Renting retail space...slumlord!? -

I have rented my photography studio space from a man for about 3 years. It was a gross building when i rented it, but after putting about 5K into it, it s a nice place. I was not compensated in any way for these improvements, which is okay because I didn t ask for compensation. Last week the ceiling started leaking brown nasty water onto my backgrounds. It ruined one of them and damaged another. There is water damage on the floor and to the ceiling. (there are apartments up above). Also, the bathroom is growning black mold in the walls and now OUTSIDE the walls because something is going on with the pipes in there also. The smell is so overwhelming that you can t stand to use the restroom. My husband called the landlord to inform him of these issues and he told us... if you don t like it, you can get the f- - k out. He accused me of throwing pop around to create these stains and stated that he doesn t see a problem. Ooooookay. Here is the problem. My studio is in a town of about 1000 people, there IS nowhere else for me to go with my studio. It s either shut down or do something about the jacka- - I rent from. What are my legal options. I live in Iowa.

You have to put it in writing. Send your landlord a letter (NOT email) stating the problems and that you expect to have them fixed within a reasonable amount of time (which is up to a month). Keep a copy of this letter for legal purposes. If he does not respond within 30 days, go down to your town hall or city hall or wherever the city administration building is, and find the suitable office to complain to. It s against the law for your landlord to not fix something that s causing private nuisance and is so bad that it s against health code and building code. If not, take it to court. Most commercial tenancy cases in court do not require lawyers of any kind, just a small $100 or so processing fee for court. You will get to present your case, slumlord will be required to appear, etc. Be sure to have pictures to show the court. He is legally liable and responsible for the structural upkeep of the place and to ensure that it doesn t affect health code.