How to Move Due to an Unprofessional Landlord
This is our case.... please let me know if anyone has any advice..thanks.
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Indiana
DECLARATION OF NEEDED REPAIRS AND PENDING CONCERNS
OCTOBER 01 2010
Opening Statement:
We have for the past 4-5 years been in financial distress and have let many of our standard rights go unrecognised due to our credit scores, the economy, and fear of not having a place to live. If there is any question to why we did not "do something" about the progressive shortcomings or inproprieties of this lease or the current conditions of the property, it has been a culmination of :
#1 Trusting the landlord to faithfully and EVENTUALLY fix things based upon our progressive friendship and his constant acknowledgment that he "was going to refinance this place for repairs and refurbishings".
#2 Fear of the landlord ending the lease, or raising the rent, thus threatening our livlihood.
Our complaints and discrepancies with the following property and the conditions of this lease up to this point are as follows and of need of repair and /or attention:
* We have requested for over 8 years written receipts of rent payments and have not received them. This landlord has taken cash in hand for over 6 years and some written checks sent to a P.O. Box the first couple of years. And for the last 9 years we to this day have not been issued 1 receipt.
* We requested a copy of our current lease on 22 September 2010 via fax, pdf or e-mail and the landlord waited 9 days to present us a copy. This created a sense of urgency via his wife's statement of financial volatility and her needing to sell the house in many time stamped e-mails which we have as proof. This was and IS VERY suspicious to us, and we feel it is within our rights to review the contingent items of accountability and assign responsibility.
* We feel the residence is possibly not "tenantable" or habitable based upon :
*Black mold the size of a basketball in the upstairs bathroom....landlord keeps drywall patching it and it keeps coming back. The mold is coming from a leak in the roof and the water keeps coming through the drywall patches thus keeps creating the mold. He doesn't have the money to fix this the CORRECT WAY.... so this is the BIGGEST DISCREPANCIE / HEALTH HAZARD for us. We have time stamped e-mail with his wife stating she has no more funds for big or small repairs that we are willing to present as evidence on our half. The failure to fix the problem the correct way instead of "band-aiding" it represents a health risk and an interest to protect our children at all costs thus submit an intent to vacate the premises. The Hamilton County Health Department has been to this residence and has photographed the mold accordingly.
*Gas Fireplace when turned on emits a gas smell, and the Energy rep has said it is clogged with Bird debris and nesting / red-tagged it as not functional.( Has not been properly inspected since 2001 ). The first year we lived here, we turned it on, smelled gas, and never used it again. We were promised year after year that it would be fixed, but we gave up, put heavy boards in front of it, and waited for him to fix it. He never did.
* 30% of all of the windows in the home will not open and close correctly / are distressed and ( assumed fire-code hazard.) We have contacted the city of code enforcement and are waiting the results of the inspection performed 30 September 2010.
* We cannot aim the dryer duct into the crawlspace ( where it goes ) because the crawlspace and ductwork have never been cleaned and are clogged. The heat comes back into the dryer and overheats the dryer...thus mold is also being created in the laundry room through accumulation of moisture ( assumed safety violation of some kind ). We have assumed over the years this is something that a landlord undertakes via inspections potentially required by his insurance company etc.
*9 years and the ductwork THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE HOUSE has not been cleaned and we have not complained.
* There are many birds living inside the side of the house in which we made the landlord aware of 5 years ago and he has made no attempt to remedy.
* Mold under the sink from a worn baseboard in which we asked him to replace many years ago. We were promised of a refinance to get these repairs completed and they were never done.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____________
*On the 13th of June we were sent an e-mail from the landlord's wife stating financial distress and that she wants to possibly sell the house.
* We have a time stamped e-mail we sent the the landlord on June 17th 2010 requesting a contingency list be established and itemized for proper recourse and retention on pending discrepancies ( Big Or Small ) and uploaded a 30 minute video ( which was e-mailed to his wife ) showing those discrepancies and were not given a reponse.
* Landlord refused to engage in any phone conversation. ( starting 22 SEPTEMBER 2010 ) or personal meetings to discuss financial distress, leasing variables, updates, questions and contingencies, but chose ONLY to talk about a RENT INCREASE, in which we had no problem with but wanted to see the lease, and I repeat -ITEMIZE THE CONTINGENT REPAIRS NECESSARY.
* Landlord refused to send us a copy of the itemized checklist delegating condition of premises retroactive to current state i.e. the inception of the current lease.
* Landlord refused FOR NO REASON AT ALL communication via e-mail or phone to mediating current contingencies and their accountabilities. THIS WAS HUGE FOR US AND CREATED A SENSE OF URGENCY FOR OUR CHILDREN
* Landlord has sent e-mails over the last few months stating their financial hardships portraying an "instability" to uphold and maintain proper repairs, big or small.
In summary:
We want to submit an "intent to vacate " the premises action based upon the volatility of the admitted financial distress of the landlord, a lack of STEWARDSHIP in this lease, and the above itemized, potential "breach of habability" circumstances and HEALTH concerns above. Our urgency in this situation is based upon a fair and obvious profile that this lease has been unprofessional, volatile, and risky for both of the parties involved.
Re: Landlord Very Unprofessional We Need to Move for Many Reasons
Your lease is up when?
This letter is to be sent to whom?