does this letter sound reasonable to leave a lease? and collect deposit?

Question

Dear Angie Sabater,

This letter is in regards to 1212A S Boeke Rd. My residency of the last two months. I was reviewing my lease and feel as if you are not upholding your end of it. The issues I am about to state have been brought up multiple times since I moved in.

1.The wooden pallets that were next to the house on my side are now in the back yard due to my mother because they were such an eye sore. They are sitting there along with refuge from the apartment next door with a disgusting mattress, a broken TV, computer, and rolled up rugs. These items attract animals and rodents. This is not my style of living.

2.There is an odor in this home that I was assured was from the rugs that were removed. But there isn’t one person that has come to my home and not commented on the stench. I believe that the basement area under my living room is the cause of the smell due to previous pets using it as a litter box.

3.Granted you are taking care of the roach situation, I am very displeased that it was not brought to my attention before I signed the lease.

4.The basement is of no use due to what I previously stated about the smell. There are many roach bodies lying around down there and I don’t feel that I should have clean that up due to disgustingness. I most definetly would not want to use my vacuum down there as it is my own personal vaccum that I use in my living areas.

5.There was absolutely no weather stripping in the door jams. I had to seal them off with foam weather stripping.

6.Windows are so drafty that when I lit a match the flame flickered due to wind seeping through. We did attempt to tape up windows with weathering tape but still every morning I have extreme/dripping condensation on the glass.

7.The stove that was provided with the apartment is not in sync with the outlet provided, so I am forced to use an extension cord across my kitchen floor under my sink. This is not safe.

8.The lease states that you would maintain the yards appearance. There are leaves and debris everywhere.

9.I was never provided adequate garbage cans for your property.

10.The phone jack does not work in the hallway. I only have one working one in my bedroom.

11.The bathtub constantly drips warm water, which means water that I am heating and paying for.

12.I wake up with my eyes red and irritated every morning, which I believe is due to a buildup of mold in this home. Which is visible on the exterior of the house.



I work 2nd shift, and when your brother occasionally stops by I am usually in the middle of my night and not alert enough to stress what needs to be fixed or needs to be done. But I have mentioned all of the above.

I don’t want to be considered a complaining tenant, but I believe these are of just cause to discuss with you.

As you can see I have stated over ten things that are of nusiciance, and took way too long to get fixed. This is my first apartment and much more stressful than I had anticipated. I would like to request my deposit back and am giving you a full 60 days noticed that I will be leaving.

Answer 1

First you have to give them time to address problems you mention, have you given written complaints to them in past?

Seems like they need to lift their game as it's a safety issue with stove cord etc..

Mold is also a health risk. you really need to have a face to face meeting with whomever checking each item off then giving certain amount of time for repair,,,

Definitely it's time to move out, if this fails then threaten legal action you have enough points to have Judge rule in your favour if they won't act or return Deposit..,,♥

Answer 2

looks like you have a lot of problems with the place! Again, I suggest that you write this letter with the intent that they address these issues immediately instead of an explaination of why you request your money back and give notice that you'll be leaving.

You need show (and record) earnest effort that you're trying to correct the problem first. (i.e. you acknowledge that the landlord is taking care of the roaches)

From you post, that last one could be pretty big - mold is not to be tolerated - and should be addressed immediately. This is as as egregious a breach as no water, electricity, heat, etc.

If this is your first rental, I can understand your concerns - just remeber that you need to approach this professionally and don't rush to any actions without considering the long term repercussions. (you'll always have the argument against you that, at the end of the day, you signed that contract, and you should have done more work on reviewing the residence first.)

Do a google search for tenant laws in your state for some general guidance.

Answer 3

yep, you can and also charge for one extra month out side of that. Depending on the lease. My old apartments charged the full amount of the lease period that was left after breaking the lease. But i wouldn't do that just because its mean and greedy just charge the deposit and one month to cover expense while you are looking for another tenant. The rentalsman was problem meaning that you can hold to the terms of the lease meaning forcing the tenant to pay out the remaining months of the lease. As I stated earlier you can charge nothing or the entire amount of the lease plus the deposit or something in between it's up to you. but remember to be fair. If you can rent the property fairly quickly there is no need to charge the remainder of the lease and if you do rent it out soon after the tenant leaves and you have to take him to court to collect the unpaid rent the judge will only award you the amount of rent up to the date you rented the place to someone else and the deposit. Also you can give the tenant the option to sublet the place.

Answer 4

A lease is a lease no matter what. Unless a judge tells you, that you can break the lease, you are stuck unless your landlord lets you out in writing.

And she will probably keep the security deposit. I don't know what state you are in but they probably have a department of housing. Call them and tell them the situation and they will tell you your rights, and your responsibilities.

Good luck, sounds like a real dump and at least next time you will know what to look for BEFORE moving in.

Answer 5

hold on a second. depending on your state, you are not going about this right. you mention that things have been brought up before, but never stated that those things were brought up in writing nor that a demand was made to repair them.

you have to give written notice of the violation and give the landlord time to repair it (amount of time varies with each state) and if he doesnt, then you can withold 1 months rent and have those things fixed yourself, or if it will cost more thazn 1 months rent, then give notice of a breach of contract and notice to move out and, again, amount of days provided landlord depends upon your state.

Do it your way and even if you are right, you will be in breach of the lease.

Answer 6

I relay don't think they are going to let you out of your leas for that stuff if you truly believe you have mold you can get a test and if it is positive then you can take them to court however most of the things you listed just sound like you are wining when you could and probably should take care of it your self you say your house stinks because of the basement get up off your bum go to the dollar store buy some gloves and cleaning supplies and clean your house maybe then it wont stink

Answer 7

This is fine if you have a month to month lease. Otherwise you may still be responsible for the vacancy between renting to the next person. Nice letter though.

Answer 8

It seems like its an old home. Make sure you have prove, you probably going to have to go through small court to get your deposit.

Answer 9

sounds reasonable to me....might have to take them to court if they won't refund your deposit and allow you to break your lease. sounds like a real dump...what part of the country do you live in? roaches ? yuck

Answer 10

boy you sure are a complainer....... who cares