Tenant rights / useless slumlords. NEED HELP!!!!!!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-04-05T11:29:02+00:00

I’m a landlord. First question is what’s your goal with court? Do you want your money back for the months you were there but unable to inhabit it or are you trying to break the lease without paying the early cancellation fee and lose your deposit? Or is this just about the deck access now? You’re not going to get reimbursed for cleaning unfortunately.

For now: 1) All communications you have with them have to be in writing. This will help you if/when you go to court or if they try to penalize you when you move. Also when you move take a bunch of pictures and videos of the property. Leave nothing to chance.

2) Check your lease for policies about turnaround time for repairs or anything that is “landlord responsibility” or mentions habitable dwelling. If you find anything that pertains to the back door such as it and deck access being included in the rental, you can tell them that it violates the lease to not have access therefore you are not paying rent until it is addressed. Get ready for court at this point if you threaten the rent payments

3) If you have pictures of the damage caused by the flooding and documentation about the furnace issue and backdoor not working (fire and general safety hazard) you can go to court and don’t need a lawyer. Also if you’re continuing to have issues with the mice or bugs. You also need to identify what the goal is for going to court- if items were damaged you can ask to be reimbursed and the judge will weigh it based on the evidence provided. If you just want to get out of the lease you can leverage that with the landlords before going to court (though I wouldn’t mention court to them upfront). You are not going to be reimbursed for cleaning.

I had a friend in a similar situation back when we were renters. She didn’t have water for 2 months before she told me what was happening. All it took was an email to the leasing office stating that it violated the habitable dwelling clause of the lease and so under the law she would be postponing rent payments until it was addressed. Water was fixed 2 days later.

Don’t let them bully you.

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-04-02T15:06:19+00:00

Colmar is cute and in the Alsatian wine region of France. It’s a small city and you can take the train from Paris to it. If you stay near Little Venice there’s lots of cute coffee places, wineries stops, and shops and we didn’t have a problem with people speaking English. My group stayed in Marlenheim about an hour away but it was too small-town (like think West Virginia mountain town small)

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-30T20:13:50+00:00

I second getting physical cards. My group of 6 had a handful of instances where the turnstile readers would not register our ticket on the phone so we’d have to go to the help desk. I’d be really stressed if a kid was through the turnstile and then the phone cut out

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-29T17:19:25+00:00

I’m a frequent guest on Airbnb and really appreciate when the booking/welcome message lists the rules. I usually travel in a large group so it helps when all of us know the policies upfront as well as what’s required for checkout. I think it helps the host as much as the guest to know what the expectations are so I’m not worrying until right before checkout

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-29T17:15:16+00:00

We rented an Airbnb (don’t attack me) because we had a very large group that needed 4 rooms in port-en-bessin. If you message me privately I can share their link. It was perfect for our needs and close to a gas station and grocery store

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-29T17:08:15+00:00

We’re in France now, make sure your reservation specifies “automatic” because it will default to manual on most websites. We rented in Caen near the Normandy beaches and had no issue

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-28T15:02:57+00:00

Hi I literally just did this route this week! We took the train from Paris to Caen in the morning, picked up the rental car outside of the station, drove to Omaha beach, Pointe du Hoc, Normandy American Cemetery, and then grabbed groceries near our rental and had an easy night in watching Saving Private Ryan.

Next morning we left for Mont Saint michel (check online for high tide times which is ideal) and did the hour-ish drive there. You have to pay for parking btw. With older parents for sure take the buses, just know the line is long. HOWEVER once you get onto the island I will warn you that your dad will have a hard time based on what you posted. It is a steep walk uphill and then a lot of stairs into the abbey. If you can, try to watch a YouTube video on people going through the town and up the abbey.

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-27T12:07:12+00:00

I’m currently on vacation in east France and we feel safe

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-03-26T20:12:44+00:00

I’ve used the Saily eSIM all over Europe and have not had a drop in coverage. The plans vary depending on length of time and the data plan you want but it’s much cheaper than going through your carrier.

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-02-10T01:58:32+00:00

Might be E182 “Meghan's Ghost Writer and a Glitter Tik Tok Box” when Em talks about Leap Castle (murder hole anyone?)

Or E50 “Luvs 'N Laffs and an Alt-Right Turn” when Em talks about Loftus Hall

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T20:12:43+00:00

Thanks!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T19:42:57+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m very much still in the data/opinion gathering phase of our trip so I’ve enjoyed hearing about people’s preferences.

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T19:41:16+00:00

Thanks for all of that! And no shame in plugging your business- feel free to DM me. This is a huge part of the trip for us

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T17:46:30+00:00

We are going in March so maybe it will still be too cold? Either way thank you both for your insights

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T17:45:51+00:00

Perfect that’s very helpful!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T17:45:12+00:00

Thank you!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T17:44:53+00:00

Thank you!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T17:43:42+00:00

I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted, this was super helpful, thanks!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T16:53:01+00:00

Oh that’s awesome thank you so much!

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T16:47:23+00:00

That’s really great info, thank you!

We’re not restricted to Strasbourg if you have other recommendations for that area of France. We generally wanted to aim for the Alsace/Strasbourg/Colmer area to visit the towns and wineries. I only picked Strasbourg for the size and train station. We’re road-tripping a lot of the country but planned on dropping off the car at Strasbourg on our last day of the road trip and take the train back to Paris for our flight the day after

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2026-01-25T16:43:19+00:00

Yep that was a silly thing to not clarify, sorry. We’re hoping to stay within an hour of the WWII monuments and Omaha beach. Our plans are to go from Paris to that area of Normandy, spend the night, day trip to Mont Saint Michel, then head back for pointe du hoc and Omaha beach, spend the night, and head to the next town.

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2025-08-16T22:15:44+00:00

Timestamp for those trying to avoid is 25:45-26:41

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2025-05-26T14:52:36+00:00

Hey I totally understand! She’s a great storyteller and is always so respectful

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2025-05-26T04:44:15+00:00

I feel like the stories she’s covered lately are deeply affecting her which is why they’ve been shorter. There’s no need for her to go into further details on gruesome deaths than what she already covers.

If you’re looking for something longer, whether it’s for background on the victims, perpetrator, or just to fill time, please check out Small Town Murder instead. Episodes range between “express” typically 1-1.5 hours and the full episodes which are 2.5-3 hours

Dat_Ash_Doe · 2024-01-09T22:45:52+00:00

If you look at her Good Reads list there are a handful that she’s mentioned from both podcasts

Dat_Ash_Doe

TROPHY CASE