I was sued by LL for rent owed. Arrears have been paid, but am trying to get repairs done. LL likes to paint over things to avoid repairs. I already have 4 violations on windows in my apartment, now about 15 violations for things such as buckling floor, roof leaks and mold on the bathroom wall due to moldy outside wall that was never repointed.
I have spoken with my attorney about the repairs, but his answers always seem unsatisfying. He says I should just let LL do whatever repairs he wants, then go back to court if they are insufficient. For example, LL thinks he’s going to replace the stretcher bar in one of my windows rather than replace the window, while everyone I have spoken to says that’s unlikely as parts for windows are not generally available. He also wants to put a « saddle » on the area of my floors that are rising up (a saddle being a raised piece of wood that is normally put at the entrance to a room). He something about tearing down the bathroom wall with the mold problem, but it’s a class A violation and everyone else has told me that the repointing will fix the mold. DOB actually ordered a shed to be put in place on an emergency basis due to falling brick.
My concern is that he will engage in harrassment by doing fake repairs, I.e., not repairing the actual thing needing repair, but something else and calling it good. For example, to fix my other window violations, he had the super remove some of the window moldings and put in unfinished, unprimed wood that would give you slivers even when painted, which ruined the pre-war character. The super, when asked to fix a sagging closet door a year ago, pulled out a large screwdriver and started stabbing at the floor, until the door would close. When asked about the damage to the floor, he said, « I don’t do floors. »
Some tenants on the top floor have serious roof leaks (3 in my apartment, 5 in another), and I know the landlord uses paper and tar patches to pretend to fix the leaks. The leaks are only getting bigger and I would like to see what can be done as a permanent fix so I don’t throw money out the window if I have a professional paint the rooms.
Would really like to get some ideas on how I can avoid having my apartment destroyed by the time we’re finished, or losing too much money from time lost from work for fake repairs. I asked my atty to ask LL for a scope of work, which received a sarcastic, « you should know the scope of the work, you filed the complaints» in response. I want to be prepared for what repairs he’ll do, and head off the ones I know are pointless and an attempt to harrass. What happens if I refused to let him tear down a wall that doesn’t need to be torn down? Would the judge think I was being uncooperative? Any suggestions from someone who has gone through this would be greatly appreciated.