Legal help for tenants?

Submitted by throwawayRI3742 t3_10pcfw2 in RhodeIsland

My fiancé and I are new-er to Rhode Island and unfortunately have an out of state landlord (think West Coast). We’ve been working with a property management company since about two months into our time here. They’re the absolute worst. Anyway, for the last two weeks we have been without a stove and have been waiting for them to send a new one. They finally arrived today and someone at the management company fucked up by not having someone cut off the gas, so they took our brand new stove back out as quickly as they came in. So, we’re looking at another week before they can come back out.

I know tenants have practically zero rights here, but is there anything legally I can do? This isn’t the first major issue we’ve had with them. We went without heat for almost 3 weeks back in November/December.

We’re at our absolute wits end and don’t know where to turn.

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pem4423 t1_j6jqw12 wrote

Unfortunately these kinds of experiences are way too common around here. Absentee landlords are very prevalent, especially in Providence.

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6jrtdl wrote

I find that so weird since we don’t have a ton of absentee landlords in Massachusetts. But hey, it’s a learning experience at least 🫠

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DisastrousFudge3593 t1_j6ly2i4 wrote

Download the ri tenant rights handbook. It will tell you exactly what you can do to compensate yourself in these situations if you have to handle them yourself . It’s very informative honestly !!

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Distinct-Ad5751 t1_j6ktbot wrote

The tenant laws are very different here, they savor the landlord.

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MavDrake t1_j6mj7o1 wrote

And Newport., Middletown Portsmouth, Jamestown, North Kingston, etc.. etc...

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March_Latter t1_j6k1pql wrote

Lol, holy shit. Zero rights for RI tenants has to be the biggest falsehood on Reddit this week. I won't own rentals in RI due to how screwball this state is so, Yes you have rights. Literally the entire state government is on your side. They are out of state? Do they have a landlord license? Your landlord might not even have standing in court. File a grievance with one of the housing agencies they will jump on these poor bastards for you. Don't pay your rent till its fixed, its not like the landlord can do anything about it. Take you to court? Why the hell would he do that, thats just long form losing.

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6ng787 wrote

I’ve requested info on the town to make sure 1) the house was inspected before sale (I truly doubt it) and 2) he’s got all his shit filed (questionable, again). Compared to other states, RI truly has zero tenant laws. You wouldn’t want to be a landlord in MA, that’s for sure

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March_Latter t1_j6nri4b wrote

I doubt the town did any more than a smoke detector check at sale. Nothing before tenant move in....

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fishythepete t1_j6p38y1 wrote

Lol that you’re getting downvoted.

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March_Latter t1_j6pa8t0 wrote

Doesnt seem to be going up or down....but I don't really care. My life has little to do with my Reddit "score" . Sooner or later you outgrow the opinion of others and live a better life than they do.

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6pi1en wrote

That wouldn’t shock me

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March_Latter t1_j6pjaum wrote

So start by reporting them to housing and state this is not your first issue. Document it. Don't worry about eviction as its nearly impossible in your case. A stove when I was a landlord I would need to replace within 24 hours. I could put in a temporary until the good one arrived, but a stove had to be there and usable.

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brick1972 t1_j6kdi73 wrote

RIers have more tenants rights than most states. The problem is that the easiest way to express those rights is to wihthold rent, declare the lease invalid (due to landlord not meeting their requirements) and move, which of course in the recent elevating rent environment is tough to do. Or for lower income people, etc. it can be hard to qualify with others so they end up dealing with it and trying to get code enforcement to deal with the problems. Hence the stories you hear. These absentee landlords exist in MA too.

The problem with the gas is that the law/insurance does not allow delivery folks to fuck with the gas. So you have to pay an installer to do it, and also you have to buy new flex hose and fittings. This means your $600 range comes with $75 in extra material plus a $300 install price. So your landlord/whoever probably didn't want to pay it. You will have the same problem again and again unless you have a plumber on site at the same time (or their maintenance guy, whatever). It doesn't matter if they come by and turn off the gas first, the delivery dudes are not going to hook up the gas. At least this is the case with the big box stores.

Not providing heat is a big issue. The general requirement is that the heat works to get the apartment to 68 degrees. If this isn't happening then the best way to deal with this is to say that without the heat you are going to a hotel/whatever and will deduct the price of the hotel from the rent. You need to document all of this and it's best to work with them first.

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Low-Dragonfly-5352 t1_j6kwhla wrote

Let me say I’ve been in litigation with a landlord for 5 years. Still haven’t been before a judge. So if you’re planning on taking the legal route buckle up. May be cheaper to find someone brave enough to jump your appliance in for you.

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canibringmydog t1_j6kgzzx wrote

lol @ people saying RI tenants have the laws on their side. The law basically is on your side if the place is an uninhabitable shithole, and even then there's really no repercussions that go the landlord's way. Otherwise, you have to deal, and try to recoup anything in court after the fact.

