Q: A tree fell on the house I rent in December, it is now April and the landlord has done very little to fix it.
I live in Troutdale, OR. In December, a tree fell on the house I am renting. Damage includes a broken window, smashed roof vent with probable leaky roof in the area (we can hear it dripping into the pipe the vent covers), the stovepipe chimney torn off the side of the house, deep gouges in the siding, the gutters torn off the back of the house, and broken glass and fallen tree all over the yard and bedroom. It took 3 days for the landlord to even come out and survey the damage and nail a board over the window. It took a week for the chimney to be replaced so that we could heat our house again. It took a little over 2 weeks for the window to be fixed. That is all that has been done as of April. This still leaves deep gouges in siding, leaky roof, smashed roof vent, no gutters on the back of the house, and glass and storm debris cleanup inside and out. It has been 4 months, what should I do?
A: You should find a local landlord tenant attorney to discuss what can be done. Some of the damage sounds superficial, but for those that effect habitability, those are what need to be addressed. That can potentially be done via withholding rent, but there is a process that needs to be followed, and an attorney on the eastside can help you with that.
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