16 March 2009
Dear [Landlord],
I am following up on the conversation we had last week about my refrigerator. Now that we have been in our apartment for a few months and have better perspective on it, we want to bring some things to your attention. The most immediate problem is that the refrigerator leaks water on the inside, which collects at the bottom. This water gets moldy, which is not healthy, but it also leaks from the base of the refrigerator onto the floor around it. This regular leak onto the kitchen floorboards is probably not good for the floor, and clearly the refrigerator is not in good shape. It is also very loud, but that is a symptom, not a problem. It has been leaking since we moved in, and twice I have let you know of the problem in passing, and while in the past we have just dried up the spill, it is becoming more noticeable.
I also want to let you know of two other utility issues in our apartment. Our kitchen sink drains very slowly. Sometimes after doing the dishes it will even stop draining at all. It has been this way since we moved in, but has not been a significant problem for us. We are careful not to drain any oils, and we take care of it. As with the refrigerator, though, we are concerned for your plumbing and, not knowing too much about how it all works, want to give you the opportunity to fix it before it becomes a larger problem.
The third issue, which seems less important to me than the first two, is that the base of the toilet is unstable; it looks like the rusty bolts may be loose, but the real issue looks to be that the bathroom floor itself is not flat under the toilet, and it wobbles back and forth when you put weight on it. This is fine for us, but we do not know if this sort of thing can get worse. We do not want our apartment flooded if the toilet breaks, for example.
We hope you take this in the same spirit that it was written in. We very much appreciate the apartment, and want to take care of it. Please let us know what your approach is, and we will work with you. Thank you for your continued aegis.
Sincerely,
[Tenant]
Tags: coward, first encounter, landlord, letter, plumbing