Eight months ago my landlady called to state that she was raising the rent. She carries a variable rate mortgage on the house and was hit with a series of increases due to rising interest rates. She attempted to pass the expense on to me but it was beyond my means to pay $1100.00 a month so I and my family moved out.
This past January we found, and moved into, another home. This was to be a one year lease with option to buy with a percentage of the rent to be allocated towards the downpayment.
Moving in went very smoothly.
Then the fun started.
In February the furnace would not fire. The owners live three hours away and did not return the three calls I made to report the problem. Considering it was February, I took it upon myself to call a local company and request emergency service. After investigating the problem, the service tech informed us that we were lucky to be alive because unsafe modifications had been made to the furnace i.e. the emergency shut off mechanism was removed and an oversized nozzle was installed to prevent clogging. I paid for the necassary repairs out of pocket and informed the landlord by mail that I would be deducting the balance of the repair from next month’s rent. He responded immediately stating not to do that because his mortgage company pulled his payment electronically from his account (I deposit my rent directly into his account). Instead he cut me a check once he received a receipt for the work.
In May the kitchen stove caught on fire. None of the appliances had been updated/replaced since the house was built in the late 60’s so the fire was caused by aging parts (I’m assuming). Luckily my wife was nearby and was able to extinguish it with flour. The only damage was to the stove itself. I attempted to notify the landlord by phone but only got the answering machine again. I left a message stating that his stove was destroyed and needed to be replaced. Again I paid out of pocket for a new one but have yet to be reimbursed.
Five days ago the septic system backed up into the basement. The lowest open point in the plumbing is the drain pipe for the washing machine so, when it backed up, all the raw sewage flowed out of that drain pipe and all over the washer and dryer (not to mention the wall, floor, iron and ironing board, several baskets of clothes etc) The washer and dryer are brand new and belong to me…I bought them specifically for this house (I have a rent with option to buy and that was my plan…to buy).
My wife called the owner at 7:00am the next morning and, as expected, got only the answering machine. Suprisingly, he called back later that morning and stated that he would have someone local that he knew come to the house that day to fix the problem. Well, no one came. I called back. He said someone would be by definitely tomorrow. No one came. I called back. He told me to find a local company to fix the problem, pay for it myself, and he would reimburse me (I still have not been reimbursed for the stove I bought).
Enough is enough.
I want to leave immediately but currently lack the funds for first/last/1 1/2 - 2 months security on a new place. So…I plan on doing something I have never done before. I intend to stay in this house and not pay rent until I have enough money saved to get a new place.
My question is…should I notify the owner immediately of my intention to stay and not pay? It’s probably the right thing to do but working up the nerve required for that level of assertion might not be possible for me. My plan was to wait for him to call me asking about the money, and informing him at that time that if he wants me out he will need to begin eviction proceedings, which I will protest.
I realize what this does as far as using him for a reference but considering we have only been there six months I don’t think it will matter too much.
Other disappointments:
The yard is full of old toys, tractors, tires etc and looks like the set of Sanford and Son. The owners promised to come back in the spring and remove it all but never did.
The clause about a percentage of rent going into escrow towards the downpayment was removed after irrevocable notice was given to our previous landlady that we were moving out.
A clause requiring me to pay the property and school taxes was added at the last minute. I refused to sign until it was removed.
Needless to say, this has been a pretty horrible experience.
