Stupid Landlord

By frustrated in Salt Lake City

I moved into a new apartment in the beginning of September of this year (2008).  At about this same time, new management took over our apartment complex.  They are a complete joke.  They manage (or at least say they are managing–but I beg to differ) our complex, along with a low-income complex a couple of blocks away.  They are not even on-site, making this more difficult.  My roommates have been trying to get things fixed in our apartment since June and nothing has been done.  We call the office during office hours and they won’t answer the phone.  Even if we call multiple times in a row, they won’t answer the phone.  If we leave a message, they won’t call us back.

There is 1 man to cover maintenance for both complexes, and he doesn’t even speak English and doesn’t know how to fix anything.  I’m pretty sure he’s not even legal.  We know exactly what needs to be fixed and how to fix it (and we have been promised that they would fix it), but we can’t get a hold of the management to ask them if we can fix it ourselves and charge them for the repairs.   What are our options?  Isn’t there a time limit or something for them to fix things in the complex?  I know that they have to fix things in a “timely manner”, but to our management, “timely manner” must mean “never.”

I am going to try to contact the owner of the managment company this week (I know that others in our complex have), but if they won’t respond (and I’m expecting they won’t), what is my next step?  I’ve never dealt with this before and never thought I would have to.  Thanks!

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