closed #150123
Unsafe Buildings
- Case Date:
- 1/8/2016
A few months ago, my 5yr old son and I moved into a house located at 620 West 15th Street in Bloomington, Indiana. The landlord Michael Stone stayed he was in the process of remodeling and investing in the House. It has been apprx four months now and the trash and other hazardous gas/propane has been growing more and more outside the house, behind the house, and along side of the garage {which not only making the house look filthy but also has brought all kinds of bugs inside and out of the house and HUGE living critters such as possums, raccoons, and mice living right under our deck that wraps around a majority of the house. These critters are not only HUGE in size but they also fight with my outdoor cats and are fearless of humans and scare my company and children. I have brought the critters and the bug problem to my landlords attention on numerous times and he is very aware of such issues but refuses to do anything other than continue to add to thee trash and thee rubbish outside of the house. Further more, I have just recently moved into the basement part of the house where the landlord had converted it into a two bedroom/one half bath for more space for me and my children. When I moved down to the basement, the landlord claimed he was in the process of laying carpet down and adding a drop ceiling, however I did not realize how bad of shape the basement truly was in when me and my kids moved from the upstairs bedroom to the basement "apartment". I have been renting in the basement part of the house now for appxly three months now and the landlord has not fixed anything as he stated he would when I moved down there. {example: the whole furnace and water heater is exposed with wires of all sort and kinds, there are several different outlets, wires, pipes, and vents that are outdated and exposed with no covers or any type of coated insulation. Only part of the basement has a drop ceiling that covers small portions of wires, pipes, and light fixtures {most of which area is falling in and a portion of the drop ceiling has actually fallen in on top of my five yr old son } I have brought all of these violations and improper safety issues to the landlord on numerous times since moving in and the landlord continues to ignore any/all of the issues and concerns I have brought to his attention. I wish I could find another place to live but I am disabled and have a very limited income and can not find anything in our price range at the current moment. In December, things were really tight with the Holidays and all and I had to go to thee Trustees office for rental assistance that month; Although, I received a letter from the Trustees office stating they could not help me due to a number or reasons concerning the Landlord and something to do with the HANDS inspection people. I spoke with my landlord in person and showed him thee Letter from the Trustees office and I wanted an explanation and if the landlord had any knowledge of why the Trustees office stated the written reasons why they could not assist with this particular location.. At first, the landlord denied any wrong doing and then he finally admitted to me and my father that he was NOT a licensed Landlord and HANDS (code enforcement or whoever inspects rentals) did NOT in fact, inspect the basement in which he has been renting out to me. The Landlord also stated to me and my father that the upstairs rooms that he has been renting out was supposedly approved by HANDS as only a "one family" house and only adults were approved to live up there (yet he had my kids and I living in one room for a few months before moving us down to the basement) According to the landlord, supposedly only one family house to be rented out only consist of three adults. The landlord was renting out to Me, my kids, and another room mate; all at the same time that the landlord, his girlfriend, and the girlfriends' two children were also using the same bathroom, shower, kitchen, laundry washer/dryer, and the entire house at the same time that the landlord was also renting the upstairs and basement out. NOTE: I have pictures, videos, written complaints, and the landlords' verbal acknowledgment recorded of his scandal and neglectful ways with this house he has been renting out. I am hoping to find a new place to live soon but in the mean time, these are just a few things that this slum lord has done and continuous to do.