When we moved in, I should have known the warning from the previous tenant would herald the worse problem I encountered in a home in a long time. His exacts were: "Did they fix the plumbing? Cause that's why I moved. They wouldn't fix the plumbing".

They left for the same reason that we're about to leave. The land lords wont fix the plumbing. They wont send anyone out here. And no matter what measures we take(pretty much putting NOTHING "not septic tank friendly" in the sink, and no toilet paper in the toilet(the people of greece have this as sort of an unwritten law. So I'm already used to it from the time that I was staying there.) it backs up, and when it backs up oh boy does it back up. Through the tub, the washers standpipe, the sinks. GOT DAMN. The toilet itself was already messed up(was misaligned with the flange causing it a leak. I fixed that myself).

I get it that plumbing is retardedly expensive, I get that. But I don't own that property, I pay RENT. And we been living in this house for almost 4 yrs. Its 450 a month, so I paid them 21,600 over the time we been there.. You know where I wanna go with that. Me and my mom have been coming up with wild ideas to alleviate this problem. First, I had deduced that the problem was being caused by the washer. Lint/filth going into the standpipe. So I rerouted it to pour outside. Older folks here knows that how it used to be done, sticking the damn washer hose out the window. The kitchen sink is the most used sink in the house, and I can't reroute that.. and putting cap on it might cause pressure build up. We just had a incident a day ago with the toilet constantly overflowing WHEN NO ONE WAS EVEN USING IT! At this point, the tub and toilet is unusable. Obviously we use the bathroom sink to washup. SOMEHOW the bathroom sink doesn't backup. Maybe the damn thing empties outside lol, who knows, cause I couldnt find where it leads to, certainly not the main line.

So my mom came up with a crazy idea.. disconnect the line, the one where you run a snake though, that connects to the main one. Meaning, if we use the tub/toilet, they'll do two things.. overflow like no ones business, or flow out of that pipe onto the ground. Of course I had an issue with that, but she wants to be difficult about it, so I just let her have her way.

We're gonna move out of it, but to be honest, I'm thinking about not paying rent over this.

This really blows. I like this house. The location is great.. everything is in walking distance. Stores, MOVIE THEATERS, Home Depot, Target. I got no reason to even go to the mall with Gamestop up the street.

Try the law. Contact your locality's water and sewer authority, or health department, or maybe the police. In my county, property owners are required to keep their sewer lines in good working order, else the property can be declared unfit for habitation.

You could also try notifying your landlord's insurance company. Insurers dislike providing coverage to those who ignore problems and risk letting things get worse. They might direct the landlord to take action.

Not paying your rent is never a good idea, although I can understand why you wouldn't want to.

Where I live, although it may be different where you are, we have something called http://www.ohiolegalservices.org/public/legal_problem/housing/landlord-tenant-issues/escrow/qandact_view Basically, we can pay rent to the clerk of courts and the landlord won't see a dime of that money until the problem is fixed. Perhaps you may have something similar to this.

I knew a fellow years ago in a similar situation as yours. He chose to not pay his rent, rather that put his money in escrow. he got evicted and had a rough time finding a new place to live after that. he would've beat his landlord if he chose to fight it the right way, be he didn't.

We also been trying to protect this property. The tree outback is old and periodically large branches will break off and fall on the roof. They sent someone out to cut the branches off, and the dead tree that was leaning over. The remaining tree still poses a threat but Im not gonna worry about that.

escrow? I'm not sure, I'll look into it though. I'm sure someone out there wants my money, cause I sure don't wanna keep giving it to my land lords with this situation - Im feeling cheated here.

Edit: there's no rent escrow in Georgia but there is several laws covering land lords unwilling to make repairs. When my mom wakes up, I'll be sure to get her thoughts on it. My mind is already made up.

Yes, contact your city official. I believe it's health and safety. There are laws in place in most every corner of the US that force the landlord to not only fix the problem but to pay for a reasonable hotel while they do if it is seen as unfit to live in. I've had [censored] come up the toilet, I've had the upstairs neighbors plumbing break, I've had mushrooms grow in my bathroom. If they do not fix the problem you are absolutely in your right to not pay rent (in Ca at least)

Call the EPA and township throw the landlord under the bus. It's a health issue.

Second off. Do you know what kind of system is it? When was the house built? Is is a septic system or a cesspool? They are two very different things.

Third. Is there a vent? Is is clogged? How far is the main vent from the kitchen sink? Bathroom sink? Toilet?

