Wow, does being a renter suck.
As many of you know, we have been having continued problems with our apartment building. Tonight, after bening yelled at by our drunken building maintenence guy, I sat down and typed out this letter to our landlord, who is also his long-time signifigant other. I have previously tried leaving notes for her on her door, but he intercepts them, and acts like an asshole.

Basically, I'm posting this here in the hopes that people might be able to give me ideas as to what I might say differently. Many of the issues I'm adressing are kind of touchy, especially since I'm dealing with her lover's addiction. So yeah, if anyone can give me an idea as to how to be more diplomatic about the whole thing, or maybe have something to add (I'm a bit frazzled at the moment. I may have told you something which I have forgotten). Anyways, here's the letter.

Laura,

 

            First off I would like to thank you for your patience on the money we continue to owe on the deposit and month of back rent on our unit. The job market has been horrible as of late, and your understanding on this matter is a great comfort as we continue to labor under a single income.

            Lately, however, a number of problems have arisen which I feel need addressing. A number of repairs and basic finishing tasks have been neglected on our apartment. Light fixtures are bare, there is a hole in our living room ceiling which leads to an un-insulated attic (costing us I don’t know how much extra to keep our unit heated), the room by the fire escape has no doorknob, the door jam in one of our bedrooms is broken, and has been since we moved in, and there is still a dripping leak in the water-heating closet. In addition, the laundry room is in a state of disrepair which has caused us no end of dismay. Today the dryer failed to work at all. I deposited two dollars in quarters before I realized it was not my error causing it to fail to function.

            Nor are these the only issues. I have previously hesitated to bring up John’s continued drunkenness with you, as it seems primarily a personal issue. It is, however, an issue which affects the tenants on a very basic level. I have, on a number of occasions, been threatened by John, mostly with eviction, but once with physical violence. On all of these occasions, he has been inebriated. We are often disturbed by his volume. He plays music loud enough during the day that we cannot clearly hear our television set, even when turned up all the way. And his yelling at night, both at you and at random people in the street has made us embarrassed to have friends over to our home.

            I feel that if changes are not made, then perhaps renegotiating our rent at a lower rate is in order. I am assured that I can legally seek an injunction to this effect, but would prefer that it be negotiated out of court. Or, if truth be told, that the problems simply cease.

            I understand that as a friend, and long-time partner of John, you may feel that he deserves forbearance, but I urge you to think of him in the context of an employer. An employee who leaves vital tasks incomplete, and who harasses your clients is surely more of a detriment to you and your earnings than he can possibly be an asset. I also understand that you encourage him not to drink. He is obviously invested in his addiction, as he has taken to hiding beer in the storefront unit the two of you use for storage. He even borrowed two dollars from me recently, without telling me what it was for, and then had me drop him off at a liquor store, so he could buy more beer.

            Please understand that I bear neither of you any ill will. John, when sober, is a good person, and you’ve been nothing but wonderful. Were John to sober up, I’m sure we would have no grievances at all. Thank you again,

                       

                                                                                    Michael Burch