Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

I'm currently renting a home. My lease is up at the end of January. I'm having a ton of issues with my landlord when it comes to repairs. When he repairs things its never done properly. For example there was in issue with a broken toilet handle. His method of repair was a piece of a wire clothes hanger and a paper clip. Of course a few weeks later it was broken again and I had my father repair it the right way. My newest issue is a leak in my kitchen ceiling. I called him 2 months ago when I noticed that there was a water bubble forming and a mold spot in the ceiling right over the kitchen (the water hadn't started to leak through yet). He never showed up. Last week after several storms the water started leaking through and I gave him another call. He came out the next day this time. I came home from work to a big hole in the ceiling and a note. The note stated that there was a leak in the roof (duh!) and he had repaired that but was unable to fix the ceiling until it had dried out. In the meantime everytime my ac comes on insulation is blowing out of the hole. He didn't attempt to cover the hole in any manner. Everytime I'm even near my kitchen I start coughing and have to use my asthma meds. I have covered the hole with several trash bags just to keep the insulation from falling out. But because of my allergies/asthma I refuse to even go near my kitchen. I haven't cooked for my family for a week. He's supposed to come fix it this week but at this point I feel like he doesn't care about my family's health and well being. And i'm sure as other repair issues arise they probably won't be repaired properly because of his pattern of half way doing things. Is there a way for me to get out of this legally? And is there any proof that being exposed to insulation could be harmful to my health? What can I do?


Asked on 9/14/09, 10:32 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Answers:

1. No, not too likely (in my opinion) on these facts(if you mean without penalty).

2. Of course, being exposed to insulation particulate matter could potentially have an adverse effect on one's health; however, whether such has in fact actually occurred(or is likely to occur) in your case is an entirely different question and would appear unproven by any credible evidence as of yet.

3. Persevere to the end of the lease.

Read more
Answered on 9/19/09, 11:37 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Virginia