Ask Me Help Desk - Manager not fixing the air

I live in California. It started on may 19 when the manager came into our apartment without my permission to fix the air and found my dog. We were told that he was only going on the roof. He told us that if he saw the dog again that we would have 3 days to get rid if him or get out. I will not get rid of him. I moved here from Canada and both my dog and I had to go through immigration to get here. I paid for him to be with me. He's 10 years old and I have had him that long, so I am not getting rid of him. Unfortunately we can not find anything out here under $900. I didn't expect it to be so expensive. I have tried to get affordable housing, but it's not available and if it is then they don't accept animals. The average apartment is going for $1400 out here. So my dog stays at a friend's house during the day. Anyway, our air worked for a while and then stopped. We didn't want to bother the manager, but we couldn't stand it any longer and put a request for him to come into the apartment and fix it on July 13. He came in two days later unplugged it and cut a wire and has not been back. It will be 4 weeks since we asked next Wednesday. It's been unbearable. We had a few good
Nights last week where it cooled down inside the house around 10.
Sometimes it doesn't cool down at all like last night. Thank goodness for coffee. But how long can this go
On? We have been patient or tried to be. This is real old. My husband called the office on July 25 and they said they were rush ordering a part (from where China) and would be in Monday or Tuesday of last week and the Air conditioning company would fix it last week. Didn't happen. So I
Called the office this morning hoping the manager wouldn't answer. He
Did. He was messing with me. I told him who I was and where I lived
And he kept saying,"Apt. 123, 123, 123, 1-2-3." Over and over. I kept
Saying yes that's right. He just kept doing it. When he finally
Stopped I asked when the air was going to be fixed and he replied
That it was fixed. I was thinking I've got news for you buddy. I told
Him it's not and he said it was, he just got back from vacation and
It's fixed. I told him that it has been unplugged and wires are cut
And it has been like that for 3 weeks. He said oh and then said the
Girl says that they ordering part and he will notify when it gets in.
And hung up. I was like sure you will. I've been talking to some
People and they say he can't do that. He has 30 days to fix it
Because it's uninhabitable conditions. He's messing with us. He just raised everyone's rent. He wants to
Raise it even higher, but he would have to get us out to do that. So
This is the way to get us out. Well I called the Consumer Affairs of
California. Our manager knows what he's doing. They said that there is absolutely
Nothing that can be done. Heat is included in uninhabitable conditions, but not air conditioning.
We can not withhold rent or anything. He can fix it if he wants to.
It's included in our rent, but it doesn't matter. If it's 130 degrees
Out, it doesn't matter. We can not do anything. I was told to go to
Talk to the manager again, but we have so many times. I was also told
To get a mediator, but then we can face eviction or call the senator.
The senator isn't going to do anything. I can't believe this. I am
Going to try writing a certified letter to the management company
Though. I don't know if that will work, but there is nothing else we
Can do. Is there anything else that I don't know about that can be done?

Thanks

Tiffany

If this is a window unit - go and buy a new one. This guy is not going to fix anything. Apts are impossible to find at $900 rent and if you keep letting your dog there overnight someone is going to catch on and then you'll be out on your ear in 3 days. The fact "someone" cut the cord is obvious. The fact he said the unit was fixed is obvious. He wants you to leave so he can jack up the rent on the unit.

Do you have a lease, or are you month-to-month? If you are month-to-month, you might want to try finding a new place to live. And... is there some reason you have to be in California? It's going to be almost impossible to find an apartment for under $900 that takes dogs. If you can find work in a different state or possibly even a different town, you might be able to find a more affordable place to live.

And finally... you are going to have a hard time taking the moral high road here. You are knowingly violating your lease by having the dog, and the landlord can evict you for that. I have pets, and know both how difficult it is to find a spot that takes them and that I wouldn't part with them for anything. But you needed to think about that before moving, not when you got there.

I agree with the previous posters.

I also wanted to add that you need to conduct all communication with them in writing. Keep a copy for yourself and give them a copy. Start with a letter that summarizes everything that has happened, request what you need, and go from there.

He can't withhold repairs because you are breaking the lease with the dog. But he can evict you for having it if your lease says no pets. I guess it's up to you how you want to handle it.

We have central air which is included in the rent. Which was just raised. We are not allowed to have a window unit. My dog is so quiet. We have been there 2 years and nobody knew. The manager wouldn't have known if he didn't come in without our permission. Almost everyone else in the place is hiding dogs. The family on the end have 2 and they are parading them around. And they are big dogs in a one bedroom with 7 people. They bark too. It's not right. My dog is 8 pounds and doesn't make a peep. I was hiding him under my desk at work (my boss said it was okay) for a week and nobody knew until he decided he wanted to go visiting. Then I had to find someone to take care of him during the day. I would pay extra for him but they won't let me.

