slumlords & lawyers

-- or some anecdotal evidence why u.s. residents might sue more often than germans

no reaction to letters, getting charged $20 for a blind that at wal-mart costs half, and janitors that can’t repair a water heater. renting in athens is contrary to renting in leipzig, germany: the landlords – students often refer to them as slumlords – try to squeeze every dollar out of tenants while providing little in return.

during my roughly two years in athens, i lived in two apartments in the university commons, and in one in mill street village.

while at commons we had a leaking ceiling, that got never repaired, a broken water heater that got never repaired, a stolen towel, and stolen money when our security deposits [kaution] were not completely returned.

the broken water heater resulted in a race for the shower in the morning because only the first ten minutes the water would stay warm. with four more room mates not so much fun.
the broken ceiling gave us our personal rain drizzle in the hallway, something that got never resolved until we left. the helpless janitors kept putting in new ceiling tiles to just have them soak and break again.

beware of leaving a towel on your balcony without watching it for it will disappear our towel was salmon pink, had a name stitched on it, and was left to dry on the banister of the balcony. when it was gone after a few hours we thought random people took it. but my favorite american spotted the towel in the wiping bucket as when one of the janitors tried to fix the heater one more time, in vain. we should have filed for petty theft. instead we just took it back, grey and abused, to make our lives easier.

when my security deposit did not come back completely on unreasonable grounds and the security deposit of my favorite american didn’t show up as well, we had enough. we went to our $8 lawyer. every ohio university student automatically has access to a lawyer upon paying $8 per quarter. you can opt out but it is one of the best investments i made in athens. the $8 magic worked and we both got our security deposits back, completely.

the landlord claims you left trash, you did not replace pots or pans if they are provided or other items of the cheapest kitchenware that can be bought at wal-mart. they charge for cleaning although you left the place as sparkling as it probably ever was. in addition, the prices charged by the landlord are always rounded and have no foundation.

luckily we took videos and pictures of every place when we moved in and when we moved out. this and consulting a lawyer seemed to be the only recourse for us when dealing with landlords in athens. unfortunately at least three of our room mates who had the same problem didn't seek legal advice or were out of the country to do so. a perfect opportunity for the landlords to skim dollars of each student, especially international ones.

back in the golden german days when i lived in three different apartments during my roughly five years in leipzig, i barely needed repairs in any of them and i got all my security deposits back completely. in only one case it took longer than the usual grace period of six months because of an overwhelmed landlord or misunderstanding and my lack of not being able to deal with the case from overseas more rapidly. in any case i had never consulted a lawyer before. landlords and their helpers where something distant, something not in your life.

not so in athens.

it is common for the landlords or their assistants to access your apartment when they please. they throw a sheet into your door with a required 24 hour notice but if you are not at home or traveling, they come anyway. once during winter break when we were gone for christmas someone entered the apartment and turned the heater up. our utility bill was no pleasant sight for that month.

once again we moved out recently.

we are charged $5 each for three drip pans [blechschalen unter den heizschlangen des elekroherds] that had minor rusty stains after four years in the apartment, normal wear and tear, and $20 for a blind that at wal-mart costs half that price.

but oh no, the blinds in the apartment were custom-made, that is, with a slit in the middle to fit with a nonsensical fixture on the window frame. the window frame features two latches in the middle so that whenever you lower the blind you run the risk of breaking one of its cheap plastic horizontal stripes. if that happens, you can’t replace them because they need to be custom-made (i.e. cutting a slit in the middle with a knife) for a fantasy price.

it seems another appointment with our favorite lawyer is in order.