I do not know if kitchen appliances are considered essential. If it is, you may be able to straight up break the lease, or rent somewhere else (I.E., hotel) while the stove is being replaced, and deduct it from your rent owed (this will suck, as he will most likely try to evict you by going that route - not saying he will be successful). If it is not essential, they give you a whopping $125 limit on doing the repairs yourself, after informing the landlord you are going to do so, and waiting 20 days for the landlord to get around to it.

You can go to RILS.ORG and call to see if you quality for legal help - if you don't, which you won't because the benchmark is so insanely low, they will still offer a free 30 minute consultation with an attorney affiliated with their program.

Edit: it’s considered not a “landlord friendly” state because it’s hard to evict people here lol 🙄

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6nfqg0 wrote

I have the handbook readily available at all times and have referenced it numerous times in conversations but these assholes just laugh at me. I don’t even think the landlord knows what is going on to be honest - or that the company that takes 10% of our rent is a POS.

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canibringmydog t1_j6o0myz wrote

I have been writing to elected officials about the predatory landlords out here. They have a “if you don’t like it, fuckin move” mentality. And they’re right; someone will always fill the spot bc there’s simply not enough housing.

The people who think that this is a tenant friendly state have never lived outside of RI. I truly wish you the best!

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fishythepete t1_j6p59be wrote

In RI get what you bought. Sure, if you rent an illegal basement apartment your remedy is basically to leave, and that’s worse than a place where the remedy is the landlord gives you more than what you bought, protecting those who may not enter transactions with their eyes wide open.

But ultimately you get exactly what’s on the label, even if it means RI isn’t as good at protecting you from yourself. If the landlord doesn’t provide an essential service, escrow the cost of a new place or your increase in cost for takeout because your stove is busted and withhold from rent. That’s a remedy. So is a 20 day notice to cure if you’d rather leave.

As an adult I prefer contracts be enforced as if both parties were adults, but I admit the steep learning curve can be punishing.

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canibringmydog t1_j6pjty6 wrote

You move into a place. They say heats included. A year later they raise the rent, heat is no longer included, and split utilities among the apartments based on occupancy. Why? Bc there’s nothing explicitly saying they can’t do that.

Rent jumps from $900 to $1500 (so they can “renovate” lol and then successfully charge that much) to people who don’t know any better trying to save money by leaving Boston. Why again? Not because the landlords costs went up. Not because the people paying $900 were bad tenants, but because the landlord can.

Laundry machines were included in your rent, communal, but still, great, right? Wrong. They never work, they never will work, and your rent will not be reflecting that inconvenience. Why? Because there is nothing saying that’s illegal either.

So you opt to move. Congrats! You get to lose your deposit (because they always take as much of that as they can, right?). And now you get to put a new deposit on another apartment, but that landlord is charging first, last (if your credit score is too low) and security. But wait… that’s illegal in RI! Lol cry about it! No one cares.

These are just some of the things I have seen happen to my neighbors, and people I know within the last year or two. I truly do not know very many people. Tenants in this state get absolutely railed.

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Alarmed_Nebula3917 t1_j6kbmqu wrote

All the land lord tenant laws are in your favor, google it

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6nfv71 wrote

I did. They aren’t as favorable as you’d hope as a tenant :(. But I guess I should have looked into it before I let my fiancé convince me into moving here lol

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Stubeezy t1_j6ouana wrote

If y’all need someone to legally disconnect and reconnect the gas, you can shoot me a direct message. I recently started my own HVAC business and have much better availability than the competition. I know this doesn’t help you right this minute but at least you’ll have someone you can refer to your land lord if they give you the ol’ “I couldn’t find someone”.

Good luck!

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nobadnewsberka t1_j6n611n wrote

If you're newish to RI and have a non local landlord you just have to deal with the struggle. New comers with money grabbing property owners are a result of capitalism, find a home I'd support the option of you going closer to family and people you trust

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koidrieyez t1_j6kfj6d wrote

Must be more to the story. There should be a gas shut off right in back of the stove. It's code.

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brick1972 t1_j6mz1i5 wrote

The delivery folks can't/won't disconnect/reconnect even if the valve is closed. Same for gas dryer.

You need an installer. When I replaced mine my choice was to do it myself (taking half a day from work to sit around and wait for them) or wait three months for an available install date. Third choice of course is just disconnect the old, let them take it and leave the new, then move it into place yourself later, whether yourself or with a plumber.

A management company should have someone on payroll to deal with this though.

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6nfh2y wrote

They refused to send someone out same day and were begging the delivery guys to just turn our tanks off outside. They didn’t know it was going to be an issue I guess. This company is a joke lmao

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throwawayRI3742 OP t1_j6nf9d4 wrote

Our stove is hooked up to a gas grill sized propane tank in the backyard. The tank is empty and it is turned off. I know nothing about this since I’ve always had a legit gas stove and whoever has replaced it has been competent. I don’t even know who the company they sent was and I’m not sure they even really knew what they were doing at our house.

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