Landlord Issue....Advice Needed

[Meech]

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P.S. In the summer my water bill can run as high as $300/month

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Jesus. $300/mo??

So friggin happy I have a well... Sprinklers are on for 5 hours a day -- water bill == $0.

[4_2_it]

Regarding the water price, I live in the Philly 'burbs (4 bedroom house with 3 females) and water my yard liberally and my water bill averages around $70 per month. You are getting ripped off, but you signed the lease so lump it.

[AngusThermopyle]

Go to phone book.
Look up "Tenant's Rights" and/or variations.
Call/visit and get info.

A lawyer in California can give you very little advice about Philadelphia landlord-tenant law. A divorce lawyer in Philadelphia, same.

[Bostaevski]

Also about your other question - yes you should handle all correspondence with your landlord via certified mail. That way you can prove she received it. Keep a copy of all correspondence you send to her.

[Edge34]

NA Kicker,

Dude, you signed the lease. You're boned on the water. EVERY SINGLE POSTER in this thread told you this, and you're going to argue with us? How about this. Go get your lease - you should have a copy, assuming you're at least partially competent. It is your reference point for any problems you have with your landlord.

Post EXACTLY what your lease says. Then we'll all tell you you're boned again, and we can make fun of you some more.

Thanks in advance.

[farang0]

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Post EXACTLY what your lease says. Then we'll all tell you you're boned again, and we can make fun of you some more.

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[RoundGuy]

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Post EXACTLY what your lease says. Then we'll all tell you you're boned again, and we can make fun of you some more.

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edit: heh

[NA_kicker]

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Post EXACTLY what your lease says. Then we'll all tell you you're boned again, and we can make fun of you some more.

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Fair enough. The lease is at home and I'll post the exact words tomorrow morning.

Most of you really need to calm down though. Its just the god damn internet.

I also want you to realize that leases have legal limitations and some issues (like dead bolts in Texas) supercede the lease. I think some of you are willing to accept the lease just because it says something, regardless of the local laws.

In my case, I'm not sure if it is legal for landlords (home owners) to charge the tenants for water. I am not sure if the Philadelphia City Tax covers water, though I am pretty sure it covers sewage and garbage. I'm not even sure if my landlord recieves a water bill. I have never seen a water bill for anyone within city limits.

All you [censored] who insulted me really have no frame of reference without knowing local laws. I also do not know these laws and part of the post was to find out what these laws are and where to find them online.

So tomorrow, when I post the exact wording of the lease, please refrain from insults, it gets nowhere and it really shows how most of this board is probably just angry at their mothers for installing porn filters on their browsers.

Until tomorrow...

[I.Rowboat]

AFAIK, there is no code that requires that a unit, much less a room, have electricity. I am not a lawyer and not conversant in Philadelphia's housing rules, but from what I know as a home owner, a non-working electrical outlet is not a code violation per se. However, there's a good chance that the underlying cause of the failed outlets may be a code violation, especially if it's due to a broken or disconnected wire, which is what I would expect if a whole room was without power.

From a safety standpoint, this needs to be fixed, and that's the message you need to send to the landlord - "The bedroom outlets aren't working. I saw a TV show once where a whole building caught fire due to a bad electrical connection. I am terribly afraid of dying in fire, and for safety's sake, I insist that you fix this problem ASAP." You can also make the case that the ability to use the electrical outlets in the bedroom is implied by their very existence, and that this defect was not noted when you moved in (although it sounds like you did not do a thorough inspection prior to move-in.) Anyway, unless you're living in a hovel and renting from a slum lord, it's clearly on her to fix the electrical.

The water, however, is your $35/month responsibility, as you signed a lease that stated that explicitly.

[RoundGuy]

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So tomorrow, when I post the exact wording of the lease, please refrain from insults,

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Heh, good luck with that. It's what we do here (while trying to bypass momma's porn filter...)