Posted by TenantNet on December 13, 1996 at 18:26:59:
In Reply to: turned off my water posted by anonoymous on December 12, 1996 at 20:55:49:
: my landlord turned off my water to my place w/ no warning whatsoever.
: i didnt know my water was off till his messenger gave me the letter.
: he said my place was running water constantly and threatned if i
: turned my water back on i would be charged 15.00 a day...(now i knew
: i had no leaky faucets or anything, so i called a plumber immediately
: and it was my toilet ball had gone bad, so it was fixed...i had didnt
: know anything was wrong...but the bottom line is did he have the right
: to shut off my water w/ no warning at all....i'm so mad i feel like
: not paying the rent for a month or two (i nver have missed a rent chk
: in 25 years)thank you (im in va)
We can't speak for Virginia, but I can't imagine this is kosher anywhere.
Your landlord's turning off your water (you have the proof) is intentional
denial of an essential service and harassment. Since you didn't know it
was a problem I suppose you had not complained, but at the same time he
did not mention to you there was a problem, and he turned it off without
even mentioning it beforehand. But moreso, it is the owner's responsibility
to maintain services and repairs (unless your lease states differently).
What I would do is deduct the cost of the plumber and any parts from your
rent, and a pro-rated portion for the time you were without water. He had
no right to this form of self-help, especially when the duty to repair
is his.
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