Can she get out of her lease?

Question

My sister in-law[single], on two occasions, found a man masturbating outside of her window. She called the police and has a police report. She spoke to her landlord about this and he said she still has a duty to fulfill her lease regardless but she no longer feels safe and has difficulty sleeping. If taken to court, will the court bend based on the circumstance?

Answer 1

she still has the duty to fulfill all lessee agreements per the lease, and kit is correct too. kit is talking about a notice to vacate (it should be sent by registered mail, and your sis should get some kind of receipt or proof that it went to the landlord).

however, the landlord MIGHT still be able to hold her responsible to pay the balance of the rent. a lease is a contract. if you break the terms of a lease, it is committing a "tort," a wrongful act.

the owner can then sue her for the rent due and probably would retain the security deposit(s). however, if i were a judge, i'd probably want to see the proof that she tried to honestly get out of the lease due to the threat of personal danger. then i'd ask the landlord what he did to protect her. if he did nothing, then i might not allow for him (because she also fulfilled her obligation to promptly notify him ahead of time when she would vacate) to keep her security deposit(s) or to pay forthcoming rent.

Answer 2

Your landlord is wrong. She can give 30 days written notice, and if the terms of her lease says 60 days, then she has 60 days. I would think the landlord could put up a motion-sensitive light by the window that would probably scare the person, and they would run away.She needs to really check her lease agreement.

Answer 3

It depend what state you live in, I know in CA she would be able to give notice and move out because she feels for her safety. She should be able to move!