Can I legally get out of my lease?

Question

I am renting a 3 bdrm duplex and I signed a 1 yr lease on the property, however my landlord has ignored all of my concerns when I have called him about something not working or being broke. My screen door won't stay shut, I have no screens on any of my windows, and the absolute worst is that my kitchen light(which is flouresent) is duck taped together which is a fire hazard. I called my landlord over a month ago about the screens and the kitchen light he sent someone over to look at it and nothing since. I have a 13 month old baby and I feel that this house is not safe for her. So can I legally get out of my lease. Thank you! (by the way I live in IL)

Answer 1

You might able to - if you follow the next step. Send a certified letter to your landlord stating clearly your concerns, and give a time limit (day 2 weeks from date of receipt of letter) for them to be rectified, or you're going to seek legal counsel. Keep a copy of this letter.

If nothing is done, then you have a leg to stand on.

Answer 2

Take pictures .Duties of the Landlord

The landlord has two common-law duties. The first is to give the tenant possession of the land; the second is to provide the premises in a habitable condition - there is an implied warranty of habitability. If landlord violates either, the tenant can break the lease and move out, or stay and sue the landlord for damages

The lease also includes an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment - landlord will not interfere with tenant's quiet enjoyment. This can be breached in three ways.

1. Total eviction of tenant through direct physical invasion by landlord
2. Partial eviction - when the landlord keeping tenant off part of the leased property (even locking a single room). Tenant can stay on the remaining property without paying any rent.
3. Partial eviction by someone other than landlord - where this occurs, rent is apportioned. If landlord leases tenant 100 acres of land, but it turns out that 40 of those acres belong to another person, tenant only has to pay 60% of the rent.

Landlord's Tort Liability

Under the Common Law, the landlord had no duties to the tenant to protect the tenant or the tenant's licensees and invitees, except in the following situations:

Failure to disclose latent defects of which the landlord knows or has reason to know. Note that the landlord has no duty to repair, just to disclose.
For a short term lease (3 months or less) of a furnished dwelling, the tenants are treated as invitees, and the landlord is liable for defects even if the landlord neither knows nor should know of them.
Common areas under landlord's control (e.g. hallways in an apartment building), if the landlord failed to use reasonable care in maintaining them.
Injury resulting from landlord's negligent repairs - even if the landlord used all due care.
Public use, if the following three factors exist:
Landlord knows or should know that the tenant makes public use of the land (e.g. the land is rented for use as a restaurant or a store);
Landlord knows or should know that there is a defect; and
Landlord knows or should know that the tenant will not fix the defect

Answer 3

Duct tape on the light fixture may be ugly ,
But it is NOT a fire hazard .

Neither are screens a safety issue .
And since both of these issues were apparent when you rented ,
You were suppose to require them to be changed if they wanted you to rent .

To get out of a lease you need a legitimate issue that the landlord has NOT corrected after being notified in writing ,
For example > Heat not working in the winter ,
No hot water , Toxic mold and rodents or vermin .

Ugly and / or inconvenient issue like screens are NOT grounds for breaking a lease unless they were documented in the lease and the landlord agreed to do the modifications per the lease .

You know you do not like this place , and the lease is only 1 year .
Start doing your next place hunting now .
Spend you energy finding a place that works for you
And this time , pay attention to these obvious issues .

Better to use your energy to find the new place than waste it fighting a loosing battle .

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