Help with landlord issues?

Question

I'm a single mom with 2 boys. We moved into a duplex in June and I have had nothing but problems with the landlord and his wife(who live next door). When the previous tenants moved out, the landlord never did a walk through to see if anything needed repaired/replaced. I did do a checklist before moving in (had a witness with me) and there were numerous things on the list that needed to be addressed. He told me he never even looked at the list. Here are some issues that I have given him written notice for 2 times:

locks not safe

no railing going down basement stairs

almost every window has a crack in it

holes in almost all the screens

large paint chips throughout the house

some electrical outlets are broken

basement leaks water when i was told it didn't

drain in basement floor backs up all over every time I use the washer

the door leading into the basement is cracked and warped (he duct taped it)

NONE of the windows stay open-you have to prop them open with a stick (not safe when you have kids)

and many other things

He finally came over last night-a week after my last letter and I think he bought a sheet of ply wood to put over the door in the basement(this door leads to the outside)

Is this acceptable? Should I keep pushing him to fix things correctly?

Answer 1

Why were you keen to move in if nothing met with your standard of living?

You are asking this guy to remodel the place, are you prepared for him to raise the rent to pay for it?    He will have to, you are demanding 40-50k worth of work.

You really need to find a new place to rent that you feel is safe for your children.   It makes no sense that you picked a place you obviously do not like, but it is time to move on.

Answer 2

Why did you move in there if everything was so bad?  If you have kids, you need to get on him.  Anything that could hurt your kids needs to be fixed right away.  I am sure there is someone you can turn him in to but I am not sure who it is.  I would check around on the internet because you need to do something.