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View Full Version : possible damage-induced eviction?


cactus jack
06-27-2005, 03:41 AM
Colorado.

A little while back I was walking along the back of my rental unit, and I found (by accident) a hole that's approximately 3 to 3 1/2 feet deep (could be deeper) and about 9-12" inches in diameter. It was not dug by human or animals means. It's along the sewer line and from my experienece in plumbing it lookslike there's a leakage in the sewer line though no odor is detectable yet. It's within mere inches of the back wall to the cottage I'm renting, and that's the wall to my bathroom.

My concern here is if the sewer line is leaking enough to cause the ground to drop away like that, with the measurements provided, the subsurface damage is much worse. The cottage's structural integrity is now at risk. This means that IF they fix it, I have to move out. Except I don't have the money to move elsewhere.

The landlord is aware of the problem. He was notified of it the day I found it.

I'm concerned with what may happen here. When I moved here the landlord's wife openly lied to me about the place. I would not put it past either of them to expect me to cover my own relocation costs so they can perform the repairs. And if that is done, I am doubtful about being allowed to return. IOW an outright eviciton. Maybe I havn't worded it like I should, hopefully you get the gist of it.

What am I looking at here? What are my rights? I have looked in the CO state laws but can't find anything covering this. I'm thinking I must have missed it somewhere.

elklaw
07-13-2005, 10:00 AM
You may be panicking too much. The owners may not be planning to do work until your lease is completed, so they do not have to have you move. And if your lease allows for your lease to be terminated with certain notice provisions, the owners may do that to give you time to find somewhere else to move to and to avoide having to evict you.
In a situation like this, things take time to get really bad, so you may be able to finish out your lease without incident, then move somewhere else.

cactus jack
07-15-2005, 09:34 PM
Thank you elklaw. Sadly, this is the cheapest place in town. I can't afford anything else. So when I have to move, <sigh>

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