Louisiana law provides…
If there are necessary repairs to a thing (such as a home) that cannot be postponed until the end of the lease, the landlord may make the repair, even if it causes inconvenience to, or displacement of the renter.
In real world language, this means anyone who is in a flooded rented home or business should anticipate the possibility of being displaced while repairs are being made. I recently heard a tenant state to another landlord that she would not let him into the home…that she had to leave everything in its place “for FEMA.”
It’s important to understand that we are about to be in a major housing crisis. We need to get these homes repaired and inhabitable as soon as humanly possible.
Tenants and landlords should be taking photos of all damaged property and the surrounding areas–preferably with a cell phone for the time and GPS stamp. As soon as it is safe to do so, begin getting as many belongings out of these homes as possible.
Tenants, contact your landlords as soon as possible. Landlords, do the same.
