#NorthCarolina #LandlordIssue #TenantRights
Hey everyone! 👋 Have you ever experienced a situation where your landlord unexpectedly shut off your water without notice? 😱 Well, that’s exactly what happened to us while we were at work recently.
Here’s the scoop:
– Our water was shut off abruptly, leaving us high and dry (literally).
– We’re up to date with all our bills and have everything set on automatic payments.
– The property management is giving us the runaround and saying there’s nothing they can do. 😒
– We’re not even allowed to put the water in our name due to our lease agreement. 🤷♀️
So, what legal recourse do we have in this situation? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! 🤔
As a possible solution, we’re considering:
– Reaching out to a tenant rights organization for guidance.
– Documenting everything and keeping records of all communications with the property management.
– Exploring the option of filing a complaint with the relevant authorities.
Please share your thoughts and insights! 🙌 Let’s help each other out during tough times like this.
Notify your property management that they are in breach of [NC GS 42-42](https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_42/gs_42-42.html). By law you are currently living in an “imminently dangerous condition”, and “several business days” is not a “reasonable period of time”. Ask them how they plan to remedy this and demand an answer. Are they planning to put you up in a hotel? Are they planning to give you access to another apartment in your complex? Are they planning to escalate with the city water department?
>Property management is saying there’s nothing they can do
Well, that’s not true.
They’re currently in violation of NCGS § 42‑42(a)(4) as well as § 42‑42(a)(8)(e)
First – when did the water get shut off? Like, what date?
Second – how did you notify the property manager? When? What date?
Third – are you in a city, or our in the county somewhere?
Fourth – when you contacted the property manager, what did they say they were going to do? What action were they going to take?
First step is to call your renter’s insurance, and see if they’ll put you up elsewhere. The building is not habitable without water.
Your property management company needs to be doing more here, and, were I you, I would threaten to report them to the Real Estate Commission. They are renting a property that is not habitable due to the actions of their client. They need to be proactive in solving this problem, and that’s more than “opening a ticket.”
Do you know why this was done? Is the landlord trying to do a self-help eviction here?
NC does not allow you to withhold rent. Your recourse here would be to sue the landlord for actual damages, which could be tripled by the court.