Last Sunday, the landlord shut the water off to my flat with no advanced warning whatsoever. He lives upstairs, and had left for the day, apparently b/c he knew the water was being shut off. I had to go down in the garage and ask the people working down there what was going on. Turns out they were installing a washer and dryer (that I don’t get to use) and they didn’t turn it back on until after 9pm.
Isn’t the landlord required by law to notify me in advance if he is turning off any of my utilities? (I live in California). I’d appreciate a cite, but I can’t seem to find anything that relates directly to shutting off water for repairs or whatever, just stuff that says he can’t shut the water off to force me to move out…
So you want to make a federal case out of this? What do you expect to gain by it? Taking a confrontational approach with the landlord that is also your neighbor seems like a good idea? It seems like a loosing battle to me. The guy may be a jerk or just didn’t think about it. Why don’t you just remind him that you would appreciate him warning you next time? Sheesh.
If the landlord makes a habit of it, then I would get snippy, but a reminder phone call is probably the best approach.
I don’t know if there is a statute you can point to, but presumably you have a rental agreement or lease that states what the landlord is providing. Water is usually one of them. If there is no water in your apartment, he is violating the agreement.
And if the water isn’t hot, there is a phrase used in California (and likely other states) called “warranty of habitability”. I learned it when I sat as part of a jury trial for an eviction case. No hot water is violating the warranty of habitability.
You know, the landlord may not have enen known the installers were going to shut your water off. Granted it would have been considerate to let you know had he known in advance, but I doubt you have any recourse. One days lack sure does make you more aware of how much we take water for granted, doesn’t it?
There is, of course, more to it than that. He does a bunch of stuff that is either illegal or just plain inconsiderate, like:[ul]
[li]Letting himself in whenever he feels like it (definitely illegal in CA)[/li][li]Power-sanding the floor at 6:30am on a Saturday (perhaps illegal to make noise that early, still checking)[/li][li]Removing one heating element from the water heater so we don’t take as long in the shower b/c the hot water runs out in ten minutes (probably not illegal)[/li][li]Letting his son throw a tennis ball against our door and catch it (illegal when I kill him)[/ul][/li]
I’m just trying to document everything he is doing that I know for a certainty is against the law.
BobT, thanks for the advice. “Warranty of habitability” - I’ll have to remember that.
One place to possibly find information would be through a University Off-Campus housing website or service. As a student, it was thanks to my school’s information that I was aware of the Ontario Housing Tribunal, and of the Rights and Responsibilities of Tenants and Landlords. We had some vary valid complaints against our landlord, and it took us threatening to present this to the Tribunal to get him to give us the things we needed (such as keys to our bedrooms - we went months unable to lock our doors, and we only had keys to the back door or the house :rolleyes: ). Anyways, a near-by university (or any in the state, really) should have decent information about what is legal and what is not, and likely links to legal recourses you can take. I’d try looking there for a bit more information.