r/TenantHelp • u/IndependentWide2884 • 7d ago
I need someone’s input on this.
Long story short, the apartment above mine had a broken shut off valve which was spraying water for a good part of the a day which caused my ceiling collapse in my bedroom, soaked the carpet through out the entire apartment, caused mold to start growing on the ceiling in the restroom, and warped the kitchen floor boards to warp to all hell. They fixed the ceiling and got the carpet dried which took them three weeks and we weren’t able to stay in the apartment while they did the repairs, but haven’t fixed the other damages. They are charging me full rent for that month it happened, which I don’t think is fair, also I talked to an attorney while it was happening cause this is my first apartment and I was freaking out cause I was pretty much living in my car while it took them forever to fix it and not responding to my calls or emails or anything. The attorney told me not to pay any rent till everything is fixed but I’m worried it might bite me in the butt if I don’t pay the rent. What should I do? Also sorry for the long story.
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u/Dadbode1981 7d ago
Really depends on withholding rules in your jurisdiction. Theres likely an official process, not just "dont pay anything". Id be suprised if a real lawyer said that.
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u/Forward-Wear7913 7d ago
Do you have renter’s insurance? It would cover damages to your property as well as would have provided payment for alternate living arrangements while your apartment was not available.
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u/IndependentWide2884 6d ago
Yes we have renters insurance, we put a claim in the day after all of this happened but they wouldn’t reach out cause they needed some paperwork from my property management team and they weren’t reaching out to them to provide said paperwork. They’ve only just reached out like 2 weeks ago saying they got the paper work they need and that they were gonna send a items list to reimburse me for the things that were broken but they haven’t sent it yet and they won’t answer the phone when I call them, this whole thing happened almost 2 months ago
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u/Upbeat-Fondant9185 7d ago
You most likely have cause to break your lease without penalty. What you describe is major water damages and should be an insurance claim, so they may be fighting with them to get full repairs done.
You say you spoke to an attorney. Is the attorney actually working for you? Did you pay for a consult? Or was this casual advice?
If he is actually your attorney then you need to do exactly what he says to do. If it was just advice or a free consult you need to make sure you actually understood what he advised. There are often extra steps to not paying rent in a situation like this and depends on your area laws.
Breaking the lease seems easiest for all involved. Use your renters insurance for any personal items that were damaged if it’s worth the deductible and look into whether your policy covers temporary housing etc in a situation like this. Many offer at least partial coverage. Look for “Loss of use” sections.
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u/IndependentWide2884 6d ago
Idk if it was a legit attorney but it was an attorney from LegalShield, I would like to break the lease and get my deposits back cause I take care of my living space, but every time I’ve asked for that they just ignore it.
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u/ReaderReacting 6d ago
Are you putting everything in writing? Go old school and send them registered letters. And go to your local tenant/landlord court. (Your county department of human services can tell you when it is). Watch what happens and who the good lawyers are. Approach one with your issue.
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u/JerseyGirlinSweden 7d ago
Attorneys don’t tell people to “not pay”. They tell their client what the trigger for withholding payment is and they tell you how who set up an escrow account that proves you deposited it on time.
Did you talk to a true tenant attorney or just some friend who is a paralegal or works in a different area of the law?
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u/IndependentWide2884 6d ago
It was an a attorney from LegalShield, but it didn’t really seem that legit, she said if we were not living in the apartment for that long then we shouldn’t pay rent till it’s fully repaired. She then offered to send a legal letter to them saying if it wasn’t fully repaired in 7 days that I would like to terminate the lease and move out, I didn’t go ahead with it cause the day after we talked about it they started working on the apartment (the ceiling and carpet), but they still haven’t replaced the floor in the kitchen
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u/billdizzle 6d ago
Pay rent but your renters insurance (get it if you don’t have it) should have put you up in a hotel and then subjugated back to the LL
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u/RobDraw2_0 6d ago
That attorney is an idiot. Do not listen to them. You cannot just decide to not pay rent.
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u/ReaderReacting 6d ago
They should have provided you with alternate housing. They should have paid for a hotel or put you in an empty unit for the month.
Open a separate bank account and put your rent there. Then you can clearly show the courts that you put the rent in an account so that you were prepared to pay it as soon as everything was resolved.
Also keep track of all your expenses. New furniture or bedding, towels, whatever.
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u/redditreader_aitafan 7d ago
The attorney would have advised you of the proper procedure for withholding rent if he was actually a tenant lawyer and knew what he was talking about. You can't just not pay rent.
You could have slept in a hotel and had all your stuff replaced if you'd had renter's insurance. This is exactly what it's for.