28Jun
When you become a renter, you want things to go as smoothly as possible in your home. However, there are times when things break. You might get a broken pipe, or a loose floorboard or your toilet acts up. From time to time, there will be things that go wrong and repairs will be necessary. Often, when repairs are needed, it's not a big deal-- you notify your landlord of the problem, they fix it, and everything is fine. However, there are some things to know about apartment repair issues when there isn't such a simple solution.
Obviously, the first thing that you have to do is to properly inform the landlord that there are repairs to be made. It's always important to put in repair requests in writing and you can do this easily with a simple maintenance request. Make sure that you have a record of this request because you want to make sure that it's documented.
After your landlord receives your request, you have to give them a reasonable amount of time to resolve the issue. Reasonable is relative and depends on the repair.
For instance, if it demands immediate attention like a broken pipe that is flooding the apartment, then that should be taken care as soon as possible. However, even matters that aren't urgent should be resolved in the reasonable time because they can get worse over time. They can lead to further issues, like a leak can cause mold over time.
Every landlord must provide every tenant a livable rental space. This includes basics like functioning plumbing, water, electricity and sanitary grounds without filth or vermin; and they must make necessary repairs to maintain this level. If they don't make repairs in these areas, then they are violating the tenant's warranty of habitability. As a tenant, you can take action with the following:
If you've followed the law and properly notified your landlord of repair issues and they do nothing to resolve it, then you can take action. An experienced tenants' rights attorney can inform you of your rights and help you protect them. Talk to a Wolford Wayne attorney who can be a strong advocate for you against your landlord. Contact us today for more information.
Recovered on behalf of a group of 30 tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco who were living with horrendous conditions in their rent controlled apartments, including rodents, bedbugs, mold, water leaks and harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of three families living in a building in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood who were forced to live with substandard conditions for years as a result of their landlord’s negligence, including issues with lack of heat, lack of hot water and cockroach/rat infestations.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a couple living in a rent-controlled home in the outer Sunset neighborhood. Our clients were forced to vacate after the landlord served them with an Owner Move-In Eviction Notice. After the landlords failed to move into the property, our clients filed suit for wrongful eviction.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. Tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board.Read More
Recovered for a single long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of three long-term tenants in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood who were constructively evicted due to noise and nuisance conditions created by their downstairs neighbors, which the owner refused to address.Read More
Recovered on behalf of elderly, disabled tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.Read More
Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two former San Francisco tenants who were evicted via an Owner Move-In Eviction and owner failed to occupy the unit as her primary place of residence.Read More
Recovered on behalf of an elderly long-term tenant who was forced to vacate her long San Francisco apartment as a result of her landlord’s refusal to address longstanding defective conditions, including lack of heat, mold, rodent infestations, and defective plumbing. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owners’ refusal to provide him with alternative housing. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family that was constructively evicted from their home in the Richmond District as a result of unlawful rent increases, defective conditions and tenant harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal “in-law” unit. In this case, a new owner purchased the building and then demolished our client’s unit without permits while she was displaced for seismic retrofitting.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two long term San Francisco tenants who were fraudulently evicted from their home of over twenty years under the pretext of an owner move-in eviction.Read More
Recovered for tenant who was injured when their stairway railing collapsed at the tenant’s Mission District apartment building.Read More
Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment house due to severe habitability defects including mold and water leaks.Read More
For more information or to discuss your legal situation, call us today at (415) 649-6203 for a phone consultation or submit an inquiry below. Please note our firm can only assist tenants residing in San Francisco, Oakland & Berkeley.