The general rule is any appliance needs to be within 2 feet of the main line vent. If not...those appliances won't drain and will backup.

Fourth. How do you know the tub, and kitchen sink even go to the septic/cesspool? They could be piped to a dry well. If it is a dry well, how old is it? If it's old it's probably collapsed.

Fifth, and this one is overlooked. A lot. When was the last time the septic/cesspool was pumped? Code requires every four years. If it has not been pumped the entire system will fail.

I've experienced this in my own home. You need to figure out how everything is piped. You can run a snake down the vent from the roof to see if it's clear. Snaking the appliances won't do a bit of good if you don't know what kind of system you have.

The home is old but how old is unknown. I think its a septic tank but I'm not sure. The last problem we had, they did send someone out and turned out it was tree root that had grown in the pipe. I guess this time around they are like "lol too bad".

But I do know the tub is not going into a dry well. It is directly connected to the big pipe that connects to the toilet flange. The kitchen sink is a long friggen pipe that connects to that big pipe on the side.

There's no vents. It's all pipes.

The kitchen sink is most definitely NOT within 2 feet of the main line. More like 10 feet.

Edit: Ok nvm about the vent. I see them. There's 3 and I suppose the one that is above the bathroom is the vent you're referring to. We don't own a snake though.

Two things. If there a no vents the system gets vapor locked as the "air" or vapors in the pipes has no where to escape. Once it vapor locks the liquids just sit on top of the air until the pipe fills then it backs up. Eventually, the air will push it's way up through the system and you get geysers. If there is no 2" pipe sticking out of the roof then there is no vent. If the kitchen sink is 10' from the main 4" branch line then it needs it's own vent. Same with the tub, bathroom sink and toilet.

Secondly, if you have a root in the system AND the pumping company is telling you "Too bad" and they won't come out and pump it it is a cesspool. Cesspools are now illegal and companies will not touch them unless it's because it's being raised and redone. If I had to venture a guess your house was built long before there were building codes in the US. If your landlord an older guy/girl?

The system in the house has failed. It will need to be replaced. Completely. A true septic system will cost between $15k - $100K depending on the size required. I just went through this on my house and it was a nightmare.

Your landlord won't fix it because they are expensive. The moment you get the township involved he'll be fined and you will more than likely be told to leave anyway.

You missed my edit, there is 3. I just went out there to look on the roof.

And again, I know its expensive but they can't avoid fixing this. Even when we move, they will have to fix it.. or do what most land lords do.. rebuild the house and everything and jack the rent up.

And its not specifically a male or female. It's a realtor. It's an office we have to call and all that.

In the meantime we just wont use the bathroom, or my mom will, but I wont. Thank god we're not SHARING our line with anyone else.

Oh, ok. Then something is clogged. If there was a root in the main line leading into the tank then I'd start there if it were me. Call around and see what septic companies can come out and look at it. Have the system pumped and have the guy inspect the main line for any blockages.

As for a snake go out to Home Depot or Lowe's and hit the plumbing department, and pickup a snake. They come on spools and different lengths. Get one in the middle of what you think you are going to need. 50' might be a good start. Get up on the roof and run it down each vent.

Then head into the basemant and disconnect the kitchen sink and bathroom sink at the trap. They might be clogged as well. Find the drain line for the washer and pull the coupling off and check that trap and the line.

Plumbing isn't that difficult...nor is it super expensive. Hell, with some basic hand tools and a level you can even install a septic tank. It only gets more difficult when you had secondary tanks and pumps.

I'd get on the realtor as well. They have a legal responsibility to make sure the house is livable. Threaten them with the township's heath board and the EPA. If it's leaking the EPA can get VERY expensive for cleanup. The landlord isn't going to want two government agencies breathing down his/her neck.

Actually, in many places in the US, it would be your right to not pay the rent in this case, as the landlord has violated his contract as every tenent contract must include those rights granted by the governing local laws, and pretty much every state/city has laws on sanitation standards for tenents that landlords must abide by. Since the landlord violated his duties under the tenent contract, the tenent is no longer required to pay.

Basically, though, it's time for the OP to get the law on his side and lawyer up.

Agreed.

I don't know where you live, but in my nation landlords have an obligation to provide livable conditions.

I would without a symbolic portion of the rent (95% of it) until it is fixed. Mind that you add a note to your payments saying that full payment is temporarily withheld due to negligence on the landlords part.

If such pressure doesn't work, local city council and as a last resort a lawyer.