Sunday, October 2, 2011

Weatherization Program


I found out on a tenants rights site that it is illegal for a landlord to deny your tenant weatherization.  This would explain the silent treatment I got this spring when I informed my landlord that I was awarded a full weatherization grant.  They would probably have replaced the furnace, the water heater, and blown insulation into the house increasing the value of the house in addition to making winter heating bills more affordable.  It is also illegal to try to drive your tenant out by having the water turned off.  It is also unlawful to harass a tenant by showing up without 24 hour notice and threatening eviction for complaining about the problems.  Besides the flooding, faulty wiring, and the construction debris left in the heat ducts, my landlord opted out of the weatherization program.  This was all retaliatory and very provable in court.  If she doesn't take me to court this month, I will be forced to have someone come in and clean out the heat ducts so that I won't be breathing the construction dust when I turn the furnace on.  I won't be leaving until we go to court and I can recover the money I have lost by rewiring, rekeying and replacing the locks and paying her water bill from 2009.  It looks like if she doesn't pay her taxes from 2010 that the house will belong to the Franklin County and be sold for the back taxes.  Pity that she wouldn't approve the weatherization, and make her mothers birthplace something of value instead of an energy sieve.  This house has lost almost half it's value in this housing crisis.  The weatherization would have brought up the value, and possibly corrected the mistakes that her inexperienced work crew made.  I will do what I can to weatherize, with my own two hands and perhaps some donations from freecycle.  I have put in a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau and written to The City Attorney's office.  They have advised me to seek legal council and file a lawsuit.  My landlord refuses to return my attorney's phone calls.

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