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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    19

    Default Septic Repair/Pumping

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

    The property I rent is in escrow. My landlord advised me by text message that the septic tank was going to be pumped on Tuesday and to make sure they had access through the walkway on the side of the house. No problem, did that.
    I came home Tuesday and found my garage door on the *other* side of the house open, a big pile of dirt & broken planks in the back yard and the open septic tank covered by plywood sheets.
    So I sent the landlord a text asking when they would be coming back. He asked what the yard looked like & I texted back about the pile of wood & dirt. He replied that they must be coming back and he didn't know what the schedule was. I still haven't heard when they are coming back.
    My dogs now need to be watched whenever they are in the yard to make sure they don't go on the plywood and don't carry off the wood pieces to chew up. I can't sit in the yard and read a book without stressing about the ugliness and when it's going to be fixed.
    Is there anything not legal about leaving this mess & the tank open? He's also done some brush cutting without removing the debris and put down gravel in that area with no barrier or weed prevention. Now there are berry canes and weeds coming up that I can't mow because of the gravel. He's removed one trash can of the debris after I asked him about it after 3 weeks of looking at the 3' pile. No mention of when he might come back to finish the removal. FWIW, I did not ask him to do the brush cutting. He has also failed to trim the rebar sticking up 2" from the cinderblock border of the same area which is a hazard if my dogs run through there or I have to go back there in the dark.
    Thank you!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Septic Repair/Pumping

    I can't sit in the yard and read a book without stressing about the ugliness and when it's going to be fixed.
    seriously? You stress about the ugliness?

    You need to find an outlet for your stresses. If this works you up that much, I can only imagine what traffic congestion or a bad day at work does to you.

    Is there anything not legal about leaving this mess & the tank open?
    first, is the tank actually open or is the plywood simply covering a hole down to the tank, which is closed by it's lid?

    If the tank is actually open, there is a problem the health department would likely be concerned about. As well, there are safety concerns and the landlord should have serious concerns about liability.

    as to the dogs going on the plywood: unless they are huge dogs, I would imagine it would support them and dogs chew wood all the time. Not sure why that would be a big concern.

    If the plywood is simply to prevent somebody from falling into a hole, the health department would not be concerned but I would still thing the LL would be concerned about his liability.

    To the rest: feel free to clean up the brush. It is a non-issue, legally speaking. To the weeds growing: if there is gravel, the intent would be to not mow. You need to apply weed killer if you are responsible for maintaining the yard.

    The rebar: again, his liability should urge him to remedy the situation but if he doesn't, if something happens, deal with it then.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: Septic Repair/Pumping

    The septic does *not* have the lid on it -- it's open with the plywood over the top. The stress is mostly worrying about when it's going to be fixed, are they going to come without me knowing, are they going to leave the garage open again even though they are supposed to go the other way to the yard, what am I going to have to clean up since I apparently am responsible for whatever mess the landlord decides to leave me. And it *is* ugly, after all. About the dogs, I worry about them *eating* the wood if I'm not out there. Eating wood is a bad thing ;-). Some are fosters so I don't know if they'd eat it or not.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Septic Repair/Pumping

    "ugly" is not something you can demand be corrected.

    Your issues are with the health issue and the safety issues. Since you could be included in a suit should somebody enter your property and get injured, you need to insist the LL make this safe.

    any idea why the tank is open? Unless the lid broken, I can't think of any myself. A honey dipper opens the tank, pumps it, puts the lid back on and leaves.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: Septic Repair/Pumping

    I've no idea why the tank is open. Landlord seemed to think that the redwood planks were the lid & were broken in the removal. thanks for the advice, btw, I'll send him an e-mail (cc to myself) this afternoon.

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