Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Colorado
We have been without water in our home since Jan. 26 2011 and the drain is backing up in our house spewing poop and pee and water everywhere in the basement. We contacted the landlord the day it started happening. He called a friend of his to come over with a snake to try and see if the drain was clogged. This was not the case & his friend was not able to fix it. Our landlord said he couldnt do anything because he was in the middle of moving & I asked if we could call a plumber. He said he would have a friend come over to see what they could do. So he finally got someone (a friend of his) to come out Yesterday, being Feb. 4th to excavate the back yard to get to the drain pipe. Turned out the pipe have collapsed. It took the friends of our landlord 2 days to install a new pipe for our drain, only to then discover that now when you try to use the water, it was even worse situation. Now piss/poop/water are coming in through the ceiling in our finished basement where my husband and I's office are located as we work from home. Its now day 11 and our landlord is too cheap to hire professionals to come fix this. We now have poop/piss everywhere in our living environment downstairs and its now coming up through the toilets and showers. What are our rights as tenants as we are living in a very unhealthy and uninhabitable house and we cannot afford to move and come up with security deposits, etc. We are in a 12 month lease and have had things like this happen from day 1. We went a month when we moved in here without a working stove and then found out we had a mouse infestation which WE had to take care of. We have no discovered our walls have no insulation AND the house is not even up to code according to authorities that have been to the house. What can we do and what are our rights? We are in the state of COLORADO, Aurora.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You may have a right to claim that the premises are uninhabitable under Colorado law. Colorado adopted statutes providing for a warranty of habitability in residential premises. That statute states that a premises may be uninhabitable if it lacks various characteristics. See CRS �� 38-12-501 et seq.
If the premises are uninhabitable you have several remedies. You may be able to terminate the rental agreement, after certain notices have been given and specified time periods have passed (this really depends on severity of the problem). You may also file suit for an injunction against the landlord plus request an award damages, if you win the case. Here are some brief discussions of this law http://www.coloradostatesman.com/kopel/new-law-requires-rental-units-be-habitable and http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3767&Itemid=1406#UNIHABITABLE.
You must provide written notice of the problem to allow the landlord to attempt to remedy. There are various requirements to comply with under this act and all must be followed to the letter. Therefore, I would strongly recommend that you contact an attorney to advise you on your rights and the steps to exercise those rights.
DISCLAIMER�This answer is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice regarding your question. This answer does not establish an attorney client relationship.
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