discrimination - price per room & failure to remove debr

[haderlump]

HI all!

i just signed a 1 year lease for a 10x9 room @ $750 a month but the other roommate has a 10x10 for $650 -- i think its because shes a student and i had told the landlord that i own a business so she upped it when she showed it to me. My friend says that its false advertising but i say its more like discrimination as well as unfair as my smaller room costs me more.

also, they still havent removed construction debris from outside my room. can i say i dont want to pay the 2nd installment of my deposit until they come through on getting all this wood and tile from out of my way?

besides the contruction mess, i have a dog which i paid a $500 deposit for. she is on the lease but i noticed that the gate doesnt latch into anything so it swings like a saloon door! i have had to block it with big bricks but so far both the landlord and her daughter have slid them out of the way to enter there. if my dog escapes because of this, are they liable? how do i get them to make the gate be able to shut immediately? im afraid to leave and come home to see that my dog was let to run away! or worse, that its gotten into the construction pile and gotten filthy again! ...then they tried to leave their smelly dog here for a week while they are on vacation and i said it has fleas BAD and we cant introduce fleas into the house and my animal!! but they are still planning on leaving it here for some of the trip anyway!!!!!!

-how do i get my rent balanced down to what is comparable to the other (larger and cheaper) room and other rooms in this area?
-how do i tell the landlord their flea-infested dog cant be here (mine is the one on the lease)?
-can i say i am going to pay the rest of the deposit when the gate is able to contain my dog?
-is small claims court my 1st option to address any issues if they are stubborn?

lastly, they are trying to rent a 7x6' room by the kitchen which isnt a bedroom. is that legal?
-who do i tell if someone moves into there?

living in hell,
Ron

[Anna]

Whether this ia an apt or a house, LL cannot rent out rooms individually, with the possible exepction if LL lives in one of the rooms.

Is this an apt or a single-family house?
If apt, and there are now, or ever have been since 1974, 6 or more units in bldg, call DHCR & ask for a Rent History.
There was a recent case with a Chinatown LL who did this; the rental for each room was more than the LRR for the whole apt!

[haderlump]

well, LLs can rent rooms separate in a big house like this.
how else would they fill these houses near campus with
2 or 3 random students...

btw, im in california so maybe its different but the issue
isnt that we are on separate leases, its that theres no
equity to the price/sq ft or the valuations.

and the largest room has 2 girls in it -- one of which isnt
LL but it is LL's daughter (shes a princess too- always trying
to say curfew this and no alcohol that... fat chance on those,
put it in the lease or no deal)

...so i have the ad still that says 650 for the room i ended up
paying 750 for and it also states theres a 550 room which refers
to that closet room which is definitely illegal!!!!
...i believe the law states a room has to have a closet and be a
bedroom on the real estate report for it to be rentable

so what are my chances of getting some action out of this first-time
LL that is trying to wring me dry?

Ron

[cestmoi123]

Haderlump, this is a NYC forum - you need to scroll down the main forum page and post in the Other States forum if you're in CA.