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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Rights of Tenant if Landlord Moves Into a Basement Unit

    Thanks for the prompt reply!

    There is no separate unit. The property is a single-family row home. The basement does not have a separate meter. For the first couple of months, my biggest complaints were the roaches, mice, and how her cigarette smoking filters throughout the whole house. The roaches and mice she said was my problem, because we live in the city limits, and she doesn't see any in the basement.

    I am unable to do laundry simply because it inconvenience's her boyfriend. Again, he arrived from Italy in March. By June, we were well in to this conflict. The laundry mess became an issue after her boyfriend complained to her that he was too hot in the basement - because I had been using the dryer for the last couple of hours. Her resolution? She told me to stop using the dryer all together, and only come down to wash Monday-Thursday before she gets home from work. This was disagreeable, but feasible to workout. However, since this agreement, there has been several days where I have dragged down to the basement a heavy load of laundry, only to have him laying there half-naked - either asleep or watching television. Nowadays, we just go to the laundromat to avoid further problems.

    A couple of questions I do have are:

    How do I know if this home is eligible as a rental? After all, I had to download a random generic lease off the internet for this property.

    Can I have this boyfriend arrested for trespassing, should he continue to be a threatening presence? The lease does not say anything about the landlord or her boyfriend living in the basement at all.

    Can I sue for the unforgiving living conditions? I have two small children, one being a two month old, and we have tolerated the pests/rodents, but the daily second hand smoke & no heating system?!?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Rights of Tenant if Landlord Moves Into a Basement Unit

    If you want to know if the home is an approved rental housing unit, check with local housing officials.

    If you have a house sharing arrangement with your landlord and she lets her boyfriend move in, he's there with her permission.

    If you have a house sharing arrangement with a smoker, and you have nothing in your agreement that forbids smoking, then you renegotiate when the lease term is over, live with the smoke or move.

    It is not clear from your post if you have a mouse infestation or if you live in an area that happens to have a lot of mice running around. If it's the former you can try formally requesting extermination and, should your landlord refuse to assist, you can consider other possible remedies. In terms of cockroaches, there's no such thing as "a few cockroaches". If you see a few, there are thousands (they live where you can't see them). If this is a row house, not a detached dwelling, mice or insects may be coming from neighboring units - beyond your landlord's reach. In most places where cockroaches are a problem, the landlord will periodically exterminate the roaches. Note that if your landlord takes the position that you're responsible for the infestation she may attempt to charge you for the cost of extermination.

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