? For Landlords

No, she cannot do that. She needs to be the "squeaky wheel" with the manager. Remind him that the management is responsible for her safety. Not just the owner. So that the manager will bug the owner to authorize the repair.

I suggest that unless the manager has been told to not arrange for repairs that he can get the repair made STAT.

I would also call the local police department and ask to speak with their Crime Prevention office and see what help they can give.

She can't do that but she can contact the landlord or building manager and ask if they can repair it themselves and be reimbursed for their expenses. If they say yes then they are fine. It wouldn't be taken off their rent, I don't believe that is actually legal. It may sound strange but they have to pay their rent and have a check issued.

Still the door would be fixed.

Personally I would fix the door and eat the costs if I felt my family was in danger. I mean isn't your safety worth thirty bucks?

I've done the "take it off the rent " agreement WITH the blessing if my landlady.
I've also given tenants the OK to do the same.
So, yes, but not without the OK from the landlord!
She can:
Wait for the OK
Or
Wait for the repair to be done
Or
Get it done and chalk the expense up to the immediate cost of her safety!

Personally, I'd have had that door fixed properly YESTERDAY! Yikes!

Legally, I don't think you can do anything without permission from the landlord, it might get you kicked out. I agree that you need to be the squeaky wheel. Do look at your lease though, and see if there is anything in there about prompt repairs, you may have some recourse that way.

Also, I am wondering if your city has some sort of fair housing association that helps mediate landlord/tenate issues. We have one here in the Seattle area that helps tenantes with issues like this. You could call city hall and ask if there is assistance available.

Good luck!

The landlord needs to fix it or hire someone to do the job. She can fix it herself but she will be out that money if the landlord didn’t agree to pay for it (she should get something in writing from them if they OK it). She should put a call into the local housing authority ASAP (usually it is run by the county) and explain what is going on and that her dwelling is unsafe.

I am a landlord and would have had it fixed right away, I would also have the main entrance more secure. I would suggest that your friend start looking for somewhere else to live that would be safer for her and her children. The landlord (and the family) sound like slumlords and they will not fix anything. It’s very sad but not all landlords care about their tenants, just the money.

She has to continue to pay her rent (full amount) or they CAN evict her, even if it goes to court.

I would have it fixed and take it out of the rent. Send the remainder of the rent with a copy of the reciept. If they have a probem with that to bad. If they took her to court for that they would not win.

It should be an immediate repair (safety). If the repair is not done, the manager isn't doing his/her job (i.e. putting tenants in danger). You can check the local/state laws, but in most states the property owner MUST take care of things that present a hazard to tenants.

My opinion ONLY is I would:

Get renters insurance which would cover break ins in your home and car

AND start withholding rent and find a new apartment because it appears that your current owner doesn't care..

Check your local tenant/renters laws

The management needs to deal with this NOW. Part of their job is to make sure that any thing broken is fixed, not to mention if it deals with the tenets safety. She should check her lease and see if it mentions how long the management has to fix something. My personal apt has a 2 day fix, and if they dont then they take a certain amount off of our rent, every day that it doesnt get fixed. Also, she would have to get permission to fix the door themselves, I believe.

Also, it seems to me, that with all the incidents going on that she should have an opt out clause in the rest of her lease because this isnt a safe environment anymore. She should also look into this as well.

I dont blame her one bit for being concerned about herself, and her child. It's more than a one time incident.

Has she called the police?? They can start doing drive by's the complex and have them watch the place, hopefully that if it happens again, maybe they can catch them. And at the very least, have documented statements made out with the police department so they know its a reoccurring thing.

Tell her not to be afraid to make some noise to get the door fixed, and something done about safety in their complex.

There should be an agency that deals with landlord tenant disputes. Your friend has a right to feel safe in her house. Make sure she is putting everything to the landlord/apt manager in writing and keeping a copy for herself. Make sure there was a police report filed. She does not have the right to take the money off the rent.

She cannot legally just decide to fix an issue in her apartment then not pay her rent in full to pay herself back. She would likely get evicted for non payment of rent. She cannot just decide to not pay her full rent. Even if the land lord tells her to do that they can always say they didn't so I always had them send me a letter telling me what I could use to fix an issue and a top dollar amount that I could expect to be reimbursed.

If you think about it, everyone can find something that needs to be fixed in any apartment. If everyone just started fixing stuff themselves then deducting it from the rent then no one would be paying any rent and repairs would be done with shoddy workmanship just so that people could get out of paying rent.

She needs to notify the landlord in writing after of course notifying whom ever is managing the complex while they are gone, who they call in an emergency, and tell them that there is no door on her apartment. That an emergency repair needs to be done.

She might also call the Realtor board and find out if there is anything legal she can do if the manager does not fix this right away.

Document everything in writing and pictures- EVERYTHING. And as others have said- she must pay the full rent unless management sends her notice she can deduct for repairs. Again, all correspondence in writing and take lots of pictures