I began renting from Mr. McCafferty in August. When I looked at the house it was older and needed some obvious minor repairs, but nothing drastic. Mr. McCafferty assured me at that time that if I moved in he would have everything taken care of within a week. He called about doing the repairs 5 months later.By that point in time I had alredy done them.
In the fall the maint. Man came to turn my furnace on and said that he had to call Kim because there was a red tag on it from the gas company. Kim never even looked at the furnace or the tag, he just told him to go ahead and turn it on. This May (at which point I was 5 1/2 months pregnant) the gas company came out to check the furnace and told me that they had shut it off because it had no ventilation to the outside of the building. That meant that I had been breathing in fumes and exaust and CARBON MONOXIDE all winter long. I had been to my doctor several times for fatigue, headaches and light-headedness but he could never find anything wrong. After I got pregnant I assumed that these symptoms were due to pregnancy. They were really due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
When I found all of this out I wrote Mr. McCafferty a letter telling him that I was moving out and giving him 30 days notice and why I was moving out. I included a copy of the letter from the gas company stating that the furnace was unsafe. His response was to tell me that I could "get a life" if I thought that I was getting my security deposit back and that if I persued the matter any farther he would evict me.
I called the gas company, Legal Aid, the Health Department, the sheriff's department, the fire department, and several other places and offices about the situation. I have been taking the right steps to document any and everything that is wrong with the house.in addition to the furnace there are stray cats in the basement, a soft spot in the floor where it is rotting, wiring pushing through the plaster, exposed wiring, and cracks in the ceiling.
When I went to pay my last month's rent to Mr. McCafferty he refused to take it even though I was within the grace period he had stated in his lease. He said "I don't care what you tell people about me, you're evicted". When I came home from work that day there was a notice on my door stating that I had to be out in 4 days or he would persue a legal eviction.
I am currently working with a lawyer because this is not a legal eviction. My lawyer has assured me that he doesn't have a leg to stand on in court and that we can countersue him for the damages that have been done to myself and my son (even though he hasn't been born yet). I really don't want to sue anyone, I just want everyone to know what type of person this man is and what type of housing he offers.
Sara
Pleasantville, Ohio
U.S.A.
0 comments