PLEASE help.. Lawyers or anyone with answers..

[GinaMarie]

I have a friend in Arizona who has mulitple cancers, including a couple brain tumors, and now having seizures because of brain tumors and is a single mom with a special needs child. She is living with her mom and sister who is also special needs..

They are renting a house. The landlord just went into forclosure and so my friend has to move out by Oct 1st..

My friend just got out of the hospital AGAIN Saturday and when they got home they found that the airconditioning broke in thier house.. It has been 97 degrees INSIDE the house WITH fans and all. Its been up to 113 and more I think there but I think it dropped to 103 also.

The Landlord WONT fix the air because the landlord said they have to move out by end of SEPT anyway!!

THAT is FIVE to SIX WEEKS AWAY!!!!!

ISNT that ILLEGAL to make them live in those living conditions without fixing it because the house is in forclosure?

Its illegal to leave a child or pet in a CAR in hot weather but you can leave them in a HOUSE for over a MONTH? They cant afford to go anywhere cooler or by anything like a cooler or anything..

My friend cant even afford the medication she NEEDS !!

Any advice?

[Paul from Australia]

That is a terrible situation to be in.

I do not know the answer though.

Hopefully some of the neuro buddies here (hey Deb:), will be able to give some advice.

We hope there will be a quick resolution to the problem.

Paul, Alison and Grant

[callyflower]

Suggest she contact her local news station. "Bad publicity" usually works wonders in situations like those. ;)

Bless her heart...I hope she can get some cool air SOON.

[Carly'sMa]

She needs to go into housing court and ask for help there. This is a Landlord/Tenant issue and the landlord cannot ignore his responsibilities under the lease.

Can they fix the AC (I'm sure money must be tight) - that could be set off as a repair against future rent. But, that's a counterclaim that has to be brought in the housing court.

I don't know the housing law in your state. They should also call the local bar association and see if they can get an attorney to handle the case pro bono ( free of charge). Some of the courts have "lawyer for the day" program where there is a lawyer available to answer questions and help people handling their own cases.

[RathyKay]

(((Hugs))) for your friend. Legal advice is waaay out of my league. I did want to throw out that the public library is a nice, free, air-conditioned place to kill lots of time.

[wheeliebird]

Gina, I agree with callyflower, contact the media, any publicity maybe will shame the landlord into fixing it!! I will keep your friend in my Prayers!!! Your a great friend, she's lucky to have you in her corner!!!

[CanRelate]

You've been given good advice about Housing Court.

If they are on a signed lease, and the lease term is not yet expired, foreclosure or not, they have rights.

For the health hazzard (heat) call the health/safety inspectors for the area where they live....if should be listed under the city/town government.

Even if they are not subsidized tenants, the local housing authority (look for the info at www.hud.gov) should have some basic tenant/landlord info.....and eviction issues are usually part of the info they have or can direct you to...

Even if tenants are month to month, there is an eviction process that could buy them more time. THe landlord cannot just come in and lock them out or remove stuff without going through the process and appropriate written notice, etc.

Hope this is resulved happily....

You need to get local advice from appropriate sources....

CR

[lacyndarella]

This might be of some help. I don't believe the Landlord can evict them because of the foreclosure. The new owner (ie the bank) may be able to...but not due to the foreclosure...here's the site:

http://www.arizonatenants.com/rollercoaster.htm

[lacyndarella]

Oh the site also provides contact info for AZ Tenants Advocates and Association. They should certainly be able to help point your friend in the right direction.