New landlord holding us responsible for damages from a municipal sewer backup, charging us to replace appliances included in lease. (KY, USA) legaladvice

Abridged backstory: my wife and I currently live in a rental townhouse which for years had been under management which never repaired or replaced anything. Occasionally the street's sewer lines would back up and we (and other tenants) would have our drains clog up, or even bath/shower water come out of the washer drain pipe. The previous owner would never charge tenants for these damages, but also never repaired or replaced anything. Professional plumbers snaked and cleaned drains in several houses at tenant's cost, and the issue persists. It has been deemed to be a municipal sewer back up causing our lines to do this. In addition, our refrigerator (which I'd happily replace except it's listed as included in our lease) has failed multiple times and only been patched back up, usually a week later, with used parts. It is 27 years old and well beyond its service lifetime.

Why is this an issue now? Well, the properties were bought out by a new landlord about a year ago, and under the same exact lease terms. We've since had another sewer backup, and he sent a plumber to check it out when we reported it. The plumber ran a drain snake and after about 30 feet, pulled up what looked like wadded up paper towels from the washer drain. Not something we'd flush, certainly not something that would come out of our washer, and they didn't look like the paper towels we keep. The landlord, however, wants to charge us for the plumber visit, charge us for damage to the carpets from the drainage backup (even though I used our carpet shampooer and a rented steam cleaner to clean them that day), and also has accused us of being the cause of the problem.

As for the failed refrigerator, he not only wants to charge us full cost for a replacement, but also accused us of 'making it wear out' by having the thermostat set too cold. We keep it on 7 of 10 (coldest), and it's 27 years old. His wife, who came to look at it, told him it was set on 10 and the door was not shut properly. This is blatantly false.

Since the damages and replacement only come to about $700, what legal support might I have that would cost less than that and prevent me from having to pay for his accusations? I've got a ten year rental history and this is the first time I've ever been asked to pay for damages. I take care of the properties I've rented.

Thanks in advance, /r/legaladvice members!

Submitted March 09, 2016 at 08:03PM by djnikochan http://ift.tt/1QLGaAz legaladvice