Attention all GC Lawyers
 

I have a question as to what my rights are in this situation.

I have been at my apartment for a year now. The management there is horrible. Maintenance requests are never fulfilled. My roommates and I pay over $1000 in rent every month and we're left wondering where that money actually goes.
There was one time where our air conditioning broke and it was over 80 degrees outside. They did not fix it for three days. We couldn't stay at the apartment because it was so hot.
Our apartment is located in a hallway. For over a week, the lights in the breezeway haven't gone on at night. We have gone in to complain (it is pitch black at night). They say they need an electrician to fix it. It still hasn't been done. It's scary coming home at night because we can't see a thing. I'm worried that me or a roommate could me raped, mugged, etc.
My final complaint came a week ago. We live on the top floor. The attic is right above us. We hear the sounds of little rats in our attic. I asked them to take care of it (e.g., traps). Nothing has been done as of yet. I threatened to call health services and they still have not remedied the problem.
It's ridiculous cause I pay my rent on time every month therefore, I expect the same courtesy from them when it comes to maintenance requests. And the rat thing is a serious health issue.
I'm at my wit's end on what to do. I was wondering what legal action I could take in a situation like this...if any. They don't take us seriously because they figure, "Oh, it's just a bunch of college girls living in there. What could they possibly do?"
So, any advice?

ZTAngel,

I cannot give you legal advise as I know nothing about Florida Landlord Tenant law and am not licensed to practice in the state. However, I looked online and the Florida PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) maintains a website on Renter's Rights. There is also a site on bad landlords that has information on Florida.

Hope this helps or that there is a GC lawyer from FL around here somewhere.

Laura

I am most definitely not a lawyer, but I will pass on some knowledge I gained while I was freezing my butt off under a bad landlord in Pittsburgh.

Before I moved in, my roommate had had some problems with the apartment. She paid her rent like clockwork, and although the rental company was more than happy to take her checks, they were somewhat reluctant to come and make needed repairs (like all the windows, which needed to be replaced yesterday). She asked a lawyer friend of hers if there was anything she could do, and her lawyer said that she should notify the company in writing of her complaints and tell them she would not be paying her rent directly to the company until the problems were fixed. Instead, she was going to put her money into an escrow account at the bank every month. That way, the rental company could not accuse her of nonpayment of rent, and the money could stay there until the repairs were made.

I would ask at your bank about this option, they are more informed than I, but I hope this helps!

Another excellent "plain english" research site is www.nolo.com. They have a section specifically for landlord-tenant issues that should link up to Florida's statutes.

Thank you all for your suggestions! I appreciate it.

ZTAngel, I would be careful about doing an escrow account and not paying rent without consulting someone who knows about FL law and has read your contract.
GreekLawGirl is right that www.nolo.com is also a great site to use. Good luck!

With legal advice you get what you pay for. Also, rights vary by city and/or state statues and civil codes.

Here's an update:
I came home from work today and sat down into my room and her the scampering noises. I was so angry at that point that I marched down to the apartment office. I've been pretty nice about this whole mess up until now. I think my cheeks were completely red cause I was so mad. I stormed in there and one of the leasing agents was sitting at the front desk. She's that fake-nice kind of person. She's like, "Hi there ZTAngel! What can I do for you today?" in one of those voices that said 'I'll be nice to your face but the second you walk out, I'll start talking crap about you to my co-workers'. She is the one I have been dealing with for the past 3 weeks concerning the rat problem...the one who has gotten nothing done.
So, I go to her, "I need to see the apartment manager."
Evil Leasing Agent: She's busy right now. You'll have to come back.
Me: Oh no, I don't think so. You go get her right now! (Evil leasing agent goes and gets the manager)
Manager says angrily, "Can I help you?" I am beyond annoyed at this point.
Me: Yes, I live in apartment 305. And, you see, I have come in here on four seperate occasions and told Aimee here about the little rat problem we've been having. And, every time, Aimee has said that you all will take care of it right away.....
Manager: And we'll get to it.
Me: Excuse me, but I don't believe that I was finished quite yet. Anywho, like usually, you all still haven't gotten it taken care of which is really bad cause rats are a serious health risk. They breed really quickly and....
Manager: Yeah, we'll get to it......
Me: There you go interrupting me again. Anyways, we pay our rent on time, everytime. Therefore, we expect that same courtesy from y'all when it comes to maintenance requests. So, I will give you two days to get someone in our attic to put traps in there. If it is not done in that amount of time, I will call the Seminole County Health Services. And, if you think I'm lying, TRY ME!

