How do we get back some or all of our $$$

[twelve6]

Bklyn, rent stabilized Apt.
My mom and I recent looked at an apt, and my mom went ahead and signed the lease as the landlord was rushing her and telling her that other people were in line. So she signed the lease knowing that things need to be done to the apt before she moves in. When she went to the landlord, he told her everything is fine and that the place is in livable condition and refuses to do anything. A list was read to him of what needed to be done in the apartment, but he only gave us tiles to lay on the kitchen floor. The people before us left the place in a real mess and they did it out of spite because he gave them notice and had them in court. Knowing this he still refuses to do anything.

The floors were very very bad, the fridge is roach infessed (even the exterminator said that he is not allowed spray the fridge so it is still roach infessed), the kitchen nasty, the bathroom had mold and mildrew, too much to list here. Anyway we decided to move and went out to buy things to clean and fix up the apt. We have put in a lot of work on the place and it has just started to look halfway decent. He wouldn't even prorate the rent and the exterminator didn't come back by the 4/1/03 to get rid of the roaches, as the landlord said.

What can we do to get back some of the money we spent? The rent was raised from the last tenant but nothing was done to the apartment. We have pictures to prove and eye withnesses.

<small>[ April 10, 2003, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: twelve6 ]</small>