apartment windows problem

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I am somewhat less thrilled with my new apartment on Winter Hill than I thought I would be. The biggest problem is that the windows don't close properly. I didn't really notice at first. (My new lease started a month before my old one ran out, so I was moving boxes and stuff before I actually moved my bed and started trying to live here. And then we had that nice warm weather.) I still feel like an idiot for not looking up under the blinds to see that closing the bottom part of the window opens up a big gap at the top. I shudder to think what our gas bill is going to be, and some of the rooms are horribly cold now that winter is back.

When I called the landlord, he said, "Oh, you mean the window in the kitchen and the one in the living room? Yes, the contractor told me about those. I was going to send him over to look at them in a few weeks." (It's not just those 2 windows. It's most of the windows in the apartment.)

Is there anything we can do to get the landlord to pay us back for the gas bill? Or part of the rent? Or our inconvenience while he fixes it properly? (We had a friend come in who knows something about these things, and he thinks it's not a matter of new latches and better weatherstripping, but tearing out the frames and installing them properly. For 16 windows.) It just seems like he did not fulfill his part of the bargain we made when we signed the lease in February, when the windows were still being installed. I realize this is a complicated problem and you nice people are not (generally) qualified to give professional advice.

Is there some organization in Somerville that I can turn to? I went to the Health Division (I think that's what it's called. I was at the Dept of Fire Prevention about another problem, and they pointed me across the hall.) They seem like they could be very helpful for pushing the landlord to correct the problem in April. But the person I talked to said that office doesn't deal with past behavior or financial responsibility, just with getting the problem corrected. Is there another office that does that sort of thing?

Comments

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

Other than legally withholding rent and letting the court sort it out, not that I know of.

If you want legal advice, Harvard has a tenant-centric free legal clinic, or at least they used to...

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

I have no idea about the legal ramifications and what not, but caulking rope (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-1-4-in-x-90-ft-Rope-Caulk-Woodtone-B2WT/100666131#.UUUIARyG2Jo) is a pretty cheap and amazing quick and not permanent solution. And at the very least could help until it gets fixed.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

If the problem is the window opening up, I think taping plastic over it might be a better interim solution.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid caulking rope won't help with the big gaps, some of which are more than 2" wide. For the little ones, do you know if something like that will make the housing inspector overlook the problem? I'm working on getting tarps taped up (have to wait until I can get help, because I can't get my arm over my head) as a temporary fix.

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

Wasted heat aside, this sounds like a safety issue as well. I'm pretty sure your landlord has to provide you with a secure apartment that properly locks (and that must include windows closing properly so they can be locked). If it's a safety issue, they need to fix it immediately. Maybe try approaching it from that angle? Does 311 give out info about tenant rights?

I guess if you're not on the first floor they may claim it's not a safety problem, but it's an idea.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I hadn't thought of it in those terms, but you're right. We live on the second floor, but the code says we're supposed to have locking windows anyhow.

[evilcrayon.livejournal.com]

I had some issues with my landlord withholding part of my security deposit when I moved out after five years, and Joe Ross (http://www.attorneyross.com/) was able to advise me what to do over the phone without ever charging me anything and it worked out great. I would definitely start by calling him and he could probably tell you if you needed to hire a lawyer or how to deal with it on your own and get the problem fixed. He's mentioned a couple times in Davis Square posts about legal issues and everyone seems to love him. (here's the one I found him through (http://davis-square.livejournal.com/2726164.html))
Good luck!

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The website looks promising, and the DSLJ reviews are really impressive.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Yup, Joe's excellent. I've used him several times as both a landlord and a tenant.

[sovay]

I've used him several times as both a landlord and a tenant.

That especially is useful to know. Thank you!

[gaudior.livejournal.com]

Feh and sympathy and feh, and that is no good! I hope you're able to get the landlord to see reason.

In the meantime, have you tried these?

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WindowInsulatorKits/Products/

They seal better than tarps, and are pretty darn effective when you don't have cats.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm concerned that those would make it hard for the inspector to see the problem. As well as being hard (impossible) to re-install after inspection. I expect we'll be showing this problem to a bunch of people--city inspector, landlord, contractors for estimates, contractors for measurements, I don't even know what all--and we don't want to pay for new plastic every time we put it back up.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much for the sympathy and understanding. It does help with a scary situation.

[kate_nepveu]

Massachusetts Dept of Consumer Affairs has information on your rights under local law.

Good luck.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! What a great resource.

[lunarcamel.livejournal.com]

Also, the Cambridge Consumers' Council has jurisdiction over Somerville too (and Watertown, weirdly). They do a lot of landlord/tenant mediation and tenants' rights stuff, and they're free and my experience with them has been great. They're knowledgeable and super helpful and might be a good place to start.

Their website is here. (http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil.aspx) Phone number (also on website) is 617-349-6150. Good luck.

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

I should have had that number the first time the heat went out in our apartment. Or the first time the ceiling leaked. Or the second time the ceiling leaked. Or the third time the heat went out. Saving it for future reference.

[elements.livejournal.com]

These may be a bit ancient, as looking back I apparently made the original post in 2007, but here are some housing rights links I collected (http://davis-square.livejournal.com/961648.html).

Are you still having trouble getting the tarps up? I am fairly sure from your username/when you moved, etc. that I know you.... and if so I would be happy to come by. I have a meeting in winter hill Tuesday evening....

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Yes, we know each other from the Hav. I would still appreciate help with the tarps. Thank you so much. This whole thing is just overwhelming my ability to cope (and that of my housemate.)