Can we get out of an apt lease if my husband gets his old job back from our previous state?

Question

We have been having hot water problems since the day we moved here and still do. Our water takes 15 minutes to get warm. I mean only warm, not hot! Isnt the water supposed to be hot enough to wash dishes? We hand wash them becasue the dishwasher doesnt cut it. I hope they let us go that easy--we have been very unhappy tenants with the water problem 3 months now.

And we pay for the water, they dont! Our water bill was 50 dollars from last month. Cuz we kept the water running in order for it to stay warm.

We have been addressing the problem for 3 months.

Answer 1

You signed a contract didn't you? That should answer your question.

Answer 2

Ideame is correct. Some states and localities have laws that allow you to terminate a lease early, say, on two-month's proper notice, if your job requires you to move out of the area. If your lease doesn't have such a clause, do some research on your state and local landlord-tenant laws. If there's no law, then terminating early would be a breach of lease, but you might be able to work out a deal with the landlord anyway.

As to the lack of hot water, this won't amount to cause to allow you to break the lease. After all you still get warm water, and it's summertime. I'd check with your locality's housing code inspections office--most cities require that the water be heated to a certain temperature. If your area has such an agency, call it and get an inspection, and they can order the landlord to fix the problem. It might be something simple such as just changing the setting on the water heater.

Answer 3

Getting out of a lease can be tricky. However, I believe you can get out of any contract depending how much it is going to cost you. In ,my experience, most landlords will release you from a lease if you are willing to commit to paying rent for the period until the property is re-let. If you give the notice as specified in the lease, then there is no big deal. If the property is any good, it should be re-let fairly quickly.

If you are changing State, just leave. Is the landlord really going to pursue accross State lines.

Answer 4

You have signed a valid lease, and are expected to honor it to its termination date. Your hot water issue is separate from the contract, and should have been addressed to the landlord in complaint form. The water complaint does not invalidate your lease, however.

If the landlord wants to play hardball, he is entitled to collect rents until he either re-rents the property, or until the termination date. On top of that, he can charge you costs of re-renting, such as advertising fees.

I know of no state's laws which allow termination of a lease because you leave the area. That provision would have to have been written into the lease when you signed it. Such legal language is many times used when renting to military personnel, since it is common for them to be transferred. However, law does not mandate that it be included.

Answer 5

Only if the landlord permits it...when you sign a lease, it's a two-way street....you agree to provide him with "X" number of months of steady income, and he agrees to provide you a place to live at a fixed rental rate.

He is under no legal obligation to terminate the lease. The only exception is active military duty due to involuntary transfer, and that has to be disclosed up front.

Answer 6

I could be mistaken but if you move more than say 25 miles from your apartment they are required by law to realease you.

I was in the military years ack and got out early and moved back to my state and the landlord had no choice as I couldnt commute 800 miles.
Check with your local ombudsman office, You should be able to find the info online for your area.