I moved to Pittsburgh in May, into a house that seemed like a dream--beautiful windows from floor to ceiling in almost every room, two decks overlooking the city--but living here has been a nightmare. Our landlord never drew a lease for us; he promised he would have it finished before he went on vacation in June, but that never happened. It's October now; we are still without a lease, facing tremendous problems as winter arrives.
These beautiful windows become waterfalls when it rains--they flow from the upstairs loft into the carpeted floor, which fills and subsequently leaks through a sizable hole in the kitchen ceiling. The windows downstairs leak so much that there is now a suspicious discoloration on the walls and ceiling--which the landlord "just painted." I've tried to contact our landlord about this all summer--each time (when my calls weren't sent to voicemail) he promised to "stop by" and "take a look," but to no avail.
You can probably guess where this is going; the frigid draft caused by these poorly-caulked windows is a problem, and we have recently discovered that our heat does not work. We continue to attempt to contact our landlord, and have talked to the tenant below us, who had a carbon monoxide leak last year and who is afraid to turn his heat on because it was never fully repaired. His heat is not connected to ours, either, so the fact that his works despite the carbon monoxide scare really does nothing for me but provide evidence against my landlord's ability to follow through.
What am I within my rights (if I have any) to do about this situation? I cannot withhold rent in legal escrow, as that would require us to be on a lease. I also don't think it matters that we WOULD have signed one had it been presented to us, because we didn't, and legally that means we do not live here. I really don't know what to do; it's freezing and moving out will be tremendously difficult, as we have nowhere to go and have invested quite a bit of money into living here as it is. We've paid over $3000 to this man, after which I have budgeted myself meticulously thinking that I would be able to afford living here as a full-time student with no job. If I am to add moving costs, another security deposit, and more rent to the picture, I am afraid I will not have the money to survive the winter. Although I don't see many alternatives; if I stay I imagine I'll have to survive the frostbite.
Any advice?
Aliya Z
Pittsburgh, PA
These beautiful windows become waterfalls when it rains--they flow from the upstairs loft into the carpeted floor, which fills and subsequently leaks through a sizable hole in the kitchen ceiling. The windows downstairs leak so much that there is now a suspicious discoloration on the walls and ceiling--which the landlord "just painted." I've tried to contact our landlord about this all summer--each time (when my calls weren't sent to voicemail) he promised to "stop by" and "take a look," but to no avail.
You can probably guess where this is going; the frigid draft caused by these poorly-caulked windows is a problem, and we have recently discovered that our heat does not work. We continue to attempt to contact our landlord, and have talked to the tenant below us, who had a carbon monoxide leak last year and who is afraid to turn his heat on because it was never fully repaired. His heat is not connected to ours, either, so the fact that his works despite the carbon monoxide scare really does nothing for me but provide evidence against my landlord's ability to follow through.
What am I within my rights (if I have any) to do about this situation? I cannot withhold rent in legal escrow, as that would require us to be on a lease. I also don't think it matters that we WOULD have signed one had it been presented to us, because we didn't, and legally that means we do not live here. I really don't know what to do; it's freezing and moving out will be tremendously difficult, as we have nowhere to go and have invested quite a bit of money into living here as it is. We've paid over $3000 to this man, after which I have budgeted myself meticulously thinking that I would be able to afford living here as a full-time student with no job. If I am to add moving costs, another security deposit, and more rent to the picture, I am afraid I will not have the money to survive the winter. Although I don't see many alternatives; if I stay I imagine I'll have to survive the frostbite.
Any advice?
Aliya Z
Pittsburgh, PA