We are not on a lease anymore. I think it's month to month. I have tried to find somewhere else to live and the best I can find is Palmdale, but my husband works in N. hollywood. That's to far to commute with the price of gas. It's over $4.00 a gallon here. It's gone down, but it's killing us. And the apartments in N.hollywood are the same as here. I have looked into moving to another state, but jobs are hard to get and we don't have the money to move. Immigration sucked up all our funds. We have credit cards up the yin yang that we are trying to pay back. I lost my job in January and couldn't find anything till April when a temp agency found me a great job. They couldn't find anything for me either for months. I'm at a great company and I am waiting to get hired, but they are going through Chapter 11 right now. If I could get hired I would be paid more that would be helpful. I'm getting paid squat. But it's going to be a while. But that would help so much. We could into this great apartment on moderate income that my sister-in law just moved in that accepts animals. A 1 bedroom on moderate income is $1200 I think. That's still a lot. But what can you do? My husband has a stable job, but the company is going through hard times that the health care that once was free, we have to pay for, all bonuses are gone and the raises have been froze. Jobs are really hard to get right now. It's better to hold on to what you have. We are just going through a rough period.

We moved into this apartment because it was the only thing we could afford on short notice. We were living with my sister-in-law. They put up the mobile home for sale and we came home to people going through our room. By the way we are moving they said. Family is wonderful aren't they? That why we jumped on this. And things weren't quit as expensive then, but it was still was. Everything has gone up. People are losing their homes, so they are going to apartments and they have jacked up the price. Studios out here are going for $1000. We are paying $825, $875 starting next month. They want to up it to $1000 like everywhere else. For a studio. It's crazy! Actually our old manager was suppose to have us pay $875, but he let us in on $825. He got fired and accused of embezzlement for helping people like us who couldn't pay much. He was the best. He was cleaning the place up. Our new manager is doing nothing but be a jerk. The new manager is the maintenance man.

Thanks for all your advice. I am going to send a certified letter to the management company and explain everything and ask if we can get a window air conditioner till it's fixed because August and September are the worst months here for heat. My friend suggested the window one because if we get heat stroke they are liable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpgirl

We have central air which is included in the rent. Which was just raised. We are not allowed to have a window unit. My dog is so quiet. We have been there 2 years and nobody knew. The manager wouldn't have known if he didn't come in without our permission. Almost everyone else in the place is hiding dogs. The family on the end have 2 and they are parading them around. And they are big dogs in a one bedroom with 7 people. They bark too. It's not right. My dog is 8 pounds and doesn't make a peep.

Look, you are in the wrong for having a dog. You are breaking the lease. Your landlord is (most likely) breaking the lease by not repairing the AC for so long. You are both in the wrong, but the two issues are unrelated. I guess I'm just trying to point out that it's not OK to have the dog because he's not fixing stuff and vice versa. If one of you wound up taking the other to court I'm sure the judge would be happy to explain that to you.

You have a right to get the AC fixed. Follow the proper proceedures - like you said you'll do. Then you'll just be taking your chances that he won't care that the dog is there. Sounds like he doesn't care from what you've described, but if he decided he wanted to get rid of you at some point that would be his smoking gun. And pet owners aren't a protected class, so he's perfectly within his rights to say this one can have one, that one can't, etc.

All I can say wow! I'm not in Kansas anymore. People here are uncaring. Back home you can't tell someone that they can not have a pet in an apartment. They are family. We are a family nobody is breaking us up. I wish I knew this before. After him I am not getting another pet as long as I am in an apartment. It's just that I already had him and for a long time otherwise I would not have a pet in an apartment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpgirl

All I can say wow! I'm not in Kansas anymore. People here are uncaring. Back home you can't tell someone that they can not have a pet in an apartment. They are family. We are a family nobody is breaking us up. I wish I knew this before. After him I am not getting another pet as long as I am in an apartment. It's just that I already had him and for a long time otherwise I would not have a pet in an apartment.

Well, gpgirl, I understand how it can seem this way. I have to tell you as a landlord I have had more floors and yards and doors and doorways ruined by pets than I can count. It's not about being nice or mean or caring or uncaring. It's the fact that this is a business and a tenant's security deposit (with or without extra for a pet) doesn't cover the damage that a pet can do. You're totally entitled to have a pet - my pets are a part of my family, too - but you're not ENTITLED to have them live in someone else's property. You can have that privilege, with the landlord's permission, and often times you have to buy that privilege. I cannot tell you how many people have moved in saying, "this pet is housebroken - they NEVER go to the bathroom in the house, dig, scratch, etc." Only to find out that their 8 lb dog totally ruined an entire house of new carpet.

I don't agree with the way your landlord runs things. It's either NO PETS, or you allow them and charge accordingly. He's obviously not running his business very ethically or professionally. But that's no reason to stoop to his level.