Q: I have damage and mold from a burst pipe and the landlord won't fix it or anything in the house what rights do i have?
2 years ago when we had record rains in Dec out house we rent shifted and raised the flooring in the kitchen like the beam is pushing up. my husband noticed the kitchen floor was getting wet. he looked under the sink and saw the brand new garbage disposal was leaking he was cleaning it up and barely touched the water valve and pipe burst. I thought we had a leak somewhere our water bill jumped $100 a billing cycle and has stayed there. We have been verbally asking for repairs and thought we after this pipe burst they would start fixing things but we were just told no. My husband was diagnosed last year with an asbestos related disease and I have testing for the same issue. we are from libby montana where WRgrace ran a mine that had asbestos through it and made out town sick. So we can not have mold or mass dust. I have asked every year to clean the vents and they tell me I can have that done but I have to pay for it. Same with servicing the furnace and AC unit.
A: While there is no law which clearly concerns mold exposure in rental buildings, the landlord is responsible with providing tenants with adequate living conditions under the warranty of habitability, which includes taking care of mold contamination. You should not have to pay for having this issue attended to. I advise you to ask your landlord once again to fix the problem, this time in writing, and if they still refuse to do so, you have two options – either withhold rent until they solve the problem or pay a licensed company to have it fixed yourself and subsequently withdraw the cost of the repair from your rent. Both options are perfectly legal and the landlord cannot break the lease if you choose to proceed this way.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
