Is the landlady required to get rid of a bad smell in the vents of one room of our rental house?

[orson19]

My parents rent a house here in Georgia and my sister and I live here while we are still in college. So recently my sister noticed a terrible smell coming from the vent in her bedroom. The bad smell is only in her room, coming from her vent, and it smells like roadkill. We are guessing that an animal crawled into a vent and died. The problem is that our landlady only wants to do the bare minimum to maintain the house. Is she required to hire someone to check and fix the vents or is that our responsibility? We can't afford to have this done ourselves but my sister can't even sleep in her room because of the smell. Unfortunately we owe around 200 dollars in late fees to the landlady. Is she allowed to withhold fixing major problems with the house if we owe her money in late fees? Please note that we live in Georgia USA and I need to know what the law is for only Georgia! Thanks!

[jasper]

Georgia law gives county and city governments the authority to order repairs, close, or demolish structures which are unfit for human habitation and dangerous or detrimental to health and safety. The county or city government may exercise this authority by establishing local ordinances. You should contact the county or city government for a copy of their housing code. Georgia law recognizes the following conditions as threatening health and safety:
• Defects which increase the hazard of fire, accidents, or other calamities
• Lack of adequate ventilation, light or sanitary facilities
• Disrepair and structural defects
• Uncleanliness

When a county or city has enacted a housing code, it can also establish procedures to enforce the code. Georgia law requires that the owner receive notice of the housing code violation and an opportunity for a hearing. If violations are found, the owner can be ordered to repair, vacate, close, or demolish the property. If the owner fails to comply with the order to correct the code violations, the local government may "condemn" the property declaring it unfit for human habitation and prohibiting its use as a residence. A tenant living in condemned property is justified in treating the landlord as having broken the lease and moving from the premises. Before moving, the tenant should have proof that the property was condemned and write to the landlord declaring the lease in default.




As for your late fee problem, under Georgia law, the landlord CAN file a court order to move out your family. However, for however long the contract is valid (the one you signed), the contract must include that the house needs to be in an adequate state of repair (ventilation included) despite any missed payments or debt on the rent. So, the landlord is responsible to clean it out. She is required to do something about it. The late fees do not have anything to do with the state of repair the house needs or the conditions of the ventilations, but she can write up a court order to move you and your family out based on late fees.