So, I live in this house that is incredibly nasty.
It. is. SO. Gross.
Let me give you a little background on this house:
It is a pretty old house. It is apparent that the people who tried to fix it up did a sloppy, quick fix. (the molding in the shower is almost gone, the wooden floors are completely thrashed, the shelves are falling off, the counters are no longer touching the walls (does that make sense?) and so on and so on.) The landlords live in California, so they are unable to swing by for any maintenance checkups. The only time they fix things is when there are big problems, such as mold, dead heater, etc. The house holds 6 girls - 2 shared rooms, 2 private. The shared rooms are $265 per occupant, and the private are $325 & $345 per occupant. So in all the landlords are making $1730 a month! What's worse, the contracts are year round so the rent does not change for Spring/Summer terms, which make it impossible to sell for the Summer. Around here in Provo during the Spring/Summer, private rooms in nice houses run about $150/month or so! So the tenants are stuck paying a horrible rate during the Spring/Summer for a poorly maintained house!
On top of that, the house smells HORRIBLE. All the time. I seriously and literally gag when I have to walk through or around the kitchen (which is where the horrid smell is coming from, to make matters worse). Luckily, I do not store food, prepare food, or eat food at my own house. The Nevin's have been gracious enough to let me steal their food for the past couple months, but that is a whole other story. We also are not required to do cleaning checks ever (only when we are checking out - ergo, nobody is forced to clean, so nobody ever cleans!).
And here is another thing: I am a good tenant. I am a good roommate.
Exhibit A: I always pay my rent on time. Never ever has it been late!
Exhibit B: I do the dishes sometimes. I shouldn't even have to, because I never use the dishes. But I do wash them sometimes. You know, when I'm feeling generous, or just super grossed out by the mess!
Exhibit C: I have never been the cause of any type of concern. No physical damage. No honor code violations. ~ I am never even in the house, really (except to sleep and shower).
So, I have had it. I am so fed up. I cannot and will not deal with this any longer. I wrote my landlords an email today giving them a few options:
A. Lower my rent to $100/month. I told them I would be willing to pay this through August even though I will be moving out in July.
B. Release my contract. I told them I would have no trouble finding another place that was more reasonably priced.
If neither of these option were satisfactory enough, I would resort to plan C.
C. I will go to BYU Off-Campus housing and schedule an inspection. BYU has very specific instructions for a house to be considered "BYU approved." I'm so sure this house would not pass an inspection as BYU livable! In which case, BYU would grant all of the occupants a release from their contract.
And now I impatiently await their reply.
Don't worry, I'll let you know how it all works out!
