Landlords

[methodistgirl]

Does anybody have trouble with their landlords. Really I live in
a house that is so old that I need to find another place. He is
supposed to take care of me since he is the one who takes care
of my monthly check. There is a leek in a pipe somewhere, the
roof is unfinished,and the electric system is a big fire hazard.
What can I do with someone like that. He even turned my
water off last weekend.
judy tooley

[Krummhorn]

We just went through a bout with a landlord on a rented house we had. The landlord refused to return our deposit claiming that the bathtub caulking was in need of repair, and the front door (43 years old) had cracked and basically stating in writing that we "trashed" the home. We filed suit against them in small claims court and the judgement was in our favor, so we got all our deposits back in full. We've since bought a townhome, so no more landlord gried for us anymore.

I can't believe that the owner would just shut off your water like that. I mean, water is a basic essential of everyday life - we need it for drinking, cooking, bathing, and the other thing (). Has he given you a reason for shutting the water off?

There must be a service in your area that can help you deal with situations like this. Certainly sounds as if you are getting the run around and being forced to move to another place.

[rojo]

Far be it for me to give an opinion on this, but sounds to me like justice prevailed in your case, Kh; I can't possibly imagine you trashing a place; no way. Impossible. Shame on that landlord.

Good luck with your landlord woes, Judy. Fingers crossed all works out for you.

[marval]

Hi Judy

We did have trouble with a landlord a long time ago, when we lived in London. The flat was full of mould, and it needed work outside as well. The landlord was very reluctant to do anything about it.

Here in the Uk we have places called The Citizens Advice Bureau, it is where you can go and talk to some-one on any problems like this, and they will advise you what to do and support you if you need it. Have you anything like that in America? If not maybe some-one at your church knows of a place for you to rent. Turning off your water is a disgrace, as it is a basic need and possibly illegal for him to do so ( I an not sure about that). Still I wish you luck with your problem

God bless
Margaret

[methodistgirl]

I do have water but the hot water is turned off for now. I will still have
hot water if I boil it on the stove and heat it up. This house I live in is
about 100 years old or more. When I first moved into this place at the
turn of this century 2001, the house was absolutely beautiful like the
church I go to. Now this pretty house has went down like a one egg
pudding. It's in shambles now and looks pityful. I realize just like us
it becomes time for a house to die and be tore down because it can't
be fixed anymore. To me it's a real shame. A famous figure here in
Madisonville bought this place back in the roaring twenties for his
granddaughter and her husband. This famous was a former governer
of Kentucky. Before my landlord had it Century 21 had the house as
an office of some sort. This is really sad for that reason. Tell me
what you think.
judy tooley

[Krummhorn]

I still find it shameful that the landlord hasn't kept up with maintenance on the home. Even centuries old dwellings can easily maintain hot water - I'm surprised that the owner has let this place, being an investment of his/her personal money, run to ruins like it has.

Is the landlord also the building owner? Sometimes the landlord just manages things for an owner ... the owner may be the one derelict in his/her duties to maintain the premises. Either that, or the landlord is given a "stipend" for maintenance each year and those monies have run out on other necessary things that also needed repair.

Hopefully you don't have a long term lease, can find other suitable housing, and move out of that disaster? There's got to be some city or state agencies that can assist you in getting the landlord to fix the stuff, or help you get relocated.

[methodistgirl]

Some of this is not the landlord's fault. There were some tendants
that lived there before I moved back and trashed it. My brother-in-
law, husband, and myself had a time getting the place cleaned up
in order to just spend the night. I can't understand people who
tear up their landlord's property and move out angry at the landlord
because he won't fix it and move out for the next renters to find a
trashed up mess. When I rent a place I take care of it when I have
a way to keep it up. I can't understand distructive people at my
age who should know better.
judy tooley

[methodistgirl]

I'm not the only person here in this town who suffered from having a bad
landlord. You would think some of these small businesses here in my
town could break even and make a profit. There is a business next
door to this library closed down because there is no heat there.
Rent here for these businesses are something else and then the business
has to turn around and pay for it's own utilities wether or not they make
a profit or not. I don't think that's right either. The town's economy
hurts because of this. Thank goodness these churches own their own
building and some of these corporations like Wal mart. It is not just taxes
hurting business it's the sky high rent these small businesses have to pay.
judy tooley

[Sybarite]

... Thank goodness these churches own their own building and some of these corporations like Wal mart...

But there's a thing – given that Jesus apparently said that "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God", and told a would-be disciple to go away, sell all his worldly goods and give the money to the poor (Luke 12:33), should Christian groups – or Christian individuals – have property?

If some Christian group owns Walmart or has shares in it, what is it doing with the profits – giving them all to the poor? Since Jesus apparently threw the moneylenders out of the temple, how can churches be linked to profiteering?

Admittedly, Jesus also said that people shouldn't work in order to obtain food (John 6:27), (Matthew 6:34); shouldn't save any money (Matthew 6:19-20); shouldn't become wealthy (Mark 10:21, 25) and noted that: "if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).

Nobody can really think that all that is sensible, can they?