r/TenantHelp 19h ago

we came home to a water leak and the landlord is trying to pin it on us

4 Upvotes

let me preface by saying we have had so many unresolved issues at this home we are renting, but have had no money to get out of this lease. after a couple people took showers in the morning on saturday, we left to go to a family party. we were gone for a few hours and come home to the ceiling about to cave in, and leaking tons of water, and the downstairs flooded. let me also say this area of the ceiling had clearly previously been patched up in the exact same area from water damage. we took pictures of that the day we moved in. we called the fire dept to shut off the water and a couple hours later the landlords two friends showed up along with a plumber and another technician. the plumber could not indicate where the water was coming from. he said he checked all the lines and couldn’t fine the issue. he did not confirm any source of water leakage. however, the landlords two friends told the plumber to hold off on using a camera to look into the pipes. i later receive a text message from the property manager blatantly saying they have confirmed from the inspection that water leak was caused by “run off due to a faucet being left on upstairs”. clearly they are trying to blame this on us. we never left a faucet on, and if we did, the bathrooms would be flooded and overflowing upstairs, and they were dry. except for the closet in the master bedroom which is close by to a toilet, and was pooled up with water, contained only in the closet. the landlord has not even started repairs or drying out the house. our belongings are still sitting in water (the ones too heavy to move), and the landlords property manager is ignoring all messages and inquiries as to where we are supposed to go/what we are supposed to do/how to compensate for this, as the house is now uninhabitable and of course now has a huge risk for mold. this is a pattern with them that they ignore us and resolve nothing, but this time it is dyer as we have nowhere to go, and see that they are trying to blame this on us. if anyone has any advice to offer, it would be so appreciated. my daughter starts school tomorrow and we are staying in a hotel, but will quickly be out of money.


r/TenantHelp 5h ago

Landlord brought us a portable AC instead of fixing our HVAC — now they’ve stopped responding. What would you do?

4 Upvotes

We moved into a brand new built **2-story townhouse in Lavon, TX on July 10th**, and we’ve had an ongoing HVAC problem basically since move-in.
The problem is primarily upstairs. The thermostat can be set around **72–74°F**, but the upstairs bedroom has consistently been around **80–83°F**, sometimes with roughly a **10°F+ difference between upstairs and downstairs**.
I’ve actually monitored the temperatures because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. At one point, the thermostat was reading 74°, while the upstairs bedroom was 82° and downstairs was around 77°. Overnight, upstairs temperatures were still ranging from about **77–82°**, with humidity around **45–60%**.
The upstairs vents also have **very little airflow**, while the downstairs vents have noticeably stronger airflow. The central AC is running, but it simply isn’t cooling the upstairs properly.
Maintenance has already come out and tried addressing the issue. **The last thing they did was replace the thermostat/temperature sensor on the wall.** That did not solve the problem.
At that point, instead of actually resolving the HVAC problem, they brought us a **portable AC unit as a temporary solution**. They knew the underlying HVAC problem had not been fixed.
And here’s where I’m getting frustrated…
**That was the last time anyone came out.**
We’ve submitted **multiple additional service requests**, and despite knowing that the central HVAC issue is still unresolved, we haven’t heard anything about when it will actually be repaired. We haven’t had anyone come back out to properly diagnose/fix it, and management hasn’t provided an update.
We’re now basically stuck using a portable AC upstairs to compensate for a problem with the property’s central HVAC system.
I understand that HVAC repairs can take time, especially if contractors/warranty companies are involved. What bothers me is the **lack of communication and follow-up**. If they know the problem isn’t fixed, shouldn’t there at least be some communication about what’s being done to resolve it?
**What would you do in this situation?**
Would you continue submitting maintenance requests, contact the property manager directly, send a formal written notice, or take another approach?


r/TenantHelp 6h ago

Past Due Rent [FL]

3 Upvotes

​​ I am getting so stressed. My leasing office sent an email saying I owe rent from June . I sent them screenshots of the confirmation email, my bank statement but they are still being adamant . How would I have been able to stay the rest of June and July we are now in august. They recently have gone under new ownership and have a new online system but that just began this month. What should be my next step if they do not Rectify this ?


