Repairs, Maintenance Breaking my lease

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jstwntanswers

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In April 2013, I rented a 3bd/2ba home that I thought was great. Little did I know, the landlord was a slumlord. When I moved in, I noticed that my side door was hung improperly and that you can see outside. When I brought this to the landlord's attention, his reply was, "I'll get right to it. " Well not even a day later after settling in, I see that front bathroom doesn't work. Meaning the toilet doesn't work. Again, I brought this to his attention and was told he would get right to it. Slowly, things began to pile up in my back yard; a zero turn lawn mower, a utility house that I can't and don't use, a jet ski, a broke down dog house, boards with nails and bricks. With all of the things piled up, my children aren't allowed to go play, they okay in the road or front yard. Here it is, January 2014, and it is freezing, the same door that was supposed to be fixed in April, isn't fixed, the bathroom that was supposed to be fixed, isn't fixed and he still has stuff in the yard I am paying for an can't use. So I found a place bigger, better and less expensive by $200. On my lease it says $650, but he makes me pay $700. Are the things I listed grounds for mme to leave without serious repercussions? By the way, most of his tennent have worst complaints than me and are moving also.
 
I'm going to assume you wish to break your lease without the risk of being sued by the landlord for doing this. As such, it's important that you have documentation that you have a. addressed your repair concerns to your landlord IN WRITING (so they can't claim you never notified them) and b. given then adequate time to address these. In other words, if you've told him about this items verbally and you leave over his not repairing them and he sues you, it will be hard for you to prove in court that you brought these issues up.

I hope this makes sense.

One thing you might consider is contacting your local Code Enforcement office regarding the toilet and slanted door issue. It's unlikely that the items piling up in the back yard are enough to make the house be considered "uninhabitable" but these other issues MIGHT be . Keep in mind that Code Enforcement might give the landlord a certain amount of time to address these repair issues as opposed to condemning the house over them (especially if you have a second bathroom you can use).

Good luck...

Gail
 
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