What can I do if my landlord won’t make needed repairs?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What can I do if my landlord won’t make needed repairs?
I live in NC and my landlord won’t fix A.) My A/C unit (I have 3 very small children) and my garage roof. The roof ceiling was actually made out of sheetrock and just hammered in. Also, the garage has numerous open wires. I’ve contacted them 4 times and they just tell me their vendor will be here sometime. Everytime the vendor doesn’t show up I call and tell them but they just keep saying he’ll be out. It’s been over a month for the A/C and 15 days since I first notified them of the roofing. What can I do?
Asked on July 16, 2011 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
First read your written lease/rental agreement if you have one with th landlord to see if it has language about repair obligations. If not, many States in this country have laws requiring a landlord to provide safe and habitable conditions to a tenant. Most likely your has a law like this.
You could write a letter to your landlord asking that he make the needed repairs and if he does not do so within a reasonable time, you might want to contact the building department's code compliance department about the situation and have a code compliance person with the entity come to the unit and make the inspection. If the unit has the problems you say it does, a citation most likely will be issued to the landlord where he has to get the repairs made in a set time and if not, he/she would be subject to monetary penalties.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.