RPA Tenant Rights Blog » rent

Rent Refund

SFrancis — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:27:46 +0000

Okay here is my story. I was going to rent a house which initially I had the choice to go month to month or sign a six month lease. I decided to go with the lease and then found a house I wanted to buy instead on a foreclosure. Since this is a long process, I asked the lease to be changed to month to month instead of the six month lease. At first the landlord wanted to work with me but then advertised it on craigslist and found somebody else to rent it for the next month. To get out of my lease, she had my pay the rent for august and had somebody to rent it in September, but then they decided to rent it on August 16th instead. So the landlord sent me a rent refund check for a portion of the rent I paid but it is 200 hundred dollars short. This means she was paid an extra 200 bucks for August above what her rent she charges. I know it is only 200 bucks but it really pisses me off she is double dipping on my dime. What would you do?

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Can I withhold rent?

RJS — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:25:23 +0000

In the past month I have been without a dishwasher for 2 weeks, had no hot water for 4 days and now they have replaced my tub

and bathroom tile without telling me, but it’s not grouted or sealed so I cannot take a shower. Communication from the property management is poor or non existent. My questions is this–Can I legally withhold part of my next rent payment for the lack of services I have experienced? If so, how is this figured?

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Rent reduction

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 00:04:56 +0000

The ceiling of my apartment fell in. My landlord was very quick to respond about fixing it, but in doing so evicted me from the apartment for 8 days. The place they offered us to stay was a dingy, basement apartment with a shower that didn’t work for the first 3 days; meanwhile, all our belongings were crammed unceremoniously into the kitchen. Even after the 8 days were over, moving back in and cleaning was a massive, massive project.

I requested a rent break from the landlord, but found out today that she intends to give us nothing. Do I have any basis for legal action? I’m happy to take it, but don’t want to get involved if it’s a case in which I’m clearly wrong. Any advice or knowledge on the subject would be appreciated!

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Raised rent after two weeks

Tenant — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 05:09:44 +0000

Two weeks ago I moved in with my mother and her boyfriend. The deal was that I was going to stay there for no longer than 6 months to save for a down payment on a house. I had offered to pay some rent but the insisted I don’t because they currently were not paying the mortgage because they were working out a deal with the bank. They said at the most I could just pay the water bill. Now they want to charge me $300 and my boyfriend (who spends the night with me) $100 because they say the electricity bill has tripled since I have been there. I have only been there 2 weeks so there is no way my usage is even on the statemnet right!?! and I am litterally there just to sleep I get home after 9pm and leave before 7am. I have a place to move today but they want the money today. What are my legal rights?

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Can’t pay rent

joseah — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:34:59 +0000

Unfortunately the company where i was working gave me lay Off and it is impossible for me to pay the rent. i went to my landlord’s office try to get a good solution for both, but he is charging me a very high fee to break the contract before the end. If I stay in the apartment i will not be able to pay it and if i go to any place i will have to pay a very similar amount. finally in both i will be reported to de Credit report. i think that in my conditions is better for him let my out and make an payment schedule if the fee make sense. help

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Withholding rent for repairs

Chris Schell — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:09:31 +0000

We moved into a beautiful house with a Beautiful Yard in August. On August 14th my property manager told me that they would be putting in a new septic tank, and had been planning to since February (this info was withheld from me when I signed the lease) The work started September first and was completed October 30th. During this time I had 10 foot holes in my yard, a missing section of fence, the toilet had to be replaced ( forcing us to leave for the night), the plumber left debris on my floor in the bathroom, bedroom and living room that took me hours to scrub off, I had backhoes parked within 3 feet of my porch and 5 foot piles of dirt within 10 feet of my door.

My yard which was lovely grass was 1/2 an acre, now there is less than 200 square feet of grass left, the rest is dirt. The property manager says grass will be planted in the spring. Snow will cause a huge mud bog in my yard this winter as the snow does not cover the ground but for a few days after the snow, causing my dog to track mud all over my house. My two year old daughter will not be able to use the yatrd for playing in the snow (which she loves).

The construction caused many hazzards and we could not use the yard at all during those two months.

My lease says I am entitled to “quiet enjoyment of the property”.

My landlord gave me free rent for September, saying that due to the hazzards it was the right thing to do. For October she demands total rent on the first or as $50 late charge plus $5 a day after that. She said she should not have to compensate me as it was the contractors fault, even thought the problem worsened for October. They were supposed to put in 2 tanks, but put in 3.

What are my rights? Can i withhold rent for October (due in November). What can the landlord do if I withhold rent?

Please help, I’m desperate.

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