient (3 months!) and should be entitled to some compensation.
How do I do so with a lousy landlord who's not willing to be fair and reduce the rent as compensation? Am I legally entitled to any?
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