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A long term tenant raises complaints that his landlord hasn’t made adequate repairs, and he’s tired of having to wait. The landlord, Joe, defends himself by claiming to never have the money to keep up on maintenance to the apartment. This is a free country, and Fred, the tenant, decides it’s time to get a high fidelity stereo system, which he tests out by playing at full volume. That’s his right, isn’t it? Imagine his annoyance when his neighbor, and landlord, in the apartment bangs on the radiator to get his attention to turn it down!
Still, the dripping faucet has advanced from just an annoyance, to a watery mess in the kitchen. Should Fred fix it himself, and bill the landlord? His wife Lou tries to talk sense to Fred, reminding him that they’ve had a friendly relationship with Hank all these 12 years.
Pete is a friend who offers some poor legal advice, and Fred decides to repair the plumbing. Stuck with the huge bill, and with no luck getting Joe to pay it, Fred takes more of Pete’s advice and refuses to pay his full rent. Joe now has grounds to throw Fred out, and gets some real legal advice. Will the strained friendship, and relationship lead to eviction, and a day in court?
Fred finally goes to a real lawyer who advises him where he went wrong in dealing with his rental obligations. The landlord has the upperhand in the dealings, but might there be some hope to resolve the case? A settlement out of court, and communication holds the answer. Healing a wounded friendship goes a long way to understanding where the other side is coming from, and how things declined in the past year.
