You Don't Have to Be Seen as a Crank If You're Right

Q I have a problem with my landlord's maintenance of my rental home. When I moved in to what appeared to be a lovely three-bedroom house, I was shocked to find that it was in violation of several local housing ordinances. For example, the house's electrical systems, washer and dryer outlets, stove burners and dishwasher were all broken. The smoke detectors were not in compliance with local ordinances. The refrigerator had missing parts. There was abandoned property in closets -- and all this from day one of my occupancy.

As the first year progressed, the landlord would always answer my maintenance calls. Generally, though, his repairmen did the minimum, leaving the problem to recur in a few weeks. Or he would bring in repairmen who simply denied that there was a problem, treating me as if I were a crank.

If I go to the city housing inspector and get the landlord in trouble, how will this affect my ability to rent again? Even if I am right in my assessment of my landlord, I fear that future landlords will be afraid to rent to me, assuming that I will be a complainer. There is no doubt in my mind that my landlord will give me a scathingly negative review if I report him to the authorities.

Although I have never been late paying rent, I do not have a great credit report. Thus, I am not in the strongest of positions to dive into the rental market again with a negative landlord review.

Is it wise for me to report this landlord to the authorities? -- Atlanta

AAs long as you are a dependable, paying tenant who follows community rules, you should expect to live in a habitable, safe place. Whenever you are mistreated as a tenant, you should report your landlord to local housing inspectors, who can verify this and force your landlord to comply with local housing codes. A landlord is responsible for fixing such things as nonfunctioning smoke alarms or broken refrigerators and stoves.

While you may be right to fear a negative reference from your landlord, there are laws against retaliation on the part of landlords. When you look for a new place to live, tell prospective landlords about the situation and warn that your most recent landlord may issue a bad review. Explain the circumstances and show that you have paid your rent regularly. Also ask your local housing agency for written verification of the problems at your address and a notice of your landlord's noncompliance to show that you were not overzealous in your complaints or in reporting your landlord.

Should you have problems re-renting because your landlord's scathing review seems to trump all your evidence of being a good tenant, you could inform your landlord that you plan to pursue a small claims court case against him.

You could also cite any rental history in the past for confirmation of your good tenant status.

I rent the smallest room of four in a rowhouse in Washington. My landlord lives in New York, and a private company manages the property. I moved into my room in August with the understanding that each roommate pays the same amount of rent (the total divided by four). I caught one of my roommates in a lie and found out that he has inflated the cost of my room to lower the monthly rent of the others. They have profited close to $1,000 by this shady deal.

Only two of the roommates are under a signed contract, while the remaining tenants move in and out without signing anything. (I'm one of those who didn't sign a contract.) I have records of the payments I made, and I'm sure the property management service has records of the total monthly rent received, which can be used to demonstrate the inflation of my rent. Are my roommates able to raise the rent of a tenant when they are not the owners or managers of the property? I am almost positive that the landlord and property manager are unaware of what they are up to. -- Washington

The landlord and property manager are probably oblivious to what is going on. Most likely, they are just happy to get a full rent check and do not care how the money is divided among the tenants.

Often in group living situations, the price of rent is different from person to person, sometimes depending on the size of one person's bedroom or the length of another's tenancy. This information should be disclosed to all new tenants, and if it is not, they should request it. Anybody who wants to avoid being cheated by roommates should ask the landlord up front if he can put his name on a lease and pay his portion of the rent directly to the landlord, rather than handing a check to a roommate once a month.

If you haven't already, you should inform your roommates that you are on to their scam and that you plan to tell your landlord about your suspicions and ask for help. Your roommates may deny that rent is not divided equally, or maybe they will admit it and offer a more fair system. If they don't change anything, then talk to your landlord and suggest that each of the four residents sign a new lease stating that they will split the rent equally, or at least sign a less-formal agreement delineating how the rent is to be divided.

You can also ask your landlord or property manager to help mediate roommate disputes. Remember, because you haven't signed anything, you are free to move at any time. You can find a better living situation if all else fails.

I know that the landlord has 45 days to send the security deposit back in Virginia. I moved out Dec. 31, but handed the key back three weeks later because of an oversight on my part. From when should he count the 45 days? -- Washington

You should expect your landlord to begin his 45-day count on the day that you handed over the keys. He could argue that you technically did not end your tenancy until you gave back the keys. You have to fulfill your part of the move-out bargain before expecting him to do the same.

Do you have questions, comments or ideas about apartment life? Contact Sara Gebhardt via e-mail at gebhardts@washpost.comor by mail, c/o Real Estate Editor, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.