lawyer question about renters rights

[Guest011214]

if the apartment complex doesnt hold up their end of the deal.....for example both pools are closed and the complex is in disrepair, do we still have to pay full rent?

it seems like we have to follow all the rules and pay rent on time, but they dont have to do what they are supposed to.....

NOT FAIR!

[dirty dog]

You could hold back rent but they will just wait until your behind enough and then send you packing, then sue you for the money. You would have to sue them for breach of contract that would allow you to break your lease and then you could relocate. A letter from an attorny giving them the option of reducing your rent or releasing your from your lease is another option. To answer your question yes they are in breach of contract, but the only way to enforce this to your advantage is through the courts.

[royamcr]

Most likely yes, have to pay full rent. But can probably get out of the lease early if they aren't holding up their end of the deal. They are not fulfilling their end of the contract. I suppose it is an implied contract that they should have their amenities fully operational at least as much as possible. I can see them having a few days of downtime for the pools for whatever reason, but they should be open more than closed. What did the management company say when you called? It is possible you could ask for a rent credit because they aren't providing the services that they should be.

Or do the Call for Action one of the news stations has. That will get their attention. :-)

[Guest102613-03]

Your best bet is to read the lease you signed and find out what are the responsibilities of the landlord and what are the responsibilities of the tenant. Normally, if it isn't spelled out specifically in the lease as to how common areas are to be maintained, then you may not have any recourse that is not specific to your individual leased area. If the area in disrepair is your specific leased apartment/townhouse, then you may have recourse against the landlord for items in disrepair. However, you should pay your rent unless you make specific repairs the landlord does not make and have receipts for any materials/work performed. You may be able to reduce your rent for the cost of the repairs; however, if you do not document contact made to report the areas in disrepair, the landlord may just say "Thank you for fixing that, and your rent is still due in full."

When all else fails, contact an attorney and have him/her write a letter to the landlord on their letterhead outlining your specific grievances and potential action that could be taken if corrections are not made to resolve those grievances. It may work, or you may get a letter from the landlord's attorney.

[Guest011214]

dang.....you guys are great! and so knowledgeable!
they know someone like me doesnt have time or money to fight with them hire lawyers etc. its just getting worse...all they care about is money....threaten to charge me $200 for leaving a bicycle outside and for putting pumpkins by my doorstep. i guess i will take pics off all the disrepair and see if some "nice lawyer" might write a letter.....on the other hand, i dont want to be a pain and have them watching me or anything..
thanks so very much!

[ElumEno]

Here is a link to the Kansas Tenant Handbook... It has a lot of good info in it.

[royamcr]

I'd also go to rental websites and give negative feedback. It's anonymous and maybe a few neighbors could leave negative feedback also. This info will get back to the property owners (which may not be the management company) and things will get done. Apartments.com rent.net, etc. Usually they have ratings and feedback systems there.

I would also see if you can find out who the owners are. They usually hire management companies (like AMLI) to run the property. If the owners get enough bad feedback about the management company they might fire them and use another company. Not sure on your property if it is ran by the owners or a management company though.

[bartipero]

Are you in Kansas or Missouri? Are you in subsidized housing or not? Try consulting the local city housing authority if you are in a city that has one. They may have ideas to assist you, especially if the complex has Section 8 (low income subsidized housing)whether or not you're in such a unit, but certainly if you are. It typically has city oversight through their housing authority. Your local code enforcement office may be able to prod remedying disrepair if it's bad enough to violate the local housing code.

The lease is a starting place for rights and remedies. However, overlaid by coomon law on this contract are such things as warranties if habitability as implied covenants,i.e., unless expressly excluded they exist merely because the relationship implies you get a benefit for your bargain. This is a habitable place to live with functioning facilities that were reasonably expected to be there and function when you entered the lease. You can essentially have rights to offset rent for nonperformance of the landlord or if it's bad enough a 'constructive eviction', which implies leaving without paying and/or the recovery of damages, but that is usually the hard way to address it, expensive and hard to get a lawyer to do it as most people can't afford to pay for that battle.

Also, and most importantly, landlord-tenant acts supersede the lease so both you and the landlord have the obligations of the lease and also the obligations and remedies of the Act which applies notwithstanding a different lease provision. Larger cities sometimes have their own version or supplemental rules, which gets back to the local housing authority source.

If you are in Kansas, and leaving aside Section 8 housing, disrepair or failure to adhere to a material lease provision can allow you to cancel the lease and move elsewhere without further obligation if you do it right, i.e., follow the rules.

In Kansas you can give what is called a 14-30 day notice which specifies the items in violation of the lease and/or the Act and that they need corrected within 14 days or the tenancy will be deemed terminated within 30 days and you can leave if it isn't fixed. (The link Elam noted should address that at 58-2859 in the Kansas Landlord Tenant link embedded in it. The City of Salina has a good handbook, too, you can get by Googling it.) The benefit is you don't have to give notice terminating the tenancy of 30 days on or before a rent due date, which is the norm (absent a set lease term other than month to month or longer term paid monthly) or otherwise be held to the term of the lease.

So it's addressed by forcing compliance, which you can sue to compel, too, though few do. You can use government regulatory authorities. Or you can properly terminate the lease and move. Or you can refuse to pay rent and defend your eviction or seek it as an offset, which is not a very good route to choose. There are a myriad of strategies to address it and they are colored and chosen based upon the acts, the lease, available law such as outlined, and your ability to pay a lawyer to do it. The last part is usually why it doesn't get addressed that often. People just move if the government can't--or won't--address it. Sometimes they form homeowner's associations to pool funds, hire a lawyer and address it, but that doesn't happen much.

[royamcr]

Well scratch that, just checked an apartment review site and your place has more no ratings than a stinky hooker. lol

[malwoody]

The problem is that right now the Complex has the hammer...what with all of the foreclosures the last several years these Rentors have the upper hand and they have gotten hard core...they don't give a crap if you vacate, they are hovering around 95% full. Supply and demand, several years ago they were jumping through hoops..not anymore.

[royamcr]

Yep, but I think that 95% is easing up a bit since the housing market is slowly coming back. And it will steadily over time.

[Passerby]

Kansas does have an Implied Warranty of Habitability; as expected.

I didn't read all the cases, but I doubt habitability applies to the common area. There may be a different legal theory to cover that, based on contract law, but it likely wouldn't get you out of your lease.


http://scholar.google.com/scholar?st...en&as_sdt=4,17

[Guest011214]

you guys are amazing! thanks so very much

i have gone around and taken a lot of pics!
the pool is still closed...summer is almost half over

[royamcr]

summer started today

[Guest012814]

Angel - any of these pics you've taken include you either in some of that hot pornstar lingerie you have (or naked which is just as arousing), playing with your vast array of toys? If so, where's my copies?