Beth Bliss, News Editor

Last year, an Appalachian State University student found himself with what he contends was an unreliable roof over his head.

 Senior Neil Middlesworth is involved in a lawsuit with Property Services, Inc. (PSI) seeking rent recoupment and other reimbursement for damages sustained from roof damage in a unit of Brookwood Apartments of Boone.

 PSI, a major apartment leasing service that houses a large percentage of university students, owns and maintains the complex.

 Middlesworth sought money for a table damaged by the alleged leak and for rent recoupment of $80 per month.

 Under rent recoupment law, Middlesworth said he had to prove that he had paid his rent on time; that PSI maintenance crews were paid through his rent, that maintenance crews did not respond in a timely manner to his repair request and that he had lost use of a certain amount of living space whenever it rained and water leaked through his roof.

 The case was not proven in small claims court, and Middlesworth was awarded only $300 for damages sustained to his table.

 At this point, Middlesworth said he was willing to let the case drop. "If (PSI) was going to pay the $300, I would have let it rest," he said. "But they appealed it and it went into arbitration."

 Once in arbitration, both sides of the case were heard by an arbitrator, Middlesworth said.

 The arbitrator felt Middlesworth had sufficiently proven need for rent recoupment and awarded him $800 for recoupment, plus $150 for damages sustained to the table.

 Middlesworth said the roof first became an issue during his first week of occupancy in the apartment in August of 1996.

 Middlesworth said Boone experienced heavy rains that day, and he said he came to his apartment to find water pouring in through a windowsill.

 Middlesworth said the water came from a leak in the roof. "The roof (was) rotten," he said. "There are plants and moss growing through it. I thought I had an emergency."

 Middlesworth told PSI he had a major leak in his apartment. He said PSI documented the report as a repair request, but said no further action was taken.

 This is where his lawsuit against PSI took shape, Middlesworth said. "Over a ten month period I sent three letters and called (PSI) repeatedly," he said. "No (permanent) action was taken."

 PSI did chip ice from the roof in January 1997 and applied a sealant patch in May, but Middlesworth said he still lived in an apartment with a rotten roof. "That was (PSI's) permanent solution to the problem," he said. "(PSI) blamed it on the rain, saying they couldn't do anything because of the weather."

 With the help of a local no-cost legal agency, Middlesworth said he  investigated several laws and codes governing the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants, including North Carolina's Residential Rental Agreement Act.

 Under the act, landlords have certain obligations to tenants, Middlesworth said. Among those responsibilities is to maintain residential facilities if tenants give written notification, which Middlesworth said he did repeatedly.

 Middlesworth also claims PSI violated the act by failing to keep is apartment in a "safe and habitable condition," also an action required by law, he said.

 Middlesworth and his fiancee subleased the apartment June 1 to fulfill the remaining two months of their lease. Although Middlesworth had vacated the apartment, he still took PSI to small claims court seeking reimbursement.

 However,  representatives of PSI claim Middlesworth is simply making a big deal out of a small problem. PSI property owner Frank Petersilie said previous tenants never reported problems with the roof; in addition, Middlesworth's subleasers and current tenants of the unit have made no complaint.

 "The shingles on the roof still have several years of life (in them)," Petersilie said. "(Neil) wanted the roof replaced. It doesn't need (replacement). It hasn't leaked for anyone but him."

 Petersilie said the only "official" leak in the Brookwood roof was due to ice that had gathered on the roof following a severe winter storm. The weight of the ice had pushed on the shingles, forcing water through the shingles and into the apartment via the windowsill, he said.

 A maintenance worker told Middlesworth there was not enough water for a complete extraction, but he did return after the weather improved to put a sealant on the roof, Petersilie said.

 Petersilie thinks any additional damage to the roof was caused by Middlesworth himself. "He (could) have caused a leak by walking around on the roof or by turning up shingles to uproot seedlings (on the roof)," Petersilie said. "He was on my roof, where he shouldn't have been."

 A representative from Brady Roofing Company of Deep Gap verified that roof damage could be sustained by such an action.

 However, he also said a professional roofer would need to be called in such a situation to extract any vegetation and make necessary repairs.

 Despite contradictory claims by Middlesworth, Petersilie said PSI responded to every call about the leaky roof. At times, PSI even sent a crew of five workers to inspect the apartment, he said.

 However, Middlesworth did not follow proper PSI maintenance request procedure, Petersilie said.   "(Tenants) have to come in and fill out a work order form, unless it is an emergency," he said. "We keep a copy and give (residents) a copy. That way, (residents) don't have problems."

 Petersilie said PSI is the only property service agency in the area that utilizes a computerized maintenance request and documentation program to reduce errors and discrepancies.

 Petersilie recognizes that Middlesworth sent several letters to the PSI office, but believes all were sent in an attempt to get early release from the rental agreement, he said.

 Middlesworth did not offer sufficient proof in arbitration to receive rent recoupment, according to Petersilie.

 "(Neil) did not have a legitimate claim until January," Petersilie said. "(That) was fixed in February. There's been no problem since."

 Petersilie plans to have the arbitrator in the case investigated and has appealed the decision, meaning the case will now be heard by a district court judge.

 Though self-represented in initial proceedings, PSI will be represented by an attorney in the district court hearing, Petersilie said.

 Brookwood Apartments are located outside the jurisdiction of the Town of Boone Department of Planning Inspection.

 Therefore, Boone's minimum housing code is not applicable to the complex, said a representative from the department.

 The complex is under the jurisdiction of the Watauga County Department of Planning and Inspection; however, there is no minimum code for Watauga County.

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