Complaint Review: Hardin County Kentucky

Army families relocating to Ft. Knox must beware of the predatory landlords and government officials in the City of Radcliff, Hardin County, Kentucky.  Be warned there are NO HOUSING CODES or formal inspection process for rental properties.  Landlords (many of which are, very sadly, Veterans) are not held responsible for unsafe, unsanitary and deporable housing and the local courts do not provide an avenue for exploited tenants.  We rented a house that was supposed to be completely renovated and updated by our move in date of January 1, 2010, but instead turned out to be the filthiest dump I've ever been in!  Below is an exact copy of a letter I wrote to the landlord, Henry Todd, just ten days after moving in:

January 11, 2010

Dear Mr. Todd:

Pursuant to our conversations last Wednesday and in the yard today, I am providing you with a list of repairs that are immediately necessary in order to bring the property at (((Redacted))) Radcliff, KY, to a minimally safe and habitable condition:  

1.         Bathroom sink cannot be used due to massive leak (water pours out from cabinet, onto floor, under the linoleum, and into open hole in the wall);

2.         Plumbing to the toilet leaks and the toilet has not been wax ringed, set, or even bolted to the floor, and runs constantly;

3.         Large holes in the walls and many missing ceramic tiles in the bathroom, to include the wall behind the toilet, opposite the toilet, and next to the bathroom sink.  These are extremely unsanitary and allow dirt/debris and freezing air to pour into the bathroom;

4.         Gap/hole around the tub faucet (unsanitary and cold);

5.         Gaps allowing cold air to pour in also on both sides of the tub as it was not set flush to the wall, as well as along the entire length of the bath/shower unit as it does not set flush to the floor, and lacks any type of insulation or trim work to keep cold air and dirt/debris from entering;  

6.         All of the three-pronged outlets are installed upside down, causing visible electrical arcing;

7.         Damaged heat duct in back bedroom (when I pulled the vent out to clean I could see daylight and the crawl space beneath the house);

8.         Plumbing under kitchen sink leaks and the sink was never properly seated (i.e, siliconed in place for stability and prevention of unsanitary conditions);

9.         Lack of water sprayer for kitchen sink. Coupled with the fact that the faucet is far too small for the sink, it is impossible to rinse dishes without water splashing all over the back splash, running down the hole where a sprayer should be and accumulating under the cabinet and in the wall where the metal stripping is missing from the back splash (not to mention the impossibility of filling a wash bucket in the kitchen sink).

Other conditions which require your attention include the following: 8 missing light fixtures; 12 missing or broken light switch/outlet covers; the light above the kitchen sink does not work and is so filthy it is unsanitary; missing drain from bathroom sink; bathroom linoleum torn and not impervious to water; missing trim boards throughout the house, door to front porch laying on the floor of the porch; garage full of previous tenants property and boat left in driveway; incorrect bulbs in bathroom vanity; tile squares used as flooring in the hallway, living room, kitchen, and 1^st bedroom were laid improperly/sloppily so that they do not sit flush to each other (many are even loose), and are not impervious to water as they contain large gaps (where it appears dirt and debris have accumulated for years) and cannot be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition; kitchen counter is pulled away from the wall which is extremely unsightly, as well as unsanitary; there is an area of floor, between the kitchen and hallway, which is damaged and sinks below trim board when stepped on; a great deal of missing grout from existing ceramic tiling in both the kitchen and bathroom; silicone and caulking throughout the house is lumpy, sloppy, unsightly and filthy; missing aluminum trim from backsplash at kitchen sink; kitchen floor tiles do not match; linoleum in bathroom is torn at the entryway and is not impervious to water; old broken toilet sitting in the driveway; sheets of drywall in driveway; three large bags of garbage/construction debris in back entryway; many broken and missing windows and screens on front porch; broken shutters on front of house; rotted/damaged window sill in the bathroom; missing screens in bathroom and back bedroom; one torn and one missing screen from kitchen; missing screen from living room; ceiling fan in kitchen does not work; ceiling fan in bedroom sounds very odd; soffit and fascia damage around front porch; missing gutters/downspouts; broken windows all over the garage; damaged siding on garage; entry gate damaged/does not close properly; large hole in the floor of the back entryway; cover to ceiling crawl space does not fit properly, allowing entry of cold air and dirt/debris; cover to crawl space beneath the house does not fit properly (actually consists of a large piece of plywood which is propped up with a 2 x 4); trim boards are not flush with the floor (as if there was carpet at one time that was torn out) throughout the hallway and back bedroom, as well as portions of the kitchen, allowing cold air and a great deal of dirt and debris to enter; and lack of weather proofing/gaps around and beneath both entry doors (nearly a full 1 gap beneath the front door), also allowing freezing cold air to pour into the house. 

The above described lack of weather proofing, gaps, missing trim boards, large holes in the bathroom walls and floor of the back entryway, etc., which allow freezing air to pour into the house, also cause the furnace to run constantly.  As I informed you, because of these conditions, I am more than a little hesitant to put the electric service into our name as we will undoubtedly run up a very large bill. 

