Rent into an escrow account

Our landlord has been promising to replace the roof for 9 months now... Every month it is some new excuse!!! The leaks are really bad in the house and we have all been sick from the mold that is growing up there... I asked on here a few months back about what I can do and numerous people told me I can put the rent into an escrow account.. That is what we are doing for next month. How do I tell my landlord I am doing that? Do I give him a little notice or just wait until he contacts me that he is coming to get it? My husband is afraid that he won't renew the lease now... If I don't do something, we are never going to get a roof. It has been severely damaged for over 2 years now and he lied to us from day one about it!!

Re: Rent into an escrow account

Just be up front and let him know you are holding onto the rent and put into writing the reasons why.


A friend of mine did this with a Fairfield Properties apartment for several months and actually didn't end up having to pay the rent she witheld from them. ETA: She eventually had to go to court to get them to do the work required.

Although frankly, I would want to move at the end of the lease if this is the kind of LL he is.

Message edited 7/28/2012 7:32:51 AM.

Re: Rent into an escrow account

Re: Rent into an escrow account

Anyone else?

Rent into an escrow account

You need to send him a letter certified mail, return receipt, describing the issues and give a time frame for it to be fixed (reasonable, like 30 days) or that you will begin to withhold rent or pay for repairs and deduct from the rent

I wouldn't attempt this until you have a good paper trail set up. I would also contact the building inspector/health department to get it all documented if there is mold, other health issues.

Here is the link for the NYS AG's Tenant Rights Guide
http://www.ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/Tenant_Rights_2011.pdf

Message edited 7/29/2012 9:14:03 AM.

Re: Rent into an escrow account