Property rental advice Ft Collins CO.

[crustychief]

My daughter-in-law called today and asked me for advice with regards to her apartment. Apparently the windows leak and have been leaking since they moved in. The garbage disposal quit shortly after they moved in. The sliding glass door leaks rainwater under the threshold into the carpet. The kitchen sink leaks from somewhere underneath ( not the disposal) and the dishwasher quit a couple of days ago.
She has called the leasing office and scheduled maintenance to fix the problems but they blow her off or come out and tell her there is no problem. There is a lot more going on but I was wondering if there was an expert on Co. law regarding early termination of leases. BTW she is washing dishes in the bathtub my Grandson uses.
Thanks in advance for any help. If you can help PM me, I will give you my phone number for the rest of the story. Regards,
Sandy

[Jrboulder]

Colorado Tenant Rights to Withhold Rent | Nolo.com

[911boost]

I am out of town for work until Thursday night late, but I will pm you my contact details.

Bill

[saxen]

who is the property management company?

[Nickshu]

Chief, I'm not an attorney but I do live in Fort Collins. If I can help in any way let me know. Always happy to help a fellow Pelican and fellow Navy alum.

[crustychief]

Not sure of the company, I asked her to email me a copy of the lease. I have a couple of people stepping up to help so far I will contact them tomorrow morning. My son has been in the field the last couple of weeks so it is just her trying to handle the problems and she is a little overwhelmed at this point.

[crustychief]

The company is Griffis Blessing. It looks like they have a history on BBB. I still have not received a copy of the lease from my DIL. I have a feeling the leasing office is empowered by the fact my DIL is a 19 year old out in the world with no previous experience.

[crustychief]

Nick, I sent you a P.M.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by crustychief

The company is Griffis Blessing. It looks like they have a history on BBB. I still have not received a copy of the lease from my DIL. I have a feeling the leasing office is empowered by the fact my DIL is a 19 year old out in the world with no previous experience.

I'd bet on it, Sandy.

Shouldn't the Army have some sort of Ombudsman in the area to help young folks like you DIL? Even though FT Carson is pretty far away, you'd think they have outreach.

In any event, I wish I was close enough to help...like many here I followed your son and his wife's tale with great pride in their willingness to make a go of life.

[crustychief]

Thanks Paul, I talked to her about using Matthews chain of command, unfortunately, I am really behind the power curve as to how the Army works. I had an incident where one of my junior sailors was in a similar situation. I went to his apartment with him and verified what was going on. I got with the PNC and drew up a set of dummy orders and hand walked them to the Skipper who signed them without question so he could get out of his lease. I am not sure the same thing could be done with Matthew and Ashley but they do have the military clause.

[Rot 911]

I'm an attorney, but not one in Colorado. But I do have some familiarity. She needs to give proper notice of uninhabitability. First off, here is the applicable statute:

C.R.S. 38-12-507



COLORADO REVISED STATUTES


*** This document reflects changes current through all laws passed at the Second Regular Session
of the Sixty-Ninth General Assembly of the State of Colorado (2014) ***


TITLE 38. PROPERTY - REAL AND PERSONAL
TENANTS AND LANDLORDS
ARTICLE 12.TENANTS AND LANDLORDS
PART 5. OBLIGATION TO MAINTAIN RESIDENTIAL PREMISES - UNLAWFUL REMOVAL


C.R.S. 38-12-507 (2014)

38-12-507. Breach of warranty of habitability - tenant's remedies



(1) If there is a breach of the warranty of habitability as set forth in section 38-12-503 (2), the following provisions shall apply:

(a) Upon no less than ten and no more than thirty days written notice to the landlord specifying the condition alleged to breach the warranty of habitability and giving the landlord five business days from the receipt of the written notice to remedy the breach, a tenant may terminate the rental agreement by surrendering possession of the dwelling unit. If the breach is remediable by repairs, the payment of damages, or otherwise and the landlord adequately remedies the breach within five business days of receipt of the notice, the rental agreement shall not terminate by reason of the breach.

(b) A tenant may obtain injunctive relief for breach of the warranty of habitability in any court of competent jurisdiction. In any proceeding for injunctive relief, the court shall determine actual damages for a breach of the warranty at the time the court orders the injunctive relief. A landlord shall not be subject to any court order for injunctive relief if the landlord tenders the actual damages to the court within two business days of the order. Upon application by the tenant, the court shall immediately release to the tenant the damages paid by the landlord. If the tenant vacates the leased premises, the landlord shall not be permitted to rent the premises again until such time as the unit would be in compliance with the warranty of habitability set forth in section 38-12-503 (1).

(c) In an action for possession based upon nonpayment of rent in which the tenant asserts a defense to possession based upon the landlord's alleged breach of the warranty of habitability, upon the filing of the tenant's answer the court shall order the tenant to pay into the registry of the court all or part of the rent accrued after due consideration of expenses already incurred by the tenant based upon the landlord's breach of the warranty of habitability.

(d) Whether asserted as a claim or counterclaim, a tenant may recover damages directly arising from a breach of the warranty of habitability, which may include, but are not limited to, any reduction in the fair rental value of the dwelling unit, in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(2) If a rental agreement contains a provision for either party in an action related to the rental agreement to obtain attorney fees and costs, then the prevailing party in any action brought under this part 5 shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs.



Now here is a link for the forms she has to fill out and give to the landlord. This from a Boulder website, but they work statewide. They are fairly self explanatory. https://www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/vmg-warranty-of-habitability-handout-2-1-201310221619.pdf

[crustychief]

Wow, Thank you Kurt!

[crustychief]

Time for a quick update. Ashley studied up on the information I sent her, Some of it was provided by you guys. She went to the office and used all the key phrases from the legal stuff, showed them the form that Kurt sent. As she was leaving the office she saw the handyman and asked him to look at her apartment, he did and fixed most of the discrepancies on the spot! Thank you everyone for your time and effort, Ashley and I really appreciate it. Regards,
Sandy

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by crustychief

Thank you everyone for your time and effort, Ashley and I really appreciate it.

Cute grandson!

Ashley seems to be taking on the responsibilities of being a military spouse well...it isn't easy but she is headed in the right direction!

[Rikao4]

what Hawk said..
Chief...you need to tell her she did good..
as should your son..
as a military spouse she will have to learn to 'make the call'.
as he's not here or available..
this sort of stuff breaks or makes military marriages..
my Lady was her long ago...
these days I turn her loose on the twit's for grins..

Rika

[Rot 911]

Glad it all worked out!

[mikester]

Great job guys!