WILMINGTON, Ohio — A Wilmington man said his trailer home is falling apart with mold, rats and termite damage, and claims his landlord has ignored needed repairs for years.
Robert Jones has lived in his Sunshine Apartments trailer home for 11 years. He said the problems have escalated over the past few months, with floors collapsing due to missing floor joists and walls opening up.
"Now you can see the dirt," Jones said. "This all started happening within the last few months."
Jones told us he waited three years for his landlord to fix his water heater. When that was repaired, he said new problems emerged. He told us he discovered extensive termite damage near the water heater, and the skid under it was on the ground.
"The only thing they have back here is a pole, about this big, and if you poke it, it falls apart. It is eaten up with termites," Jones said.
WATCH: Wilmington man says his trailer home has mold, rats, and termite damage after landlord ignored repairs for years. Legal expert weighs in
Frustrated with the lack of response, Jones said he stopped paying rent to Sunshine Apartments and put that money in an escrow account, which is his legal right as a tenant under Ohio law. He's been doing so for three months now.
"(Jones's landlord) came out about two weeks after I put the rent into escrow, fixed it," Jones said. "About four days later, is when the ceiling fell in and all the termite damage."
Jones told us he now has hot water, but the trailer is infested with mold that's causing health issues for him and his dogs. He said rats are eating through the walls and his personal belongings.
We reached out to Jones's landlord, Adam Tissander, to ask when the problems would be fixed. Tissander claimed he wasn't aware of the issues and said if they didn't "work this out," then "Robert would need to find a new place to live."
Legal Aid attorney Nick Dinardo told us that landlords are required to maintain basic standards when renting properties.
"In this case, this mobile home clearly does not even meet minimum standards," Dinardo said.
After we called Tissander, Jones said the landlord put a termination of tenancy notice on his door.
"That's illegal under Ohio law. Landlords are not allowed to retaliate against tenants who complain about repairs," Dinardo said.
Despite Jones's lease stating the tenant is accepting the trailer "as is," Dinardo said the landlord is still at fault for not maintaining basic living standards.
Jones told us he would move out, but he's on a fixed income and feels fighting back is his only solution.
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"I don't make enough money. I only make $1,087 a month, and rent around here for a one-bedroom, no animals, is like $1,200," Jones said. "I can't afford anything. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my therapy dogs."
Jones told us he has been in contact with legal aid for months now. He said he'll continue to escrow his rent until the repairs are made.
Dinardo said tenants have several legal options when landlords fail to make repairs. They can ask the court to terminate any lease that's in place, though Jones has a month-to-month tenancy with no formal lease to terminate.
"The tenant can ask the court to order the landlord to make repairs, and then if the landlord doesn't make those repairs, and they may be in contempt of the court's order," Dinardo said.
Tenants can also request funds from escrow to pay for repairs themselves.
"They're not legally required to do that, but that is an option they have if they want to have a contractor come in and fix that roof or whatever else, using those funds in escrow," Dinardo said.
Another option is filing a claim for damages, known as rent abatement, according to Dinardo.
"If you have major termite damage and a leaking ceiling or leaking roof in the apartment, or mobile home, it is not worth the same amount of money as what you're paying for rent," Dinardo said.
If tenants decide to vacate or stay, they can ask for some or all of the rent in escrow to be released to cover the loss of value in their home where the landlord isn't making repairs.
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