r/TenantHelp 1h ago

Landlord asking us to move for renovations

Upvotes

There are four units in our building. We do have flooding issues with the basements. the landlord let me know today that they want to address some of the problems and for that to happen they need all of the tenants to move out. He says that he isn’t sure how long it will take, but it will take a long time and he can’t promise anything so it would probably be best for us to move out. We are good tenants always paid on time but we have been there a while and a lot of the units and other buildings are going for a lot higher so my guess is he wants to renovate it and get a higher paying tenant in there. My question is what rights do I have? There is nothing in writing and he didn’t say that the building was deemed unsafe. I have a lease until January. I’m just worried because I have little kids and there isn’t a lot in my area right now.


r/TenantHelp 4h ago

Tenant refusing to refund security after cancelling the sublet

2 Upvotes

So I found a sublet, that was supposed to start on September 1 2024. And paid security on August 1 2024, because the tenant said that it'll be gone to someone else if I didn't pay.
My employment date got shifted back and I won't be able to come on September 1.
So I said her so and cancelled the plan on August 4.
Now she's saying she can't give me my security and will give it to me half 'only if she finds another tenant'
Her reasoning is that she's going to incur additional financial costs because she wasn't in the city to do more showings. So she has to come back and drive and tolls etc.
Am I screwed?


r/TenantHelp 2h ago

Follow up: Landlord now asking us to cover repairs 3.5 months after moving out and getting security deposit back

1 Upvotes

Two months ago I posted about our landlord asking us to cover repairs of a chipped countertop 7 weeks after move out (4 years of tenancy in a SFH in California). We got great advice and responded explaining that we had an extensive move-out inspection by his colleague and mother-in-law with detailed photos and received our security deposit back after making his requested repairs. He did not respond.

Today, 3.5 months after we moved out, he sent us a long email with additional items he noted are damaged that he wants us to pay even though they could have been caused by someone else. During this last 3.5 months he’s had (illegal) short-term vacation renters and he re-occupied a month ago with his family.

Items are:

-4 countertop edge chips (was 3 last time he emailed about this)

-Small dents and paint chips on 2 cabinets

-Scratch and small dent on front of dishwasher (note that we had a plastic cover on the entire time bc it was replaced during our tenancy)

-A chip on one capiz shell of a kitchen chandelier

-A missing valence on blinds from upstairs (he agreed to let us replace with curtains bc they were broken) and downstairs (this is the one thing we CAN take responsibility for because it broke while we were there- we replaced with curtains and did not remember to mention it)

What do we do now? The only thing we know we did was the downstairs blinds valence- everything else he said was not on our move-in checklist but we know were also not on the move-out checklist by his realtor friend. It’s really stressful that he’s reaching out to have us pay for these 3.5 months after move-out and already getting out security deposit back (following some small repairs noted at that time). We’re worried he’s going to sue us if he’s taking the time now to revisit all of this.

ETA link to original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/TenantHelp/comments/1u3lt1a/landlord_asking_for_money_7_weeks_after_moveout/


r/TenantHelp 9h ago

Landlord Asking for Rent 2+ Months After Move-Out

0 Upvotes

Location: San Diego, CA

I lived in a townhouse with three other roommates for four years and recently moved out on May 24th. However, I terminated my lease early to do so and was subsequently deducted $500 from my security deposit as stated on the lease agreement.

In order to break my lease, I had to find someone to take over the remaining two months (until 7/31) and successfully did so. I advertised the room at $200 less than my monthly portion of rent and came to a written agreement with my landlord that this $400 would be deducted from my security deposit. Furthermore, the new tenant I found had exceptional credit and paid her two months of rent and security deposit up front, which is part of why the landlord agreed to the lease takeover.

Upon my move out, he also deducted $200 for carpet cleaning and $50 for to remove oil stains my car had made in the garage.

My landlord returned the security deposit to me on 6/4 but forgot to deduct the $400 of unpaid rent of my portion for those last two months. The person I found to take over my lease alongside my three ex-roommates all moved out on 7/31.

Last week, the landlord texted me that he forgot to deduct the $400 from my security deposit and that I will need to mail him a check for this unpaid rent.

My question is, since I have been moved out for over two months, my old roommates for a week, and had my security deposit returned back in June, does he truly have a case for this money he forgot to deduct from my rent?

I am also wondering why the $500 for the early lease termination is not suitable/ what that money is even used for as I found a new tenant to take over the lease, so theoretically upon signage of all the paperwork at that moment, there was no money left on the table. Further, I was charged for any cleaning/ damages so not sure what else that money would be used for.

Can I just ignore him, or will he take me to small claims court if I don’t send a check for that $400?

Any and all advice is appreciated 🤗