House floods every time it rains, for the past two years

[StacyRichter09]

Jurisdiction

Texas

So when my roommates and I moved into this house two years ago in April it rained the day we planned to move and the house flooded. When we called the landlord over she showed us this incredibly small and basically useless sub-pump that needs to be turned on every time there is rain, to keep it from flooding the house. That seemed odd at the time, but we figured it was part of being in an older house. After a year of random rainfall and constant flooding in the house the landlord started trying to 'fix' the problem for good... Turns out that just meant having us be home every time she sent people out to basically inspect the area, then leave never to return again.. Fast forward to a couple of months ago after a bunch of rainfall and even more flooding she had us clean the entire yard in order for a concrete slab to be poured in an attempt to fix this flooding issue... well, they never came. in fact the only people who did show up were herself, her husband and her mother... they just looked around then told us to keep the gutter clear..
Anyways, what can we do? I was told by some coworkers of mine that also rent out housing that we could have her pay us our money back since the conditions are unlivable. Is this true, if not what are our options?

Thank you for your time,
Stacy

 

[adjusterjack]

Anyways, what can we do?

Relocate at the next available opportunity.

Can't imagine why you've stayed in the place this long.

I was told by some coworkers of mine that also rent out housing that we could have her pay us our money back since the conditions are unlivable. Is this true, if not what are our options?

No, it isn't true. You were able to live in the house before and after the water was cleaned up. So, what did you lose? A day or two each time? Not even that if you spent the nights during cleanup. Besides, when stuff like that happens you have to address it WHEN it happens, otherwise you waive any rights to a remedy by waiting a year or two.

 

[StacyRichter09]

Relocate at the next available opportunity.

Can't imagine why you've stayed in the place this long.



No, it isn't true. You were able to live in the house before and after the water was cleaned up. So, what did you lose? A day or two each time? Not even that if you spent the nights during cleanup. Besides, when stuff like that happens you have to address it WHEN it happens, otherwise you waive any rights to a remedy by waiting a year or two.

... We have called her every single time it floods, all she does is bring over a shopvac, so we HAVE addressed it WHEN it happens... We did not wait a year or two to do anything. Everytime she trys to send someone out, usually herself or her husband, I have only seen two other people that I assume arent related to her. i do not understand how she can not be responsible for anything

 

[adjusterjack]

... We have called her every single time it floods, all she does is bring over a shopvac, so we HAVE addressed it WHEN it happens... We did not wait a year or two to do anything.

You missed my point. Now, after two years you are asking about compensation. That's what you should have been addressing each time it happened. But you apparently did not, or you did not have any monetary loss from the incidents. Too late now.

And you certainly should have moved out after the first couple of times when it became apparent that nothing constructive was being done.

 

[ElleMD]

I once lived in a house built in 1890. Despite many efforts to fix the basement, including digging up the floor, and laying a drainage system and new concrete, it flooded every time it rained. Sometimes, there is no good way to compensate for the design of an old house. If you were unhappy with the property, it is unclear why you renewed the lease. You can't force them to fix it, assuming there is anything they can do to fix it.