Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia

I moved into a rental property on Dec 1 2010. The power nor the water were turned on when i went to view the house but the landlord assured everything was in working order. On Dec 1st the water company came out to turn on the water and made me sign a waiver because the last tenants were receiving water bills between 300-700$ I immediately called the landlord and informed her of the situation and informed her that water company had said it was most likely an underground water leak. I didn't hear back from the landlord for several weeks and called weekly to get updates on when someone would be out and kept getting told someone would be out next week. No one came and fixed the leak until mid march and I received a water bill from Jan 26 - Feb 25 for 573$ I took the majority out of my rent which is 800$ and sent her a check for 300$ I had done the same thing a month prior when I had a high water bill. The day she received the check she called me and demanded I pay her the rest of the rent because she had already fixed the problem. I argued with her that it wasn't my responsibility because I had been informed that the house was in good repair when I moved in which it was not I'm still living without working heat which also went out in Dec but let it slide because I was more worried about the water bill getting fixed. She's now threatening eviction on the ground we aren't paying our rent. Do I have any legal ground to stand on?


Asked on 4/04/11, 9:20 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

No one here has read the lease or has the details, and yes, she probably can evict you. Whether you have a counterclaim and for what depends on details we don't have as to how you documented your complaints in writing so you can prove you complained..

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Answered on 4/04/11, 2:46 pm


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