My husband and I moved into the downstairs apartment of a 2-family house. As in our lease, we are entitled to use the left side of the garage and the basement for personal storage. In July (2009), our basement flooded with more than 10 inches of water, ruining everything we had stored down there. Our insurance told us they didn't cover flood damage, and we don't have a problem with that. However, when we told the landlord (and his wife) about the flooding, he told us that we have to clean it up ourselves and that they will not fix the problem unless it happens again. They then told us to buy shelving to protect our belongings. We found out a week later that all of the houses in the neighborhood always flood during heavy rains, and that the landlord knew about the problem for more than 10 years. They did not tell us about this. It has since flooded again, and they just blow it off by saying, "Just mop it up..." Also, included in our lease is a washer and dryer, but the washer is on a wooden box-like structure that has rotted away due to continued flooding. The washing machine can no longer be used because there is no way to balance it properly on the rotting wood. We have brought this problem to the landlord's attention many times, and his response is always that we have to balance it ourselves. As I mentioned, there is no way to balance it. The left side of the washing machine is about 3-4 inches higher than the right side.
The upstairs neighbor keeps going onto our front porch and looking in the windows at night. There is no access to her apartment from the front porch, and both the upstairs and downstairs have separate porches. When I mentioned this to the landlord, he said, "I'll just send someone over there to look in your windows and you won't know about it, so it won't bother you." He then began laughing at me when I told him I felt uncomfortable living there.
Also, how much time is required by the landlord to give notice that he will be entering our rented apartment? He told me, "I will be there in a couple of days" and hung up the phone. He didn't specify a date or a time. Does this count as sufficient notice?
We would move out, but our lease is not up until January 1, 2010. Also, we have poor credit after this year's economic stress and due to medical bills for my disabled son and disabled husband. Is there anything we can do about all of these landlord problems when we have no where else to go?
The upstairs neighbor keeps going onto our front porch and looking in the windows at night. There is no access to her apartment from the front porch, and both the upstairs and downstairs have separate porches. When I mentioned this to the landlord, he said, "I'll just send someone over there to look in your windows and you won't know about it, so it won't bother you." He then began laughing at me when I told him I felt uncomfortable living there.
Also, how much time is required by the landlord to give notice that he will be entering our rented apartment? He told me, "I will be there in a couple of days" and hung up the phone. He didn't specify a date or a time. Does this count as sufficient notice?
We would move out, but our lease is not up until January 1, 2010. Also, we have poor credit after this year's economic stress and due to medical bills for my disabled son and disabled husband. Is there anything we can do about all of these landlord problems when we have no where else to go?
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