Bad Living Conditions and Pet Damage

**DevilDog527** · 04-24-2010, 05:10 PM

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Michigan

My wife, children and I live in our father-in-law's house. We are not able to allow our children to go thru parts of the house because of pet damage that has been there for years. Additionally, I have a very dangerous allergy to cats which prevents me from going to certain parts of the house myself for more than five minutes at a time before I start wheezing and coughing. I have already been to the hospital once from a severe asthma attack. It seems I have built up some tolerance to the house, but I still have difficulty breathing and I almost always have sinus pressure, causing minor discomfort. I work from home, and there is always the possibility of having to drive to a client site, so allergy medication is out of the question for me. Besides, allergy medication will not help me breathe better, and my wife has a dangerous allergy to albuterol, so I try not to use my asthma prescription too much, except in severe circumstances.

First issue, I have attempted to reason with my father-in-law to give away his cats, whom he has no time for, and he knows nothing about caring for animals, let alone himself. For someone who regularly neglects his pets, he has a strong connection to them. It may be because one was a gift from his fiancee. Furthermore, his cats are marking territory in the livingroom, because my father-in-law has not trained them, so contrary to his belief, our cats are not the primary reason for the pee spots in the carpet, because his cats would mark and have marked the floor anyway. The entire basement was destroyed by his pets, before my wife's cats ever lived there.

Second issue, I offered $2,000.00 from our savings as a donation to replace the flooring in the entire upper level, based on a quote I received from a local flooring company. My father-in-law has used money as an excuse to put repairs on hold, so I wanted to close and lock that door. He has now put it all on me to get quotes on materials and labor costs, but I have no authority to let someone in the house to prepare an accurate quote, because he insists on being present when someone is in the house, and he wants to call to set up an appointment himself, which he also does not have time for. He is not worried about safety because he knows two veteran Marines live in the house (my brother and I). He is simply a control freak. So now even though I have a cost estimate on materials and labor, we cannot start the floor project because he works 60 hours a week...

I want to keep this out of the courts if possible, simply because he is family, but I need some leverage to get his head out of his a** and move on this project. My children cannot properly grow being stuck in my bedroom (the cleanest room in the house), and I cannot work from home if my kids are in the same room all the time. My youngest is just starting to walk, and she is getting lazy because everything in her play area is within reach, so she has little, if any desire to stop crawling.

I know this house is a safety concern, but I cannot find alternative living arrangements, and there are other factors at work. I am doing the best I can to provide a suitable living area for my wife and children, but I am also concerned about my own health because I believe I am at a far greater risk at this point.

Is there anything I can do to help convince my father-in-law to stop slacking off?

**Mr. Knowitall** · 04-24-2010, 05:34 PM

Are you paying rent? Why not move out?

**DevilDog527** · 04-24-2010, 08:34 PM

I am currently unemployed, and nearing the end of my alotted unemployment insurance. I occasionally have contract work, and I have a struggling business of my own, but income is very limited. I am of course looking for work, but Michigan is one of the worst states in the country as far as the unemployment rate is concerned. One of the other factors I vaguely mentioned in my last post, soon to be resolved, is the adoption of my step daughter. Until the adoption goes thru, we cannot leave the state without approval from the court. We filed the adoption paperwork a week ago, so it really isn't worth going to court for this. Hopefully, the adoption process will not take too long. If and when the adoption request goes thru, we will have more options. We are currently working with our church to see if we can find someone willing to work out a living arrangement with us.

Unfortunately, the most stable place to provide for my family is in this house, as challenging as it is for all of us. At this point, again, I just want to find some leverage to get my father-in-law moving on necessary repairs, so my children can properly grow. I have no problem confronting him, as I already have on several occasions. He basically softens up, agrees to whatever I bring to his attention, but rarely acts on it. I of course do not have the authority to do this work myself, as it is not my house, and I am sure there are laws against such action.

**525601minutes** · 04-24-2010, 08:43 PM

Did I miss the part where you say you are paying rent???

**DevilDog527** · 04-24-2010, 10:11 PM

I pay rent in the form of covering a percentage of some utilities, pet care, and paying for all food. He drafted and signed a general rental agreement for my bankruptcy judge simply stating that I am paying $700 in rent per month, which is true, but the $700 is broken down between several utilities and services. However, we do not have a lease agreement or anything that indicates I am locked into staying in that house for any period of time.