what can i do about a landlord who wont fix anything

[monica1984]

my landlord wont fix my black mold problem me and my boyfriend and his two brothers have been staying at are residence for 9months we have a hole in the roof which leaks on the inside of the apartment i have no idea what is growing between the boards we were here for six months on a six month lease then the landlord made a new lease only it was for a year and never discussed this with us just made up the agreement what i want to know is can we rightfully not pay him his rent until he fixes the mold problem without us getting thrown out on the street he never said he was going to fix anything in writing but he has verbally said he would fix the roof and the mold he saw it but has done nothing it is frustrating since we have been feeling sick and we think its due to the mold he also just had a new tenant move next door they have three babies we only have a wall separating us and the mold is in the bathroom which would be the kitchen area in there place wondering if i should tell them since they could get sick as well what should we do...

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

I've attached the steps a tenant can take in Michigan when a landlord does to address repair issues (these are outlined starting on page 28 of the attached):

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/publications/tenantlandlord.pdf

In a nutshell, the tenants must notify the landlord of repair issues (it it best to do this in writing so you have documentation), then give him a certain amount of time to address these. If no response the tenants may then set up an escrow account where their rent is placed until the repairs issues are addressed. Tenants can also contact their local Code Enforcement to determine the habitability of the rental unit.

It is important to keep in mind that while a leaking hole in the roof is a necessary repair, a tenant must be careful when they throw around the term "black mold" and the claim that such is making them ill. Unfortunately the "mold card" has been vastly overused by tenants wishing to stop paying rent or getting out of their lease and unless there's been some actual mold testing one has no idea what type of mold this is (there are literally thousands of strains of mold).

The other issue is if the landlord came to you with a new lease, why didn't the four of you read the thing before you signed it? If nothing was signed you all are considered to have a tenancy at will...or month to month tenants...and such an arrangement can generally be terminated with a 30 day written notice on the part of either party (i.e., the tenant or the landlord).

Gail