- Jurisdiction
- Wisconsin
Hello, esteemed members of the legal community,
I am writing to request your insights and guidance concerning a complex situation involving a commercial rental unit that we have been leasing. Our arrangement is through a landlord, who in turn is leasing the premises from a college. The maintenance for the unit is carried out by the college's maintenance team. Throughout the course of our lease, we have encountered a series of issues with both the college and the landlord, which we believe may have legal implications.
With the College:
I am writing to request your insights and guidance concerning a complex situation involving a commercial rental unit that we have been leasing. Our arrangement is through a landlord, who in turn is leasing the premises from a college. The maintenance for the unit is carried out by the college's maintenance team. Throughout the course of our lease, we have encountered a series of issues with both the college and the landlord, which we believe may have legal implications.
With the College:
- Allegations of Defamation and Harassment: We have been accused of engaging in Bitcoin mining activities (Bitcoin mining was not allowed on the premises), creating fire hazards, and contributing to noise disturbances. These accusations have been levied without any substantiated evidence or official documentation. All of this was relayed to the landlord.
- Potential Discrimination: It has come to our attention that we may be subject to discriminatory treatment. We are of Asian descent and have observed that our tenancy is uniquely burdened with issues compared to others.
- Invasion of Privacy: There have been instances of unauthorized entry into our rented unit without prior notification or consent. We have a camera in the room for evidence.
- Misrepresentation and Coercion: The landlord employed scare tactics, echoing the allegations of bitcoin mining (Bitcoin mining was not allowed on the premises), fire hazards, and noise disturbances without proper inspection or documentation, as a basis for not renewing our lease. Although an official assessment has now been scheduled, we were prematurely informed that we had committed infractions. We have email evidence of this.
- Potential Discrimination: Similar to our experience with the college, we believe that we might be facing discriminatory treatment due to our ethnicity.
- Breach of Agreement: Prior to moving in, we made a $4,000 investment towards upgrading the building based on the assurance (via email) that we would be provided with a 1-year lease. However, we were never granted this and have been maintained on a month-to-month lease instead.
- Invasion of Privacy: Similar to the college, there have been instances of the landlord entering our unit without any prior notice.