A staff lawyer at Legal Assistance of Windsor is offering some advice after tenants were evicted from a downtown fourplex because the building wasn't livable.
As AM800 News reported earlier this week, tenants at 555 Dougall Ave, near Wyandotte, were forced out of their home because of sewage in the basement, dirty water, cockroaches and mice.
A tenant complained to the city which investigated and deemed the building 'uninhabitable' until repairs were complete.
But it left some tenants without a place to call home.
Speaking on AM800's the Morning Drive lawyer Anna Columbo says despite the living conditions, rent must continue to be paid if the tenant is living there.
"I always advice my clients to keep paying your rent because what is going to happen is that the landlord is going pursue the tenant who doesn't pay rent for eviction."
She says tenants who have issues with the living conditions should approach the Landlord and Tenant Board.
"If the tenant wants to get some of their rent back, their best recourse is to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board and try to get an abatement of rent from the board."
Once the tenant no longer lives in the apartment, they are no longer obligated to pay rent.
The landlord and owner at 555 Dougall is from Toronto and claims to have tried to fix the sewer situation.
Columbo says if the landlord is not nearby, he or she can't be as responsive compared to a landlord who lives in the same city and Columbo admits she is seeing more of these cases involving out-of-town landlords and complaints.