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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    1

    Default Exposed Ceiling for One Month with No Set Date of Repair

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    The kitchen ceiling of the house I am renting with three other roommates has been exposed since there has been water leaking from the ceiling (for about a month and two weeks now). Our landlord came by and tore out the ceiling and redid the electrical wiring so that the leak would not touch the wires (I am assuming). Since then, he has left the entire kitchen ceiling exposed with corroded pipes and exposed wires above our heads. My roommates and I feel as if this is a health/fire hazard and politely asked him when he would be back to fix this. He came by the house, unannounced (he has a key to the backdoor, which we all don't have), and wrote a note on our board saying that if we don't find the house habitual we can leave "immediately." He says that it is not a health hazard whatsoever to have the ceiling exposed as "copper and wood are naturally occurring." He went on to say that exposed lighting fixtures are not a health hazard or a fire hazard (and asked us why, as the house owner, he would have a fire hazard in the house and he is "infuriated" we even mentioned that it could be a potential fire hazard).

    All I had asked him is if he would ever come back to seal up the kitchen and he has not given a date, but instead told us if we did not find the house habitual to remove ourselves from it. We sent in our rent checks but I decided to stop my check as he has not given a set date as to when he would come back to repair the ceiling. There are also many other repairs throughout the house that needs to be done but nothing as large as this (there's a bb gun hole in the window of one of our bathrooms; there is no drainage pipe in front of the house from the gutter, therefore water is making the wall in the living room bubble up; he has never given us all the keys to the house...just one key that we had to make copies of; he comes over and walks in the backdoor unannounced).

    I am always courteous with him and I have no idea why he can't afford me the same respect. I definitely did not want to start problems with him, but because he has not been really attentive to us (especially in regards to the kitchen ceiling) I stopped my check. I would like to put my money into an escrow, but is it too late? My last rent date was the 15th of May and it is now the 9th June. That was my absolute last rent check of me living here as I have already paid for the last month's rent (June 15th to July 15th). He has my security and I don't really care if he keeps my security (which is equivalent to one month's rent.)

    Should I still put the rent from the stopped check into escrow (all of my roommates are so over it they just paid him and decided to live vicariously through me)? I have also contacted L&I and they should be getting back to me this week. I don't want other tenants to have gone through what we have gone through.

    Thanks for your help!

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

    Default Re: Exposed Ceiling for One Month with No Set Date of Repair

    Call the government department that is responsible for inspecting housing in your community, and ask for an inspection.

    If you want to move out, your landlord has given you that option.

    Stopping payment on a check or not paying rent is not the same as escrowing rent. Your landlord can evict you if you don't pay your rent. You can check with your municipality about whether they have a program for escrowing funds pending repairs, and if you qualify.

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