With no provisions in the lease regarding fallen trees, is the landlord is responsible for the tree removal at his cost?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
With no provisions in the lease regarding fallen trees, is the landlord is responsible for the tree removal at his cost?
There are no provisions in my lease stating anything about fallen trees/tree debris being my responsibility but my landlord refuses to remove the tree and has not fixed the damaged house after 6 weeks of my requests verbally and in writing. He states the tree falling was “an act of God” and that my lease says I am responsible for yard work. This is clearly not yard work. What can I do to get him to remove it and fix the damage?
Asked on August 30, 2011 Georgia
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You are wise to have read the written lease that you have for the unit you are renting in that its terms control the obligations that you owe the landlord and vice versa in the absent of conflicting state law. Under the laws of each state in this country, a landlord is obligated to provide safe and habitable living conditions for his or her tenant.
The debris that you have described in your question's facts does not fall under the normally accepted definition of "yard work" in this country. "Yard work" is essentially the maintenance of exisiting outside vegetation. What you have described is significant clean up and remedying of storm damage where fallen trees and limbs need to be removed at significant expense of time and costs.
From what you have described, it is the landlord's obligation to clean up the mess on his rental property at his cost. You should write the landord a letter advisng him that he or she needs to clean up the mess by a certain date. If not, you will do so and deduct the costs from the next rent check in that its presence is a health and safety hazard.
Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.