Can i take my landlord to court?

Question

I am so irritated been living here for a year now paying him rent on time, our heater broke and he havent fix it..and is getting chilly in here i have an 8 month old .. Our room has a big hole in our ceiling and when our upstairs neighboors smoke ciggs or weed it gets inside our room and my daughter starts to cough and crying... Our tube is clogged up because of the pipes in this building so we have bought so many things to fix it and nothing.. We cant move right now because we dont have the money i just dont know what else to do he only shows up to pick up the rent and never picks up my phone calls and when he does he says he will stop by to fix it and he dont.. I am not the only tenant in this conditions other tenants have other issues too with their apartments but they just live with it i CANT! Is been long enough

Answer

I'm a property manager of a huge apartment complex  and have my real estate license along with owning my own rentals....what your landlord is doing is illegal. But you cannot withhold rent....then he can say he's not doing repairs due to non payment.

You could file a claim in small claims court but it'll take months, cost a lot of money, and he will get a slap on the wrist. You need to call code enforcement and file a complaint with your city. They'll give him a hefty hefty fine and make him fix it

But, even without the $ I would start looking for somewhere else, he sounds like a slumlord

Answer

You can sue him, yes. He's in breach of contract. You should also go to your states real estate commission and file a report on him.

Answer

Check your state laws before withholding rent...in my state u have to "pay" the withheld rent to the court and they hold it until it's settled so they know your not just skipping out on paying. You might also be able to fix the heat yourself and Bill your landlord if he didn't fix it within a reasonable amount of time!

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Call code enforcement and/or the city. No idea of your location, but in California that's who would handle it.

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Yes you can. He is the landlord once you report things to him he is supposed to get them fixed. My friend recently got into it with her landlord they needed a new roof and he was taking too long. They told him to fix it or they were taking him to court. The Ac had been broke for 2 months and they fixed that themselves but the roof needed a whole new roof. He finally got a new roof and they weren't charged that months rent.

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I don't know about everything else, but I know in some states they are required by law to provide heat. You could take them to court over that alone.

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Yes suing your landlord is possible but I would suggest finding somewhere else to live. I'm pretty sure you might be getting an eviction letter soon after!

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Would cost too much to take him to court. File a state/ county compliant on him or call the cops. Check you state laws, up north it is illegal to turn off someone heat in the winter I believe this falls in the same category as not providing heat. Don't pay rent until things are fixed! There a contract for a reason I'm sure it says the landlord has to provide live able. When he takes you to court for not paying rent be prepared to show evidence text messages pictures etc. I was let out of a lease because of constant mold that the landlord refused to fix. I complain and filed all complaints got my deposit back in full and got out the lease with no problem