The oven that broke the camel's back

November 7, 2009 1:58 PM

Our brand new rented townhouse keeps breaking. What, if anything, should we ask for?

Back in June, my family moved into a new construction townhouse in a suburb and, since then, things keep breaking and the landlord is slow to get stuff fixed. Some of it is "minor:" not cleaning the off-white carpets from between when the live-in general contractor moved out and we moved in; some of the travertine tiles crumbling at their corners, a couple of sinks pour water on the floor (due to the spout not being forward enough relative to the sink bowl) if not turned on full-blast; one of the sinks has a stream of rust along the bottom of its spout.

However, some stuff has been "major:" brand new (I watched them unpack it) refrigerator died and he couldn't be bothered to get to it until the next afternoon, taking two trips (the next brand new fridge also broke) to fix it; garage door shorted out; air conditioner isn't balanced on the top floor; and, most recently, the oven has decided to break and will not shut off the heating elements, eventually either popping the breaker or getting hotter until I kill the breaker myself. The landlord has eventually, and in some cases partially, fixed the major problems, but new ones keep popping up.

We're paying $1850/month for this house, which is on the high side for this area and already a several hundred dollar discount off the "retail" price because the units weren't leasing. We thought it was worth it for all the space, location, and the "newness," so we moved in. However, all the maintenance problems are beginning to grate on us and make this place seem like it's not worth the high price we're paying. Add to it that I work nights, so staying up for maintenance is a pain, and we're ready to move. People drive by the complex periodically, though less often lately, asking if any units are available, and we're tempted to say "here, take ours!"

tl;dr question: In this situation, where maintenance is slow, problems keep happening, and the landlord is apparently distracted by other projects, what are the pitfalls of asking to bail on the lease? The landlord holds the majority of the cards and can say "no," in which case we stay until the end, and, if so, any tips for negotiating something else, like a rent credit or something?

posted by fireoyster to work & money (6 comments total)

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention: the rats. We had rats (two or three) coming out of a conduit interior wall opening that's used to run video cable from the TiVo up to the wall-mount area for the TV. I called the landlord about that and, five days later, an exterminator was out putting a couple of traps at either end of the 10-unit building. Nothing was done on the inside of our unit, though I did rig up covers for the conduit.

I've also told them about each problem that happens and requested a meeting with my landlord. He said he'd come out on a given day and time, but never showed. Two days later, I got an e-mail from his secretary saying just that "Mr. Soandso is busy, the exterminator will be out on Friday."
posted by fireoyster at 2:05 PM on November 7, 2009

Location? I'd look first for tenant's rights organizations and a lawyer, in that order. Rats are completely unacceptable slumlord business (as is weaseling out of an appointment), and the sink business you need to document with photos and a dated letter notifying the landlord. Basically, you need to start protecting your deposit, since landlords will commonly use shoddy materials to gouge you on your deposit when you move out. After that, if they won't own up, you can start looking at ways to get out of the lease, sucky as that would be. I mean really, obviously there are electrical problems in the building that aren't getting fixed. Can you imagine how often all of this is going to go on during the course of your lease?
posted by rhizome at 3:07 PM on November 7, 2009

I was on the landlord's side until you mentioned the rats and the unsafe stove. Broken appliances happen, but firebox ovens and rats? Hells no.

Ask to be let out of your lease citing the issues. If he declines then it's calls to tenants rights, code enforcement and the city health inspector. Follow up with calls to your local media "consumer watchdog".

I understand that it's a slow economy and the guy is probably underwater with slow rentals and high construction costs. Too bad - rats and fire hazards need to be dealt with immediately.
posted by 26.2 at 4:11 PM on November 7, 2009

two fridges? oven? sounds like your electrical system is not wired correctly.

concentrate on finding the cause of problems, rater then the cosmetic. make it sound to the landlord like you're working to protect his investment.
posted by lester at 6:56 PM on November 7, 2009

1. Notarized letter to the landlord documenting the problems. Photograph everything. Ask for a date when these issues will be resolved, or you will be contacting an attorney or the city code department as appropriate.

2. Well, there should be no need for 2, but if there is you will be engaging in constructive eviction and should probably at least talk to a lawyer or tenants rights organization.
posted by dhartung at 10:44 PM on November 7, 2009

I only wanted to say: document everything, photograph everything. If this does roll into a legal situation, that's your arsenal.
posted by chairface at 1:55 PM on November 8, 2009