Renters: Know Your Rights!
What do you do when you and your landlord get into an argument over your living situation? A Little Rock woman says she is learning the hard way, after her landlord gave her 10 days to move out. Many states have laws that offer extra protection for the tenant when it comes to relationships with landlords. But in Arkansas, renters have to look out for themselves.“I moved here because I thought this would be a home and my child would have a yard," says Sara Jamison.Nine months later she is moving out, but not by her choice."You could see where the wood and light fixture were hanging down and leaves and things from the house. A couple of pieces fell on me and my child."Each week she discovered a new problem. This time with the maintenance man hired by her landlord."He drilled a hole in the kitchen floor because he couldn't figure out where the holes went for my washer and dryer and that caused something to bubble up on the floor."The problems continued."There were several panes all around the house where the windows were broken. When I told him that he just told me to tape them up. He didn't take me seriously until I had to call code enforcement," she said.So the city came and found 9 serious violations. Code enforcers gave the landlord 30 days to fix it. He did, but then Jamison says he gave her 10 days to get out.So what rights do you have as a renter? Experts say your power is in your lease. Know what you're signing before you reach the dotted line."Tenants need to stand up for themselves and get into the lease those items that they deem to be important," says Deputy Attorney General Jim DePriest. That includes repairs. He says under Arkansas law, if the lease doesn't specify the landowner will make repairs, he doesn't have to unless code enforcers issue violations. "If a landlord is unwilling to do that, that is a sign to you that you may have trouble with this landlord in the future," DePriest points out."I thought he would at least work with me because since I been here, I had paid my rent up by 6 months. I've always been on time. Never caused any trouble," Jamison said.This month she decided to hold off paying rent until the landlord fixed those problems. One day after the city noticed the landlord resolved those 9 safety concerns, the property manager gave Jamison an eviction notice. The property manager confirmed that he gave Jamison 10 days to vacate, but he says he wishes her well.
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