I think you need a lawyer. Many lawyers will give you a free or low-cost initial consulation or try Legal Aid. When my brother was in law school, the third-year students also provided free legal advice at local clinics. What can and can't be done is going to vary by state, because every state has different laws about renting and tenants and landlords. It's possible the law has changed since your grandparents rented their apartment. Or the complex's rules have changed. This is the only Federal law I could find: "Federal law says that a person who is subject to lifetime sex offender registration or who has been convicted of producing methamphetamine on public housing grounds may not ever be admitted to public housing or receive Section 8 again. If you have one of these convictions but are already living in public housing, you have a right to stay because Federal law only applies to people who want to live in public housing or receive Section 8, not those who already do. Call a lawyer if eviction proceedings are brought against you." If you don't live in public housing, then the law doesn't apply. The repair work and being moved, while annoying, aren't illegal. However, you should only be paying rent for a one-bedroom apartment while your own unit is unhabitable. Try googling "[yourstate] landlord tenant law". Check to see if your state has a program where your grandfather can apply to have his felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor. Not exactly the same as getting it expunged, but it would help. Also check to see if there is a "re-entry group" in your city/area. These are organizations that help people adjust to life after prison. They may be able to point you and your family toward some resources that can help you.

Thank you so much for all the great suggestions and reassurances. I'm happy to report that the wood looks almost normal today, with the exception of a few streaky places where the condensation ran down the wood in little rivulets. We will try using the above suggestions, but I'm hugely relieved to know it's not going to need to be a total stripping job. Ironically, while we were standing in the vestibule and inspecting the wood, water started dripping on our heads. DH ran upstairs and discovered the girls' bathroom radiator was leaking. Sigh... The joys of old home ownership! I still wouldn't choose a new cookie cutter home over my gorgeous leaky/streaky one. ;o)

I completely share your pain with having to be treated as if you and SD are the same person to your husband/her dad. In my own situation, the cynic in me started to feel like I was my BF's daughter as well...because when he would show affection to me he would turn around and show affection to her. It's as if he didn't want her to feel left out. But what he didn't realize was that he was leaving me out (or at least that is how I interpreted it). I have an 8 year old son and we are very close. But he knows that my relationship with my BF is drastically different from my relationship with him. I don't kiss my boyfriend and then turn around and kiss my son so that he doesn't feel left out. Most men cannot distinguish between the fine lines of these types of relationships. Just yesterday, she made a comment to her dad "Well, your girlfriend is going to get all glammed up for you. I want to get my nails done too." So he gave her $40 and we both went to the same salon and got our nails done. Before leaving, her dad pulled me aside and asked if I would get the french manicure because he really thinks it looks chic and classy. I told him absolutely. His daughter (like most teens do) always got designs, bright colors, etc. but when we got to the salon, she asked if she could get the french mani done. And nothing is wrong with that. It's just that it's annoying to us. We are letting her behaviour and his get the best of us. Is this because we feel like an outsider...like she will be around for the duration but he can drop us like a hot potato. Does this mean that you and I are insecure? Maybe. But what it shouldn't mean is anything at all having to do with their behaviour as questionable or incestuous. He has lived this part of his life with her as the only other FEMALE. So naturally, the lines are incredibly blurred for the both of them (my BF and his daughter) (your husband and his daughter) for whatever reasons there are (and most times dad only explains it as being over protective of his little girl). But what starts to happen innocently enough is that the two have a relationship that mimics the ones that grown ups have without the physical part but certainly flutters on the psychologically romantic overtures but moreso just a pretty normal relationship between one person and another. Like fixing breakfast for the other, going out to dinner, going out to the movies, talking about cars, talking about sports, sharing the bathroom, washing the laundry, going on vacations, etc. The reason that I believe the trend is not to call us "Step" anylonger, is that it means that we are stepping in, replacing, barging, changing things, pushing away. It will take time (the same goes for me) to see that their relationship isn't salacious and questionable but that it's the only way these kinds of dads know how to treat their daughters. It only becomes wrong when we start making it wrong, when we step in and try to change things and not let their relationship exist and grow and mature. Yes, it is a juggling act to turn our feelings on and off and to not let things like, getting the same presents or surface affection (like hugs and kisses on the cheek or forehead)annoy us. But that is all that it is...an annoyance to us. It doesn't mean that dad prefers his daughter over you and we certainly shouldn't be thinking of it that way or in any way at all. What it means is that the daughter hasn't grown out of this attention seeking and re-assurance stage with dad and also that no one (namely dad) has taught her or steered her in a direction that shows that she is still a priority for him but that he has other priorities as well which are just as important to him. He doesn't want to feel guilty and inasmuch as she wants to be the apple of his eye, he too wants to be her hero and someone that she looks up to. It's up to you to find your middle ground, pick your battles and make yourself understand that your relationship is as beautiful as you believe it to be...but don't live in a fantasy land. If you let them flourish they (especially the daughter) will come to appreciate you. At least this is what I'm trying to do in my own situation.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. We fired the plumber and asked him to submit a final invoice for time and materials (including copies of paid receipts). We also had our carpenter and another plumbing firm give us a price to correct the problems, and told him we would deduct these costs from his bill. He is now demanding payment in full or he will file a lien against our house. I looked at our lien statutes and it appears there is nothing we can do except file a lawsuit to revoke the lien, or defend ourselves if he attempts to enforce the lien. We want to be fair and pay him what is owed, but we don't want to pay for defective work. It just seems wrong that he could file a lien against our house for work that failed city inspections and did not conform to manufacturers' specifications. Is there nothing we can do?