Landlord advice

[AZSpeechCoach]

Last November/December, my wife and had to vacate our apartment for three days because of a blockage in the sewer pipe that sent sewage into our bathtub and required three days worth of work to clear the pipes. The rest of our building wound up flooding out. At the time, the then-apartment manager said to have my insurance company take care of the tab, but I have a $500 deductible and the hotel bill was $174. This month, with the hot water being off for days at a time, I researched our state Tenant Act, and realized that we should have been able to take the hotel off of our rent. So, my wife and I take the documentation, receipts, and pictures to the office, with the intention of taking it off of the rent. The current assistant manager said that she would have to check with the company. I get the sense that it will be "denied." What other recourse do I have? I get the sense that they will say that since "they started to fix it within 24 hours," that they are off the hook for the apartment being uninhabitable for three days. That is what they are saying about the hot water..that the repair may take three days, but since they are working on it, they aren't responsible for anyone having to vacate.

What can I do??? We are looking for a house, and have until July on our current lease. I don't want to move right now (too damn busy until mid-April at the least).
:confused:

[cthomer5000]

kill him.

[timmae]

I would send a letter along with a partial rent check. Just deduct the amount from your normal rent. If they want to pursue it further they will have to go through the correct channels and you will likely be gone before they could terminate your lease. A friend who had 55-60 rental units often had to wait up to 6 motths before he could 'legally' get rid of a tenant. If you don't want to be too much of a renegade just contact a lawyer. Most will probably send out a letter pro-bono hoping if you have a real lawsuit you will send the business their way.

[McSweeny]

But we can, you know we can
Let's lynch the landlord
Let's lynch the landlord
Let's lynch the landlord man