THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505040273
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Landlords & Tenants
SOURCE: Albert Teich Jr.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
After reading your column about the tenant who had a problem with a stove that the landlord refused to repair or replace, I thought I would write and ask advice about something that my daughter's friend is having a problem with and whose landlord does not think it's a problem.
The young man shares a small apartment with another student and they live on the same property as the landlord's family, just a block from Old Dominion University.
The small refrigerator does not work properly because all the food either freezes or is warm and the freezer unit does not work at all.
They moved in this summer and have repeatedly complained. They would like to keep ice cream, pizzas, etc., on hand.
I suggested that they may want to try calling to find out if Norfolk has a city inspector of rental property who would come out and look at the appliance, or that they buy a few pizzas, hamburgers, etc., and ask the landlord to store the food in his refrigerator.
They are paying $475 per month for this apartment above a garage. I do not know if the owners have other property that they rent out. This could probably be solved by calling a repairman. Do you have any other suggestions?
Probably one of the best things your daughter's friend can do is exactly as you suggested, that is, when they want to store food, ask the landlord to store it in his freezer.
There is no doubt in my mind that the landlord, when renting the apartment with a refrigerator, has a contractual obligation to keep it in good working order.
If the landlord refuses to repair it after the tenant has notified him of the need to do so, the tenant would be justified in giving the landlord one further notice and state that if the landlord does not repair it within one week, the tenant will have it repaired and deduct the bill from the rent.
I am sure that, looking at the amount of rent charged and the location, the young man does not want to move out of the premises because nice housing near ODU is often hard to come by.
After considering the above suggestion, I would state that your daughter's friend could decide to terminate his lease and move out at the end of the lease period.
In this case, I really think the best thing to do is for the young man to take a copy of this article to the landlord and state that there is a problem with the refrigerator not working, they cannot store frozen food, the refrigerator needs to be repaired or a new refrigerator installed.
Maybe a good heart-to-heart talk will solve the problem. MEMO: Albert Teich Jr. is a real estate lawyer based in Norfolk. Send
comments and questions to him at Real Estate Weekly, 150 W. Brambleton
Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. by CNB