I have been renting to own for three months now. For three months I have had leaks in both bathrooms. Repairmen only temporarily fix the problem - today there is still leaking. They are coming tomorrow to look at one of the bathrooms. Can I put my rent in escrow if not fixed this month? Can I get out of the agreement if not properly fixed soon? I don't know what the problem really is because the owner only allows the repairmen to talk to him. Please advise.

Hello renter:

Some state allow you to put your rent in escrow. Others don't. You can find your states landlord tenant laws at the top of the real estate page on a "sticky note".

The repairman don't have to explain anything to you. Right now it's HIS house. But, if it keeps leaking, I'd keep calling him.

excon

And if you are standing there watching them, you mean the repair man will not discuss the problem with you. If you are planning on buying the home, I personally would demand that I be told what was wrong or they were not disclosing info about the home.

Did you put down a large down payment? Or are you just renting with the option to buy at this point? I guess what I'm asking is what's different about your agreement from a standard lease?

At this point I would recommend following your state's laws, like excon suggested, and try to get out of the lease and move on. This doesn't sound like a good person to be doing business with.

Also, to protect your rights you need to be conducting all communication with the LL in writing. That way you have a paper trail to fall back on in the event of needing to sue him, or if he would come after you for any reason.

Yes, I did put down a large down payment. Thanks for your comments. I am consulting a lawyer to see my options.