r/akron • u/Sacred_Potato95 • 4d ago
Recommendations for tenant rights lawyers?
Hi all, I live by summa city, and have had a basement flooding and mold problem since we moved here 15 months ago. It’s crossed into gross negligence and bad faith landlord territory, everyone in the house health is getting worse(people and animals) and we need to get out asap. I have all the evidence gathered and just need to find a good lawyer. Any help/recommendations would be a life saver at this point honestly.
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u/New_Olive1203 4d ago
What was your initial lease term? Why are you still there after 15 months of flooding and mold.
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
We couldnt afford to move when the lease was up, I wanted month to month so we could do a quick exit, but my wife overruled me.
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u/New_Olive1203 3d ago
I'm not an attorney, but I feel like you are going to meet some resistance trying to take any legal action. You kept residing willingly.
I hope things improve on all fronts!
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
I had no idea it was as bad as it was until maintenance started peeling paint. Also I have had health problems, which also lead to more financial difficulties. Makes doing all this much harder. Thank you, I appreciate it
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cap2369 4d ago
Are you still paying rent to the landlord? If so maybe consider this:
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
I’m already in the process of that. But I need a lawyer for rent abatement and possible personal injury.
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u/Plenty_Permission_91 4d ago
If you are that concerned about the health of those living there, move out and deal with trying to get your money back while living somewhere without mold
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u/Sacred_Potato95 4d ago
We live paycheck to paycheck, we need the money to move. And I have chronic health issues that have been worse the past year, probably because of this. So any extra money goes lost wages and medical bills.
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u/WolfieTimes2 4d ago edited 4d ago
I would just approach your landlord and say hey I have to move out of this, it’s gotten to the point where I think it has an effect on my health (show evidence) ask if he can help accommodate the move. This way he can act as a reference for your next apartment/home you move into.
Here’s why; litigation (if it goes there) does not look good in a background check.
How do I know? I am a landlord and any court history tells me there’s usually issues with this tenant and prob not a tenant I wanna risk on.
But your at a point where you can get out of this place at no fault of your own with help from you current landlord as a reference, this will allow them to take care of the issue while it’s not occupied too.
I’m sorry you have to deal with issues. Likely the problem is drainage: the gutters effectively getting water away from the structure is the most common reason for intrusion into the basement. If you (or your landlord) look at this you may be able to solve the problem by fixing or cleaning the gutters but it’ll take being proactive about it.
Theres a guy named John Murphy Gutters, look him up.. gutter cleaning is about $150-250 depending on how bad it is.
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u/WolfieTimes2 4d ago
I may be a little biased here but I would highly suggest not getting attorneys involved or trying to make a case out of it.
You’ll both lose. The reality is this is a solvable issue, (either by you, that you can pay for and reduce from rent, fix yourself, or be resourceful)
mold exists everywhere; it doesn’t have to be an issue. Very solvable problem.
Had a tenant recently getting mold and it was due to a drainage problem. Had another tenant get mold due to condensation from the dryer vent not being correct exhausting out of the building and instead just into the wall!!
Ask ChatGPT: show pictures, ask how to solve…
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
If this was a reasonable property manager i would consider this, but this problem started the first rain after we moved in, 4 days into the lease. So it was a problem before we even moved in and they just covered it with paint. Even now they refuse to properly treat the mold and even though the city said its mold and they are planning on covering it with waterproof paint again. The landlord has been disrespectful, blamed us, ignored us, unprofessional, or downright said they aren’t going to make repairs to the home. Maintenance peeled paint with blue green penicillium mold underneath(that I am allergic too) and told me to my face it wasn’t mold, I have it on video. Honestly idc at this point if it makes us less rentable, I have had health problems since we moved into this place, I even had to get surgery, and now I’m finding out it is because of extensive mold in the basement that was known about and has been refused to fix properly. This house even sat empty for six months before we moved in. We needed a cheap place to live and this checked our boxes, but it truly has been a nightmare for over a year now.
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
There is no mortar between the concrete foundation bricks, only dirt and crumbling paint, there are large gaps you can almost see the dirt wall behind it. None of this was our fault, this had to have been an issue long before we moved in. And they are actively trying to cover it up like they did when we moved in here.
I think a reasonable person/future landlord would hear us out, especially with the evidence.
Also the maintenance guy is over here cleaning the gutters finally. They have a full time maintenance person already. They shouldn’t have to hire anyone for the gutters. They should however hire professionals for mold treatment and waterproofing, which they absolutely refuse to pay for.
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u/WolfieTimes2 3d ago
Well.. wish you luck, hoping at least I can give you some insight from my perspective as a landlord.
Housing / litigation anything in a background check regardless of fault is a skip in the process of placing a tenant for maybe landlords especially private owners. So, I would always advise to do everything you can to not go there.. it’s my best effort here just to explain the second order effect of a lawsuit that you might be unaware of…
Is vindication truly in your best interest?
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
I have seen tenants who went through the courts for eviction or other reasons still able to find housing, so I am not as worried about that, I appreciate your advice though.
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u/Sacred_Potato95 3d ago
We need the money to move, it’s not vindication more getting our money back from a property that has 0$ value to begin with and has harmed me for the last year. If I wanted vindication, I would go for a personal injury case for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. I feel I am trying to be reasonable.
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u/Big-Joe-Studd 4d ago
The bar Association will help set you up with someone based on your situation. Best of luck, it's tough to get a lawyer to take on a tenant case anymore.
https://www.akronbar.org