Rose

City: 
Fresno
Residence Type: 
detached
Landlord Type: 
Private Landlord -- No Rent Control

Hello , My husband and I are in need of some advice or legal services regarding the place we rented . We rented an apartment that is a converted garage we were charged 1st ,last & security with $100 of it nonrefundable we also pay 1/2 of utilities & trash the owners agent who lives in the house pays the other 1/2 . Well we moved in to the apartment and lived in it about 1 month when the city came and said the apartment was an illegal conversion, built without permits which we were not aware of and apparently it was not legal for the owner to rent it out . The owner told us we had 1 month to get out temporarily so he could fix the problem get it inspected so we could move back in and that very next morning workers showed up at 9:00am came in and started knocking down the walls using hammers & electric saws with us sitting in our kitchen still in our night clothes , they also cut off all electricty , gas & water and removed the toliet , shower & kitchen sink . We had no other choice but to live in the apartment in the dark with no way to cook & no bathroom for the next 2 days . The landlords agent who lives in the orignal house on this property came to us and said " the landlord wants you to move in with me for a few weeks until he gets the apartment redone & inspected ". We felt very hesitant about moving into a house with people we dont know ( there are 6 other people who live in the house ) so we stayed in the apartment 2 more nights then decided we had no other choice but to accept that offer and started sleeping in the house in a makeshift bedroom with sheets for walls & door . We were told we wouldnt have to pay anymore rent until we moved back into the apartment which ended up not being true we had to pay $550.00 to be able to sleep in the house which is more than 1/2 ofthe $950.00 rent for the house plus 1/2 utilities , we have 1 light in our room & we are not allowed to turn on the evaporated cooler even though our room gets very hot , the landlords agent removed the airconditioner that was in the apartment and installed it in her room and uses it 24/7 .Both my husband and myself are in our late 50's disabled and on social securuty and my husbands disabled brother who we care for who is also in his late 50's . Its now been about 1 month and absolutly no repairs have been started on the apartment , the stress of it all is very overwhelming we no longer have a place of our own and since our room has walls and a door made of sheets we dont get much sleep or privacy due to people coming & going at all hours & noise from the others who live in the house which is having a bad effect on me emotionally as I suffer from ptsd I also have a pacemaker and my husband was diagnosed with bone marrow disease shortly before we rented the apartment and is suffering phyiscally and mentally due to the undo stress and being isolated in this small room as we do not have free use of any other part of the house except the kitchen to cook and our 2 dogs are not allowed in the house so they are kept locked up in the now demolished apartment only allowed to go potty twice a day in the backyard where the apartment is because the landlords 2 pitbulls have free roam of yard and house . If we had been told the apartment was illegal to occupy we would have never rented it and handing over $1,600 to move into it . I hope I haven't left anything out ... if you can give us advice and or represent us on contingency basis

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