5:16 PM Wed, Nov 28, 2007 | Permalink
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A leaking ceiling... A noisy refrigerator... A running toilet. Homeowners pay for their own repairs, which can become obscenely expensive, but hey -- the fixes happen.
With renters, it's another story. It's up to the landlords to make the fixes. What happens when repairs aren't made, and the relationship heads south? You want to sue -- but how?
It turns out there are resources out there to help tenants. But I learned these past few weeks that few people know about them. And I can see why. It took me and a producer several days to collect reliable help tenants can use.
The thought of taking a landlord to court is intimidating. The better option might be mediation. It's just $50, and I'm told the Community Mediation Center in Norfolk can schedule clients right away. Their satisfaction rate is 98 percent. Check them out at www.conflictcrushers.org.
No matter what renters decide to do, the legal experts say it's crucial they still pay rent. You can always put the money into an escrow account in court. But failure to pay it could land you in trouble if the landlord sues. Then that leaky ceiling won't seem like your worst problem.
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