I just moved into a four apartment building and I live in the bottom aparment. I discovered it is a pretty old building and it has several shortcomings. The water from the bathtub is brown for a while before it clears. The kitchen cabinets smell moldy. But the worst part is that the wooden floor of the upstairs neighbours squeeks like crazy and it is really becoming intolerable. I talked to the landlord but he claims there is nothing he can do about it. I want to move out, but I don't want to break my lease (I still have about nine months to go). My lease states that if the apartment is uninhabitable, the landlord should either fix it or terminate the lease. The lease does not say what is considered under uninhabitable, so I was wondering if the complaints mentioned above would be enough to consider the apartment uninhabitable? Or is there another option? I would really appreciate any usefull tips. Thanks!
2007-11-16 06:03:13 · 4 answers · asked by Belgiansteve 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
I feel your pain. I once lived in an apartment where the windows leaked, the heating was faulty, sometimes the hot water wouldn't work (had to heat it on the stove and and pour it into the tub) AND we had no access to the breaker boxes. It seemed like we were living in the dark ages, but it was only like 5 years ago!
The bad part of having a lease like you mention is that your landlord could care less what you want. He knows you're probably not going to sue him (because you clearly don't have the funds to do so - or else you wouldn't be living there), but the minute you break that lease, he could sue you. My situation got to the point where I would call my landlord and she wouldn't answer her phone because she knew it was me. I'd have to use pay phones to call her just so she wouldn't recognize the number. Trust me, I spent many a night so angry at my landlord.
Anyway, here's my advice: (1) Keep a log of the things that went wrong, when they happened, and when you called / communicated the issue to the landlord. If it gets to be so ridiculous that you have to break your lease, at least you have a record of what happened. (2) You can call the health department to come out and inspect your place. They'll come out and if they see problems, they could file a report against your landlord, which would also be really helpful if you break your lease.
I have resorted to the two actions above, and it's not fun. I wish I had some more positive things to share with you! Good luck! :)
2007-11-16 06:16:37 · answer #1 · answered by Pooty Pootwell 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Nothing you have listed make the place qualify as uninhabitable. To qualify for that, you would need something serious such as lack of heating, plumbing which does not work, or similar. A squeaky floor and a bit of rust coming out of the water supply do not come close to qualifying as making the place uninhabitable.
2007-11-16 14:08:24 · answer #2 · answered by acermill 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it doesnt seem to appear that anything is really wrong with your apartment. You should ask for the landlord to replace the faucet but, the rest there is really nothing that can be done. spray febreeze in you cabinets. If your unhappy then break your lease because that is the only way out of this one.
2007-11-16 14:13:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The moldy smell, could actually be Mold.
If you were to have a real mold problem, it could cause serious health problems. That could be grounds to move out.
2007-11-16 14:12:38 · answer #4 · answered by It's Just Me 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