Terminating Apartment Lease Agreement?

Question

My girlfriend and I have been living in an apartment together and we are fed up with the apartments conditions, leaky roof, very high electricity bill, and defective parts they installed all over the house and cheap paint job

Its not worth $700 a month for one bedroom what were getting.

We want to terminate the lease can we? We are still in-lease with them but we can't stand this anymore.

Answer 1

If the landlord has breached the lease terms, you might have a case for breaking the lease. My guess is that nothing in your contract spells out the electricity bill, paint quality, or apartment conditions. You might take the position that the roof should not leak, but in most cases, you rented the apartment as is even if the landlord made a lot of verbal promises.

Landlords write contracts that favor them 100% of the time. They know what the laws are and they know just how much they can get away with. It is a dirty business, but not one that gets a lot of help from the law.

I would document every infraction, every phone call, every conversation. I would call the city inspection department to complain about any code violations. I would make every landlord communication a written one.

I wish there were other ways to get out of that lease, but you are both likely screwed and will also get screwed out the security deposit.

Answer 2

My best recommendation would be to bring this to the managers attention and request they fix the items. If they refuse to address the issues the best you could probably do is tell them you will file a complaint with the city regarding the roof. Unfortunately for you there is really nothing you can do about the high electric bill or the cheap paint job, but again try to work something out with them, that is going to be your best bet.

If push comes to shove and they want to hold you to your lease agreement more than likely you will not have a way out. The problems you mention in most states do not effect livable conditions with the exception of the roof leak and defective parts depending on what they are.

Try to work with them instead of against them, perhaps offer them to find a new tenant in order for them to cancel your existing lease? I have cancelled a few leases for tenants of mine under the condition that they find a new tenant for a one year period.

Answer 3

you have to read your lease very good and look for how the management company describes what it will perform for you for your rent money. how it will make repairs, time tables and such. the electric bill, and paint job...can't be complained about..you should have checked that out before your leased. the leaky roof, defective parts...there you have a complaint. if you terminate your lease you will not get your deposit back. and you can be sued for the remainer of the rent just as if you stayed in the apt until it was up..

Answer 4

You can't terminate the lease unless they break some sort of agreement. I would continually get them to fix the problems. If there are problems that should be fixed, but they don't fix them, that might be somewhere in the lease. Then you could say they broke the agreement.

Answer 5

ask your landlord or manager of the apartment to get these things fixed and if they don't call in a building inspector that can determine if the building is safe to live in or not , other wise just move some place better and if by chance your landlord sues you have proof of the conditions of the apartment