Is it legal for a landlord to allow a cat in one half of a duplex but not the other? [more inside]
posted by WowLookStars on Sep 30, 2009 - 20 answers

I've got eleven months to go on a lease, and a whole slew of problems with a new (to me) apartment, and a cheap, possibly negligent landlord. How do I remedy them? LOTS of details inside. But if you don't want to read the whole kit-and-caboodle inside here are the Cliff notes: (a) Landlord took more than weeks to fix the unusable bathroom sink; blamed the repairman. (b) Landlord expects me to find/select/transport the washer/dryer he’s obligated by lease to provide, and was missing on our move-in, and for less than $200. (c) Landlord flat-out refused to clean disgustingly smelly carpets we encountered on moving day (d) Landlord reneged on verbal agreement to replace crappy kitchen linoleum (e) Landlord made repeated, guilt-trippy and borderline abusive calls about first month's rent, and (bonus) (f) makes (super odd) references to lesbians. [Way too many details inside; you probably don't need to bother reading unless you want specific specifics] [more inside]
posted by mr. remy on Sep 30, 2009 - 21 answers

Landlord threw out my things before my lease was up - do I have any recourse? [more inside]
posted by thisisnotkatrina on Aug 30, 2009 - 13 answers

Can I persuade my landlord to let me use my security deposit for my last month's rent? If not, what's my next best option? ( I'm dealing with paying my credit card bills too.) [more inside]
posted by lblair on Aug 3, 2009 - 14 answers

ApartmentNightmareFilter: My new apartment is falling apart and no one will step up. What are my rights here? [more inside]
posted by telegraph on Jul 15, 2009 - 16 answers

All signs point to illegal activity on the part of my landlord, and paying the rent in cash certainly isn't helping the situation. What are our options (in DC?) [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Jul 7, 2009 - 21 answers

Can an Ontario lease stipulate that, once the lease is up and I switch to month-to-month tenancy, I still can't move out between October and April? [more inside]
posted by Beardman on Jul 2, 2009 - 9 answers

When I signed the lease on my apartment, I put down first month's rent, last month's rent, and security deposit. Now the building has changed hands, I'm moving out, and my brand-new landlord is telling me I need to pay last month's rent again and she'll refund it later, along with the security deposit. Does she have any right to require me to do this? New York is the state. [more inside]
posted by ourobouros on Jun 29, 2009 - 15 answers

Help me figure out what to do to get proper maintenance in my rented apartment within a condo building. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Jun 25, 2009 - 11 answers

My landlords want to kick me out and move into my apartment. They gave me the 60 days notice, but I have some questions about the validity of their notice. [more inside]
posted by krunk on Jun 16, 2009 - 17 answers

Help me get my landlord to stop saying inappropriate things to me. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 25, 2009 - 54 answers

How can I get my landlord to allow me to have a pet? [more inside]
posted by gchucky on May 14, 2009 - 29 answers

Landlord issues in Virginia -- please help! [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 22, 2009 - 5 answers

my landlord is trying to make me pay for replacing the carpets when they do not warrant a replacement, and she will not stick to a verbally (and textually) agreed upon date of moving out early (which was her idea so that her new owner could move in asap) unless we agree to replacing the carpets. What should I do? [more inside]
posted by focus on Feb 4, 2009 - 8 answers

What personal info does my future landlord need from me to make sure I'm legit? How do I make sure he's legit? [more inside]
posted by Asymptote on Jan 15, 2009 - 8 answers

My friend and his fiance have a mentally ill woman living below them who is making their lives absolute hell. They live in Massachusetts. Would there be consequences if they break their apartment's lease to leave because of her? [more inside]
posted by csimpkins on Jan 14, 2009 - 19 answers

My main gripe are the dirty hallways. I rent a 1BR in a 32-unit apartment building in Brooklyn. The rent is well below market and the location is good, but the building isn't properly looked after. The super and landlord and by-and-large my neighbors just don't care. What's the best approach? [more inside]
posted by timnyc on Jan 14, 2009 - 17 answers

I returned home from a week-long vacation to discover a hole in the ceiling of my apartment and water dripping onto my futon. Should I ask my landlord to pay to replace my damaged furniture? Or, since I don’t have renter’s insurance, am I just out of luck? [more inside]
posted by Metroid Baby on Jan 2, 2009 - 12 answers

Is there a good way to estimate how soon I'd be able to rent out my place? [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Dec 16, 2008 - 8 answers

Rain damaged my apartment's ceiling. What rights and remedies do I have as a tenant? [more inside]
posted by Frank Grimes on Dec 14, 2008 - 4 answers

What should I do to protect myself from my roommate's mess? [more inside]
posted by ictow on Nov 7, 2008 - 14 answers

Whenever I go look at a house for rent, I draw a blank on what questions to ask the landlord. I've started a list from this site. What's missing? What do you wish you'd asked or looked at more closely before signing a lease? (Specifically for a house, if you can...) Particulars: Three girls and a dog looking to rent a house with yard somewhere in the 562 or 714 area of So Cal. I expect to be there at the very least a year. We have no appliances of our own, but furniture galore.
posted by Joannalaine on Sep 12, 2008 - 12 answers

Here's my situation: I live in Washington, DC. I notified my landlord about a month ago that I was offered a job in another city, and would want to either assign my lease to someone new, or sublet. This is allowed with his consent. I have one roommate who wants to stay in the 2 bedroom condo we live in. We presented a prospective tenant to the landlord with a rental application, and now the landlord is accusing us of all sorts of things... [more inside]
posted by BobbyVan on Aug 2, 2008 - 10 answers

