[Susie Wood]

My son and wife (5 months Pregnant) live in an apartment and have found a house to rent which is bigger. They will need it when the baby comes. They asked the landlord if they could give them a 1-2 month notice and move out. The landlord said they could not.

Last Friday my son came home for lunch (thank God) and the wall unit (air & heat) had caught on fire. He got the fire put out and called the landlord. It took 3 hrs for maintenance to show up. They said they couldn't do anything until Monday. This is in Tennessee. It gets very cold at night. They showed up Monday, took the old unit out and put another unit in which doesn't work. They said that would cover up the hole but they would have to do something with the wiring. Today is Tuesday, I called my son and he said nothing has been done yet. They have gone 5 days now without heat. It's suppose to get down in the 20's tonight. What should they do?

[ScottGem]

Contact the landlord and ask them to IMMEDIATELY provide space heaters if they can't get the problem fixed quickly. They do have to give some time for maintenance work to be completed.

[jillianleab]

Check the TN Landlor/Tenant laws; for something such as no heat, the landlord may be required to put the family up in a hotel until the problem is fixed. If the landlord refuses to do so, your son can stay in a hotel, keep his receipts (hotel and food) and submit them to the landlord for repayment. If the landlord does not repay them, he is able to sue for the amount spent.