Am I able to break my lease early?

Question

My boyfriend, his mom and I rented out a newly remodeled house back in the end of May 2007. The lease will end May 31, 2008. However, since moving in, we have discovered that the landlord does not have the proper permits that would have allowed her to remodel the house. She didn't get any for the kitchen, bathrooms and some of the electrical wiring. Because of this, several times we have had inspectors come to check out the property. In order for them to check out the wiring, they would need to cut a 3' x 3' hole in the wall. I read through the lease agreement and it doesn't say anything about we can or cannot break the lease and what the terms on that are, etc. It just says something about how it started May 20th, 2007 and will end May 31, 2008, totaling the amount of $19,xxx. Would I be able to get out of my lease because of this? Thanks!

Thanks for all of the responses. The inspectors did send a notice stating something needed to be fixed by Oct 27th, but that never happened. It's basically a dip right before our driveway. They say it catches water during rainfall and then causes to our neighbor's front yards to flood up. So they have been cited on something and nothing's been done. I think I'll just call a local office that handles this and see what they say. Thanks again!

Answer 1

No. You do not have a valid excuse to break your lease. That the landlord did not obtain proper permits is not an excuse to break a lease, nor is a 3' x 3' hole in a wall, as long as it is repaired within a reasonable time after the hole is cut.

Assumably, the landlord is now complying with local permit laws and having appropriate inspections made. Without a doubt, they will 'red tag' anything which they find to be improper and the landlord will repair same to the inspector's satisfaction.

Others have stated that the landlord did not adhere to local building codes. You don't know that, and won't know that until the inspectors finish their work. It may be entirely up to code, and just lacked inspections BEFORE the walls were closed up.

Answer 2

The fact that it is making it hard for you to live there then yes. You can break a lease legally when living conditions dimness. Especially if she already knew she was in the wrong BEFORE she leased it to you. Counter sue her if she tries to take you to court for all the lease money back since illegal remodeling was done.

Answer 3

Where do you live?

Even if not stated explicitly in the rental agreement landlords are required to provide certain things. I would think that adhering to local codes and building standards would be one of those things. If the building is not up to code you could probably argue that it is an unsafe dwelling which should trump the lease. Again you would have to research laws in your jurisdiction.

Answer 4

you could still continuously ruin a hire, yet there are criminal or financial outcomes. examine your hire, intently. no longer something pronounced rises to the point of uninhabitability, so i might advise you stick it out or face dropping your deposit. have you ever stated any/all of those perceived problems to LL? Has LL tried to treatment any of them? put in a well mannered, written request that LL handle the themes. Be well mannered, businesslike and concise. no longer each and every thing a tenant needs completed is needed for a LL to do. FYI elkmeirer: that isn't severe college--there at the instant are not any physician's excuses to get out of a hire without outcomes.

Answer 5

Because there is no clause saying that you can, you are probably financially obligated to pay. Find someone specializing in tenant's rights. You may have other options because of the remodeling issues.