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I could barely believe this story when a pretty big youtuber had his upstairs neighbor flood his entire apartment, mold started growing everywhere and all his l

I could barely believe this story when a pretty big youtuber had his upstairs neighbor flood his entire apartment, mold started growing everywhere and all his landlord offered was signing a new long-term lease on a different unit he didn't want. He ended up somewhat deliberately staying after he got it out of them that they couldn't legally kick him out quickly, and he was trying to finish the purchase of a house at the time. But it seemed nuts that the landlord wouldn't be on the hook to provide him housing through the term of his lease without signing a new contract, or pay some large amount to break the contract that could have helped him cover a temporary mold-free option. https://youtu.be/2R-KDji7tGE https://youtu.be/2R-KDji7tGE

sidlls 3y ago
Petty landlords are the vast majority, unfortunately. All they care about is extracting rent. They don't see tenants as human beings who can struggle, but rather as a source of income to exploit and ignore as much as they can.
- smegger001 3y ago
  yeah i lived in one that got in trouble (after i had moved out) for not telling their tenants about the lead paint or asbestos. they also had the elevator out of order for nearly two years during which period they raised the rent three times. have fun moving out of a fifth floor apartment when you have to carry furniture down the narrow stairs with four right angle turns every floor.
  - NortySpock 3y ago
    Are you sure that wasn't just the backdrop of the Big Bang Theory?
    - smegger001 3y ago
      yes quiet. It sucked, especially because we had a baby at the time and trying to carry groceries and a child up those stairs to a unairconditioned apartment mid summer was not something deserving of a laugh track.
      - NortySpock 3y ago
        I am sorry to have made a comedy reference at your expense. I hope you are dealing with less stress these days!
- kaczordon 3y ago
  The reverse can also be true, tenants don’t care about landlords.
  - jjj123 3y ago
    That’s not equivalent in any reasonable way. Tenants can’t put a landlord on the street.
    - kaczordon 3y ago
      Tenants can definitely bankrupt a landlord.
  - skinnymuch 3y ago
    This isn’t how power, unjust hierarchies, surplus value, or capitalism in general works.
    - sidlls 3y ago
      Tenants don't have to be thinking about any of those things to maliciously destroy a property. None of them come into play when you have, for example, a tenant who hasn't paid rent in months, or who runs illegal businesses out of the property, etc.
      - skinnymuch 3y ago
        Nothing you said makes a difference. I’m unsure why it matters what the tenant is thinking? I don’t think it matters.
jon-wood 3y ago
It’s a similar deal in the UK, where not to long ago parliament voted down an attempt to require rented accommodation be fit for human habitation. Apparently that’s too high a demand from landlords.
- nec4b 3y ago
  Just curious, what does it mean "fit for human habitation"?
  - jll29 3y ago
    The backgrounds is a boy's dead from a moldy place he and his family had to live in: https://propertyindustryeye.com/coroner-describes-toddlers-death-from-mould-as-a-defining-moment-for-housing/#:~:text=A%20two%2Dyear%2Dold%20boy,Aisha%20Aminin%20and%20Faisal%20Abdullah https://propertyindustryeye.com/coroner-describes-toddlers-d....
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    As an example of this kind of rule from a place that currently has them, the basic coverage of California’s implied warranty of habitability are covered on pp 48-50 of this document: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/California-Tenants-Guide.pdf https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/California-Tenants-Guide...
dragonwriter 3y ago
In many jurisdictions there are habitability requirements that, if not met, make it unlawful for the landlord to collect rent for the period during which they are not remedied, but there I am not aware of any that requires the landlord to supply substitute lodging (the presumption generally being that the withheld rent can instead be used for that purpose, though that’s dubious, in general.)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- bdowling 3y ago
  It’s a simple breach of contract. A rental agreement basically states that the tenant will pay rent and the landlord will provide a habitable apartment. The most common breach occurs when the tenant doesn’t pay their rent. However, when the apartment isn’t habitable, it’s the landlord who is in breach. The damages in such a case are the cost of substitue comparable accommodations, even if that cost is higher than the rental amount. So the landlord may not have to provide substitute accommodations, but he would be liable for damages if he didn’t. Edit: I may be biased by living in California where there is apparently an implied warranty of habitability.

sidlls 3y ago

Petty landlords are the vast majority, unfortunately. All they care about is extracting rent. They don't see tenants as human beings who can struggle, but rather as a source of income to exploit and ignore as much as they can.

smegger001 3y ago
yeah i lived in one that got in trouble (after i had moved out) for not telling their tenants about the lead paint or asbestos. they also had the elevator out of order for nearly two years during which period they raised the rent three times. have fun moving out of a fifth floor apartment when you have to carry furniture down the narrow stairs with four right angle turns every floor.
- NortySpock 3y ago
  Are you sure that wasn't just the backdrop of the Big Bang Theory?
  - smegger001 3y ago
    yes quiet. It sucked, especially because we had a baby at the time and trying to carry groceries and a child up those stairs to a unairconditioned apartment mid summer was not something deserving of a laugh track.
    - NortySpock 3y ago
      I am sorry to have made a comedy reference at your expense. I hope you are dealing with less stress these days!
kaczordon 3y ago
The reverse can also be true, tenants don’t care about landlords.
- jjj123 3y ago
  That’s not equivalent in any reasonable way. Tenants can’t put a landlord on the street.
  - kaczordon 3y ago
    Tenants can definitely bankrupt a landlord.
- skinnymuch 3y ago
  This isn’t how power, unjust hierarchies, surplus value, or capitalism in general works.
  - sidlls 3y ago
    Tenants don't have to be thinking about any of those things to maliciously destroy a property. None of them come into play when you have, for example, a tenant who hasn't paid rent in months, or who runs illegal businesses out of the property, etc.
    - skinnymuch 3y ago
      Nothing you said makes a difference. I’m unsure why it matters what the tenant is thinking? I don’t think it matters.

jon-wood 3y ago

It’s a similar deal in the UK, where not to long ago parliament voted down an attempt to require rented accommodation be fit for human habitation. Apparently that’s too high a demand from landlords.

nec4b 3y ago
Just curious, what does it mean "fit for human habitation"?
- jll29 3y ago
  The backgrounds is a boy's dead from a moldy place he and his family had to live in: https://propertyindustryeye.com/coroner-describes-toddlers-death-from-mould-as-a-defining-moment-for-housing/#:~:text=A%20two%2Dyear%2Dold%20boy,Aisha%20Aminin%20and%20Faisal%20Abdullah https://propertyindustryeye.com/coroner-describes-toddlers-d....
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  As an example of this kind of rule from a place that currently has them, the basic coverage of California’s implied warranty of habitability are covered on pp 48-50 of this document: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/California-Tenants-Guide.pdf https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/California-Tenants-Guide...

dragonwriter 3y ago

In many jurisdictions there are habitability requirements that, if not met, make it unlawful for the landlord to collect rent for the period during which they are not remedied, but there I am not aware of any that requires the landlord to supply substitute lodging (the presumption generally being that the withheld rent can instead be used for that purpose, though that’s dubious, in general.)

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
bdowling 3y ago
It’s a simple breach of contract. A rental agreement basically states that the tenant will pay rent and the landlord will provide a habitable apartment. The most common breach occurs when the tenant doesn’t pay their rent. However, when the apartment isn’t habitable, it’s the landlord who is in breach. The damages in such a case are the cost of substitue comparable accommodations, even if that cost is higher than the rental amount. So the landlord may not have to provide substitute accommodations, but he would be liable for damages if he didn’t. Edit: I may be biased by living in California where there is apparently an implied warranty of habitability.