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What to do about my Slum Lord?

I recently moved into a 101-year-old house in Ohio with my girlfriend and 2 small kids. The only reason we took it was because the rent was cheap, and we didn't have time to be picky. The landlord assured us that the basement did not leak before we signed the 1 year lease. After we moved in, we discovered that the basement not only leaks, but that it floods! The foundation is made of tile blocks which resemble cinder blocks, and there is water coming in from all over the place. The landlord denies any knowledge of prior leaks. He's just playing dumb. This prevents us from being able to use the basement for storing our things, and we are afraid that it may damage our nearly new washer and dryer. I have already sunk over $500. into repairs and improvements just to make the house livable. For example, we replaced the fiberglass wall around the tub because there was nothing but some old formica or something there before, and it was falling apart into the tub and was nasty. The faucet was being held on by a piece of duct tape and leaked all over the place, so I had to call a plumber to come and fix that. None of the windows had blinds, so I put one in every window. The front door was all busted and falling apart, so I had to take it apart and fix that. The walls were full of holes, so I patched them with spackle. There was a huge patch of mud by the back door, so I put down 500 lbs. of stones to cover it. Under the porch I removed 4 large garbage cans of trash and broken glass. Many of the door handles needed replaced. The whole house needs painted inside and out, and the carpets as well. I believe there is black mold (or some variety of mold) growing on the basement walls, which was painted over recently. The list goes on and on. I have kept my slumlord up-to-date on everything that I've done, and provided him with receipts. He assured me that I would be reimbursed, but that he just needed to check with his accountant. Today he came to collect the rent, and tells me that his accountant told him that less than half of the receipts I gave him he could use as a tax write-off. So, my question is, isn't there some kind of laws protecting renters in cases like this, especially when involving young children? In my opinion, the landlord should have done all of this work and more before ever dreaming of renting it out, but that he was simply too cheap and lazy. I am doing all the work for free, and only asking that he reimburse me for the money I've spent on improving his property. He seems unwilling to do even that, despite the fact he claimed that he would. So, what can I do about this? Is there some government agency in Wayne County, Ohio that I can take this matter to?

Public Comments

1. check at city hall most towns have an ordnance against slum lords and also check with you local health & welfare office, [ health issues ] the house may be condemned
2. You're doing a mountain of work and providing a mountain of materials, but you haven't secured any kind of promise or guarantee from the property owner before beginning work. You need to get this kind of thing established in writing before you lift a finger. You didn't give him the receipts, did you? Just copies, right? Because if he gets the originals, you give up your strongest lever. Documentation is the strongest weapon you have. Photos of the flood, photos of the mud hole before you added stone, photos of everything. Receipts of everything. Whether he can use the receipt as a tax write-off is specious, it's goods provided that matters. I'm stunned you're donating your effort too, it sounds like you've burned up a few weekends for this ingrate. Keep an annotated record of every call and conversation with your landlord. Don't let any details go by. You're going to need to talk to local law and codes enforcement officials. You have rights as a renter just as much as he has duties. If your rent is completely up to date (keep receipts!), you have little to lose...unless he decides you're just a pain in the butt and starts moving to evict you or raise your rent. Finally, if the guy is such a bastard and the place is in such poor condition maybe the rent, no matter how low it is, is still too high.