As a show of good faith, and in the spirit of cooperation, we have already taken steps to comply with our end of the agreement for reduced rent by repairing holes in the drywall, sanding and finishing drywall work left incomplete by your workers, as well as beginning application of primer and paint (for which we purchased all of the necessary materials, i.e., drywall mud, Kilz primer, paint, paint brushes and rollers, plastic sheeting, etc.)  Please also note that I have supplied only high quality oil based paint (which can be easily cleaned) as opposed to the much cheaper latex based paint present (which simply does not allow for adequate cleaning or rubs off completely when scrubbed).  In addition, due to the filth, mold and general unsanitary conditions existing in the property, I was also required to do an extensive amount of unanticipated cleaning literally every single ceiling, wall, floor, cabinet, ceiling fan, trim board, countertop, register, folding door and track, etc.

Along these lines, it certainly would have been nice to know that there would be absolutely no water service to the house upon our arrival and that we were apparently on our own insofar as locating and procuring this basic necessity.  Compounding my frustration over the lack of water was the fact that we arrived late at night (approximately 11:30 p.m.) on January 3, and found what was likely one of the filthiest houses Ive ever entered in my life.  I was shocked, to say the very least, particularly as you had informed me via telephone that it would not be necessary for me to bring cleaning supplies (obviously leading me to believe the property had been thoroughly cleaned by your workers and was ready to move into). 

Instead, due to the extremely unsanitary condition of the house, we found ourselves at Wal-Mart at 12:25 a.m. buying cleaning supplies and jugs of water.  I then proceeded to scrub madly for over three and a half hours - just so the bathroom could be used by my soldier who had to report for formation in just a few hours (at 5:30 a.m. on January 4).       

Even though you declined doing so when we spoke on the phone on New Years Eve, in light of the condition of the property and the fact that we were required to pay a $650.00 security deposit, I request you or a representative stop by so that we can do a formal walk through, in order to formally document the conditions as outlined above (and the many others that exist but would have made this letter even more exhaustive).  Please know, it is sincerely not my intention to start the landlord/tenant relationship off on the wrong foot.  However, based upon the ad you posted and your statements to us, we were not at all expecting what we found upon our arrival or what weve had to live with since then. 

I understand you have some serious health problems and perhaps these have prevented you from being on top of things with regard to this property.  With this in mind, I respectfully request the above critical issues (1-9) be addressed immediately, and would appreciate your letting me know when we can expect the remainder of the conditions to be corrected.  If you do not intend to address these issues, then I request immediate return of our $650.00 security deposit, the $500.00 paid for Januarys rent, as well as reimbursement for the materials, supplies and work performed by my husband and myself.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation, and I look forward to hearing from you in the very near future.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

While the State of Kentucky has adopted the Uniform Landlord Tenant Act, HARDIN COUNTY HAS REFUSED TO ADOPT OR ENFORCE IT LOCALLY!!  The Good 'ol Boys are alive and thriving here and the US Army does nothing to protect its men and women against these predators.  In fact, in my case, when I withheld rent (as permitted by Kentucky statute) the landlord, Henry Todd, a sad example of a Veteran, went to my husband's chain of command - against Army policy which prohibits creditors from doing this - and a moronically pathetic idiot, Sgt. Alexander of the 1st ID found my husband guilty without even speaking to him and posted untrue, slandarous, and defamatory statements about both of us on a board in the company's operating facility, took his pay, and began a course of retaliation so intolerable that my husband is being medically discharged from the Army.  All on the word of a con artist slumlord.

We did not learn until we were in it up to our necks that Henry Todd has done this very same thing to many families over the past 20 years.  In addition, his 19 year old grandson, Mykel Todd, acts as his "maintenance man," befriends the tenants and then breaks into their houses and robs them blind - me included - and Henry Todd covers up his crimes - AND THE LOCAL POLICE AND KENTUCKY STATE POLICE furthered the crime by failing to act upon information that was well known at the time of the break in and, only after hounding them for over two months, did just the bare minimum investigation.  (I used to own a dress shop and moved my merchandise here to open a store front and he stole over $25,000 worth of merchandise.)   

Long story short:   Anybody relocating to Ft. Knox would be well advised to avoid Hardin County for off base housing.  There are several very nice little communities near the base which are not part of Hardin County.  If you choose to rent in Radcliff/Hardin County anyway, by all means, learn from our devastating experience and AVOID RENTING ON PINEWOOD DRIVE AS HENRY TODD MANAGES MULTIPLE PROPERTIES ON THIS STREET!!!  

My husband and I are good, honest, hardworking people who used to believe in the American justice system - to the point my husband was, literally, willing to die for it.  Now he has lost his career, I have lost my source of income, and the joke of a local court evicted us!  AVOID RENTING IN THE CITY OF RADCLIFF, HARDIN COUNTY, KY.