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long going court process

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long going court process

Postby SugarSwt29 » Wed Apr 03, 2002 1:03 pm

In 2001 the apart.I rented was purchased by another couple.(Jan.) I never recieved paper work to where my security deposit was or any lease &/or rental agreement. I continually asked for repairs such as holes in walls, brooken door latches, missing screens, faulty refrigorator etc. I was ignored & the apart. above was being worked on.(which was unoccupied) Due to this we sustained water damage more cracks in walls etc.In June I/we began withholding rent & backed this up with the building inspector. Faults were found & demands to fix things were impossed. Issues were not attended to & we continued to have to live in gross standards. In Aug. they began eviction process. In between this time we were locked from our basement storage & our belongings. An RSA540 was impossed for us to be allowed back into the basement which was not rendered & therefore between that time we lost our belongings. The landlord was fined & is now being held in the Supreme Court. The landlord is suing us for back rent. There as never been mention of our security deposit (no mention of damage from us) Since we were forced to live in such filth & unhealthy conditions (toilet was not secure to floor causing leaks onto 1st fl. & leaking gasous fumes) what legal stand do I have? (This went on from Jan. to Nov.) Nov. being the time he started to make repairs. I always let the landlord in to make repairs to the third floor through my apartment even whithout prior notice. Never prior notice!!! He left holes in ceilings, & floors but we cooperated & he reassured us that we would (the second floor) w3ould be fixed next week. Always next week or in two weeks. Can a landlord be so cruel, make his money & get away with something like this!? :confused:
SugarSwt29
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 03, 2002 2:01 am
Location: New England

Re: long going court process

Postby <BB> » Thu Apr 04, 2002 1:32 am

Trust me I understand! Ive been going through something similiar for about 9 mths now, Red Cross & HPD have finally vacated me from my apt. and are assisting me til I find an apt. It has and continues to be a long battle, but I must say it is worth it as I have learned sooo much and justice will be served...eventually.
You need to research "warranty of habibility" laws in your state. The one thing I did right away was file an "HP Action" in court to have the judge order my LL to do repairs (9 mths later, tons of fines and he still hasn't). Since you are no longer in the apt. you can't do this, but you can file a "counterclaim" against your LL in response to the rent he is seeking. You may have a basis for the following (and others):
-warranty of habibilty
-retaliatory eviction
-intentional infliction of emotional stress
-constructive eviction
-property damage/loss
-theft
Evidence, Evidence, Evidence: hopefully you have pictures, bills, ohone records etc...
My suggestion is go see your local Pro Se Atty. in the court, make an appt. asap, tell them what's going on and ask how to file a countersuit. In the meantime, use this website (court descisions and forum archives are great) to do research (it helped me immensely) and use "google" to do search on Landlord Tenant Laws in your state. Read everything, the more informed the better chance you have of winning. I know this seems overwhelming (and it is!), but you really can do it!! You just have to be prepared to do your own legwork and research.
I truly wish you the best of Luck! and don't forget to come back to this board and share your knowledge with others in need...

Tenant options regarding repairs...
Although this deals with Cali law, the guidlines are great: go to this link:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/repairs.htm
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