Breaking our lease

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nicks161

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My jurisdiction is: Dayton, Ohio

I moved into my first apartment with my girlfriend a few months ago here in Dayton, Ohio. Since we've moved in, we have had nothing but problems. Our dishwasher did not work and we had to hand wash everything for nearly 3 months until they finally got us a new one. Mold has grown on our pantry walls and has been cleaned out twice now. It was bad enough the second time to cause the wood trim to pop off the walls. The people that live above us are loud all the time. Every footstep they take can be heard, they constantly stomp around all the time, extremely loud bangs are heard everyday, the little kid can be heard screaming, and the adults can even be heard talking. Within the last month, the hot water heater seems to be going out too. We have asked about just moving into a different apartment somewhere within the same community but were told that we could not do that. I have talked to the boss of my community manager on the phone. She claimed the mold problem had been fixed by maintenance, but I don't see how it could have been since all he did was simply wipe it off. Drywall was never cut out. She told me the noise was "part of apartment living". Basically, she told me that she was not going to do anything for me. I went to the office today to find out the cost of breaking our lease and it was just over $6000. At this point, we both just want to get out of this apartment and I want to know where we should go from here. Do we have a right to break the lease and move out? Should I be looking into getting a lawyer?
 
Unfortunately, some of the issues you describe...such as the noise from folks living above you...do come with living in an apartment situation. There's really little management can do about noise people make going about their everyday lives.

You mention the hot water heater "seems" to be going out. Does it still provide hot water? Have you mentioned this issue to management?

Not having a dishwasher for three months is really not justification for breaking a lease. It's also important to keep in mind that the issue of mold has, unfortunately, been beaten to death by many tenants. Anyone who wants to break a lease suddenly claims mold issues (and often this mold is nothing more than mildew).

There are many strains of mold and only a very, very few pose any sort of health risk to humans. Mold is quite easily handled by a combination of either bleach and water or hydrogen peroxide and water. Enclosed places such as bathrooms, closets and pantries can be good places for mold to grow, especially in hot, humid summer heat.

The bottom line is that nothing you have mentioned really justifies breaking your lease without the risk of financial penalties, including the possibility of a lawsuit for rent owed until the unit can be rerented. Far better to wait until your lease runs out naturally and you make certain you notify management that you don't wish to renew this.

Gail
 
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