Renter’s nightmare: What are your rights?
Can you imagine dealing with urine infected insulation, cracked drywall, and mold surrounding your windows? Many of us can relate when it comes to renting — it’s not always easy getting the problem fixed, fast.
“It’s completely disgusting,” said John, a Colorado Springs tenant as he stuffed a white towel in the side of his bedroom wall. “It’s soaked in some sort of urine leaking from the drywall,” he said in disgust.
The smell of urine is just the beginning of the problems for John.
“There’s mold on the walls, surrounding all the windows, and even the windows are cracked,” said John.
John said he has filed five written complaints over the past two years with his property management company.
“I’ve gotten sick of it, the smell is awful,” he said.
KRDO reached out to apartment complex and property management group to get their side of the story.
“We had our maintenance team go out there, look at the carpet, pull up the carpet, and cleaned everything thoroughly,” said Mike Presicci, the site manager.
But according to John, after they cleaned, the smell just came back. He was fighting the smell every night, so without permission, he opened up the wall.
“I cut it open and found a nightmare behind the wall,” John said.
John sent KRDO the following picture showing the yellow colored stained drywall. He complained to management once again but said nothing got done to resolve the issue or smell.
Presicci told us his team didn’t see anything or smell anything but did everything they could to help.
If this has happened to you, what can you do legally?
KRDO spoke with April Jones, an attorney specializing in tenant disputes. She said the law as it stands now is pretty landlord friendly.
So if you’re a renter – here are some tips to keep in mind:
If you’re not getting solutions, documenting everything is important. Don’t just take pictures of the problems, also notify management in writing ASAP. Document all correspondence with your property management and landlord.
Currently under Colorado law, once management has notice, they are required to address it within a reasonable amount of time. If nothing gets done? It is within your rights as a tenant to withhold rent or request reimbursement for repairs.
“I couldn’t take it anymore,” said John.
Or like in John’s case, you can just terminate the lease altogether.
Right now, there is a bill in the state legislature that aims to revise the current landlord/tenant law so it favors tenants. Click here for more information.