Aimee and the manager looked like a deer caught in headlights. They stumbled to find words. Nobody messes with the Angel! :D It's funny because about an hour later I was sitting in my room watching TV when I heard a knock the door. It was the pest control guy who was stopping by to put traps in our attic.
I said to him, "Now, will you checking these traps every once in a while to make sure there are no animal carcasses in them? It's hot in the attic and I sure don't want the smell of a dead animal in my apartment."
The pest guy looks at me and goes, "No prob. The apartment manager told me to do anything you ask."
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
I'm usually nice but, unfortunately, it sometimes takes being a b*tch to get anything done.

*stands up and cheers*

GO ZTANGEL!! Lay that smack down on evil landlords!! I think I'm going to take you along with me if I ever have to deal with a crappy landlord ever again...got any plans to move to Pittsburgh?

:D

good for you!

Im glad you got things fixed! I was about to ask you why you wouldnt consider moving to somewhere that had a more respectable managment teams (and maybe a little newer if everyting is always wrong). Rather than spend money and time and hassle of hiring legal assistance....you could get out and head to your local better business bureau.

I applaud your kick ass convo with this creep!

Good for you, Angel! Now can you come up to NYC to talk to my co-op manager and make her fix my leak?;)

That sounds similar to a situation I just had. Our house was built in about 1917. Ive lived here for 5 years. My landlords were taking my rent of $1,200/mo and never making repairs on broken windows, leaking sinks etc. Funny enough, my landlord, who lives in a foreign country (yeah, *you* try dialing them up to make a complaint) just bought a house in Maui.

Anyway....the sub-floor in the bathroom was rotted and the bathroom floor was actually beginning to crack. It got worse and worse until one could see it move up and down when someone bounces on it lightly. I kept teling them "Look...come fix this. Surely you don't want us to fall through the bathroom floor one morning." They didn't fix it.

So, I called up the City of Long Beach and filed a complaint against my landlord for substandard conditions. The Chief Inspector man said that he'd be contacting them by letter to request an inspection etc.

I followed-up by e-mailing my landlord and attaching digital pictures of the cracked floor and wall with the message that I had filed a substandard housing complaint.

Sure enough, they flew back in to Los Angeles to come and fix our bathroom. Not only did they fix it, but they had the whole bathroom and kitchen remodeled.

Don't mess with me. :)

......Kelly :)

You all rock!
 

I may own my own house now , but there was a time back when i had an apt and the maintence ppl werer horrible to deal with too as well as management. ZTA ANGEL all i have to say to you is....YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! My management teamis my parents since the house my husband and I and my 2 yr old live in is a family owned house which i inherited from my grand parents!!!!! So i cant go and complain to them since my hushand is managment at Home dept and he better KNOW HOW or find SOMEONE there to help him! :) :) :) :) LOL

Laura :)

Another legal question, or rather, a request for information.

Can anyone either do a Lexis search for me, or tell me where I might be able to look up city statutes?

We had a party last night since I took the MCAT and my cousin took the DAT, and although it was pretty small, it got out of control and we were the targets of some vandalism. When the cops came, we were cited for maintaining a disorderly house.

Can anyone define this citation for me? I mean I've had plenty of friends get it, but I've never actually known the exact definition of what gets you disorderly house. So if you can help, that would be awesome.

Damn. Feel sorry for y'all.

The maintenance here is usually done the next day if it's something major. Although, we have been waiting for about 3 weeks for this little spring thing in the dishwasher that doesn't do anything, everything else has been next day.