Please help: Slum Landlord, $368.84 for 1 months electric bill, A/C & dryer pose fire,saftey,health hazard...
Question:#1 we can't afford 2 move so don't go there! Since we moved here Nov.'06 we have had numerous problems. We chose an apt. to save $ & be near my husbands work & college. When we inquired about the saftey of the portable dryer kit(plastic box u add water) they said we were to use they said its completely safe & it won't heat our apt. They couldn't be more wrong. Afetr the first exorbinanat bills:$298,$310 ea. for only 1 month I called a local news channel who said verbal warnings are good but written was better & then if its not fixed to put my rent in an escrow account until the problems are fixed. I haved talked to the FL EPA and other agencies & keep getting bounced from place to place. The dryer shares a room w/ the mainA/C in an inside closet & when the dryer is used the walls literally melt and there is now mold on wall & a/c vents + lint buildup on the electrical to the a/c, etc. The A/C leaks freon & re-filling it doen't fix it; they refuse to acknowledge this, how 2 make um fix
Answers:
There should be a not for profit Legal service that specializes in this in your area. They are in every state and are federally funded and charge you nothing if you meet eligibility requirements. This would be your best weapon as they would be familiar with local laws and specialize in setting slumlords straight. 99% of slumlords realize that there tenants are ignorant of there rights and will abuse there tenants until legally confronted.
You don't mention what state you live in, which could make a difference. Texas is landlord friendly, California is tenant friendly, and Colorado is just not friendly to anyone. Your university should have an attorney, or advocate, that can give you free advise. Don't take legal advise from anyone on here.
I would talk to my neighbors, and find out what their bills are, and if they are having any of the same problems.
You might want to check if you have the dryer vented correctly. The moisture from the dryer can cause the mold, but it also emits carbon monoxide, which can kill you.
If you have the vent installed correctly, send your landlord a registered letter or email (with a return request) stating you need the vent cleaned. Make sure you mention the carbon monoxide thing, because he doesn't want to make your next of kin a gazillionaire, at least not out of his pocket.
Lastly, seriously look at if staying there is affordable. Sometimes moving is the correct answer, you'll just have to bite the bullet to do it.
Do you not have a "board or dept. of health."
I would be calling them to check out your house.It sounds as though you're living in a fire and health hazard.
Melting walls and mould are of great danger to you and anyone else that lives there not to mention leaking freon.
Your high electrical bills,show you have a problem.
Afford it or not,I would definetly be moving out of there.Your health and well being is the most important thing.
I would go to the health board and sit there everyday till they do something about this.You may not be very popular with your landlord but you'll be safe.
Since phoning doesn't work that's what I would do.They;ll get sick of looking at you and do something.
GOOD LUCK.
Don't pay your rent until these problems are fixed.And don't use the dryer !
As far as putting your rent money in "escrow"-- just put the money in a separate account at the bank. The officials at the bank can help you with that.
There is nothing worse than SLUMLORDS---Good Luck with all of that.
Make it slummier, landlord is required to keep sanitation to livable standards. People have actually won out right cases to own the property because of poor sanitation. Check your state for regualtons
Until you can get help from someone the following is cheaper than moving and healthier than living with mold:
Take your clothes to a laundromat.
Turn off their A/C and purchase a $200 stand alone unit that uses a pipe that goes through a window for drainage. The A/C in your closet needs to drain somewhere and apparently isn't, that's why the mold. (Water)
it sounds like this is your first time living in an apartment. yes electric bills are high especially now since there is global warming and everywhere in the world is heating up now, plus FL is humid anyway. If you wash clothes more than once a month then that's why you're having problems. And, since there's a lot of heat here in FL why would you use a dryer anyway? Don't you have a spring loaded pole that would sit above your bath tub? Or don't you have washers and dryers on the premises you could use? On another topic, even if you use your oven you are racking up dollars on your electric bill, so use a microwave for everything. You should have known by reason that a stove, washer or dryer or even taking a shower would heat up an apartment and that it would take electricity to cool it down again. It's funny that you called a news channel because you should be discussing the problems with your landlord, however, what exactly is it you want fixed? Are you saying that you yourself have refilled the AC with freon? That doesn't sound right to me since the apartment complex will take care of things like that "if it needs it". The AC's don't usually leak freon but the AC will freeze up if you run it too long to try to cool off an overheated apartment. If there is mold then you don't have enough air movement in your apartment. If there is lint then remove it. What else is wrong?
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