I'm about to sign a lease with a peculiar clause about carpet cleaning. I have had a lot of leases before and I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this. I'm wondering if it's just a standard thing I haven't seen before, or if it's unusual or even unlawful. [more inside]
posted by Cogito on Jul 23, 2008 - 24 answers

I'm compiling a list of questions to ask prospective landlords when viewing their properties in Chicago next week. Help me make sure I'm asking everything I should be! [more inside]
posted by c:\awesome on Jun 3, 2008 - 15 answers

Paying for gas to light the boiler pilot lights in a NYC apartment? [more inside]
posted by blueskiesinside on May 23, 2008 - 8 answers

Please help! My landlord management company refuses to let me terminate my lease early. What can I do? [more inside]
posted by pinksoftsoap on May 19, 2008 - 25 answers

The communal washing machines in my apartment building are worthless. They don't remove any sort of stain or spill, regardless of solubility or severity. When I remove the wet clothes from the washer, nasty stripes and splotches of lint cover my clothes (especially obvious on darks). Is there a specific complaint I can make to my landlord, or should I just give up and go to a laundromat? [more inside]
posted by sararah on May 9, 2008 - 18 answers

Renting an apartment on Craigslist - 4 very similar applicants. Is this a scam? [more inside]
posted by bradn on May 1, 2008 - 11 answers

What can I do to prevent a toilet falling through my ceiling and crushing me, and how do I finagle the end of this (literal) mess? [more inside]
posted by Madamina on Apr 26, 2008 - 21 answers

MA filter: Must I have fuse box access if I rent an apartment? [more inside]
posted by pikaboy202 on Feb 17, 2008 - 7 answers

Apartment life. The smoker downstairs is making it very difficult for me to breathe! [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 13, 2008 - 17 answers

Is our New York City landlord responsible for repairing our broken oven? [more inside]
posted by rustcellar on Jan 6, 2008 - 14 answers

A window in our apartment was broken by the previous tenants. When my roommates and I moved in this summer, our landlord told us that he'd get it fixed within 6-8 weeks. Winter's here, it still hasn't been fixed and it's causing our utilities to skyrocket. I know YANAL, but we need a bit of legal advice... [more inside]
posted by chara on Jan 2, 2008 - 15 answers

I seem to have lost my keys. I wish it were just that simple. [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam on Dec 18, 2007 - 22 answers

What do I do if my landlord claims I've breached a rental agreement by smoking marijuana in the apartment, when I haven't actually done so? [more inside]
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur on Dec 1, 2007 - 27 answers

Ontario property management firm charging "service fees" just to apply for an apartment rental? This has got to be illegal. [more inside]
posted by anthill on Nov 7, 2007 - 20 answers

Landlord took 60 days to return security deposit (the max is 45 days), there has been no interest added to it, and she's taken a healthy chunk of money out for "repairs." This is in Chicago. Should I take her to court? [more inside]
posted by buriednexttoyou on Oct 31, 2007 - 22 answers

My landlord in NY claims that our heater must turn on when the temperature drops. If we wanted to prevent this, a technician would have to "turn the valves off" -- a cumbersome process that risks the valves later freezing and "popping" and steam destroying our apartment. True? Is this common? And if so, how can we deal with a too-hot room, other than by opening the window?
posted by shivohum on Oct 26, 2007 - 30 answers

My landlord won't give me my deposit back. Is there anything I can do? [more inside]
posted by dead_ on Sep 12, 2007 - 20 answers

I'm being kicked out of my apartment, but I've done nothing wrong! Can I do anything? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 3, 2007 - 20 answers

Does my friend have any recourse in a situation where he was told he could rent a place, attempted to discuss the rental with the landlord over a period of two weeks to no avail, and then was told the place was rented to someone else? [more inside]
posted by Hat Maui on Jul 29, 2007 - 16 answers

Have any Chicago mefites had experience with Hunter Properties, Acorn Management, Lake Front Management, Lee Street Apartment Rentals, or Water Tower Realty? Praise is as welcome as criticism. [more inside]
posted by ztdavis on Jul 4, 2007 - 3 answers

I"ve been using the basement under my apartment as shared storage space with other tenants since I moved in over 3 years ago. The property management now wants to charge me for this. Should I fight this or just start paying? [more inside]
posted by de void on Jul 2, 2007 - 6 answers

Is this mold? I just leased an apartment and then found standing water, a leak, and what looks like a lot of mold. I want out. Property manager obviously doesn't want to let me out without lots of money. [more inside]
posted by kookoobirdz on Jun 21, 2007 - 22 answers

What rights do I have if my landlord wants to do 3 weeks of repairs on my apartment? [more inside]
posted by david1230 on Jun 12, 2007 - 13 answers

Can my new landlord leave me off the lease? [more inside]
posted by purplefiber on Jun 11, 2007 - 7 answers

My apartment was entered without the knowledge or consent of me, or my landlord. Is this trespassing? [more inside]
posted by othersomethings on Jun 8, 2007 - 21 answers

The three bedroom apartment I just leased is supposed to be "fully furnished," but I've just discovered that one of the bedrooms is empty. Is my landlord in the wrong? What do I do now? [more inside]
posted by holympus on Jun 2, 2007 - 22 answers

We signed a lease (2 copies) on a new apartment in NYC, at our broker's office. The 2 copies were sent to the management company. As promised, the management company sent one of the copies back to us about a week later. It's got our original signatures, but the landlord didn't sign it! The line for the landlord's signature is empty. Doesn't this mean that we're bound to the terms of the contract, but the landlord is not? It seems very wrong. Is it normal? Should we demand a copy of the lease with the signatures of both parties on it?
posted by edlundart on May 28, 2007 - 18 answers