Negotiating rent discount due to needed repairs

June 5, 2018 5:05 AM

So the nasty maggot freezer? Turns out it works fine, but it failed due to an electrical problem. The same problem has prevented us from being able to use outlets in all bathrooms. We told the landlord of the initial issue on 5/21 and still no repairs have been made. What are our rights?

I am getting ready to send the landlord a text requesting that our next month's rent be discounted by $100 due to the lack of ability to fully use the dwelling as intended, and the fact that it has resulted in a monetary loss from the freezer not staying cold. We are in Florida. I do not believe we have anything about rent abatement in our lease (and I'm not sure that's what I'm technically asking for with the landlord). A previous month, I asked about the status of another repair right before paying rent, and alluded to the fact that the two were connected (fix x before I pay the rent), and he was very quick to address the problem. He's a laid back guy, who generally seems fair and reasonable, but I don't want to start ww3 if my request is totally off base. Help?

I am categorizing this as home and garden because it's about issues with my home. I am interested in what the law says but also more general advice about how to best navigate this.

We have trouble finding rentals and I like our landlord, so I don't want to burn bridges. That's why my goal is to say "here's what we would like" as an opening to negotiation. This guy has a list of the Dalai Lama's advice in his office and tries to conduct business from that mindset so maybe he will be a human being about this???

posted by crunchy potato to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Do not send a text. Send a letter, and request a receipt (you can do this at the post office). Also be very clear about your request. Do you want the problem fixed by X date with X considerations? Or do you want rent abatement? Or both? Even if he's a nice, laid-back guy. You just need to be very specific about the remedy you're seeking.
posted by nkknkk at 5:16 AM on June 5, 2018 [5 favorites]

"Hey, do I need to call an electrician and just take it out of the rent?"
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:25 AM on June 5, 2018 [3 favorites]

Speaking as an ex-landlord: dittoing nkknkk. You will want to document this exchange using a certified letter with receipt.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:27 AM on June 5, 2018 [3 favorites]

Florida is weird and I don't know if you have any protections, but usually email to and from your landlord is legal and admissable in court. (You're not going to court! Just telling you the "right" way to contact him.)

I like reminding him of the date + asking if you need to hire an electrician and deduct the cost from the rent + reminding him of the loss of use (it's been x days w/out a fridge or bathroom electricity) and the maggots and how much $$ you lost in goods in the freezer.

Try to keep the letter neutral and factual. Seriously, tho, he should be ashamed.

Good luck.

PS - Make sure he sends a real electrician and not a handy man. I suspect the reason he has not fixed this is that he knows your wiring is not to code and making it to code will be expensive. Do you have the ability to get the building dept, fire dept, or similar official to evaluate the electrical system? If there is a danger of fire, you might want to do that.

Check that the batteries in your smoke detectors work, if you don't have a carbon monoxide alarm, get one.
posted by jbenben at 5:54 AM on June 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Your renter's insurance may cover the cost of the lost food & freezer, so don't forget to check that.

For the landlord, yeah, you'll want emails (I'd save the certified letter for the escalation if necessary) and to document, document, document.
posted by carrioncomfort at 6:17 AM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

So....how’d you end up dealing with the nasty maggot freezer? Inquiring minds want to know.
posted by Autumnheart at 5:05 PM on June 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Autumnheart, it is ratcheted shut, sealed with caulk, and awaiting on a scrapper to collect it. Apparently local scrappers often take these for the metal, warts and all. We found one that backed out at the last minute and are working on finding time to locate another one. The city is of no help whatsoever. ServPro quoted me $500 for this. It's probably a ten minute job. That's more than I think is reasonable.
posted by crunchy potato at 6:19 PM on June 5, 2018