On behalf of Law Office of Paul Mankin posted in blog on Tuesday, January 16, 2018.

Many landlords treat their tenants fairly, and many tenants follow the terms of their rental contracts. Sometimes, though, there are situations where landlords fall down miserably on their duties. Their negligence may even leave an apartment or house uninhabitable with a lack of heat, an infestation of bedbugs or cockroaches, or a leaky roof, to name just a few examples.

Often, multiple problems occur at the same time. The thing is that, in some situations, these problems may have started with just one single issue. Here is a look at why it is critical for tenants to take action as soon as possible even if they think they are dealing with just one relatively easy problem.

Good landlords tend to stand up in all areas

Quality landlords tend to be good across the board. That is, if they care about your roof leaking, they also care about holes in the windows and bedbug problems. So, if you encounter a landlord who keeps saying he or she is aware of your issue and is looking into solving it but time drags on … and on … then you may have a landlord who does not care about your needs and about the law. Meanwhile, your issue has gotten worse. What happens when other problems pop up, as they almost inevitably will? More landlord ignorance, most likely.

It could be that your landlord has been attentive in the past or your relationship is goodand you want to give him or her a chance to remedy your situation even if it has been too long. Just remember that quality landlords really do take care of you in all areas. It takes just one area of neglect for a landlord to lose credibility. When inaction happens, the original problems worsen and lead to new problems in a sort of domino effect. It might not be long before you are at a point where your apartment is unsafe to live in.