Atlanta, GA asked in Contracts, Real Estate Law, Landlord - Tenant and Small Claims for Georgia

Q: We've been in a rent to own house for about 6-7 months now, we got it as is and the landlord lied about what was needed.

Now we have ran into leaking pipes, he won't pay for it to be fixed, the wood is rotted in my kids bedroom from water damage. He said he self insures, and he won't fix water damage even though the floor could fall through. He said it covers if the house catches fire or a tornado blows it over. We did sign the lease saying we were responsible for all maintenance on the house but he lied about what needed to fixed for the house and now we are having to pay to get all this fixed and it's cutting into our rent money and he won't work with us. Is there anything that we can do legally?

1 Lawyer Answer
Anthony M. Avery
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Answered

A: You own nothing but a lease with an option. You might want to move unless the owner will give you a deed in exchange for a note secured by a mortgage. Usually renters are evicted and all monies paid in are forfeited.

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