What gets is out of our lease

ZKDelahoyde

New Member
Jurisdiction
Texas
Our landlord has decided to create an RV pad area so he can rent out those spaces as well. Problem is, he has ran plumbing from the RV pad area into our septic tank. He has ran other water lines from our main line in to the RV area as well. Plus he's tying in to our electricity, it's in our name and it comes from our personal bank account, none of it is paid by him. We were not notified before moving in that he was going to be making such changes. Also he has not pulled any permits or notified the power company or the water company.No licensed plumbers or electricians have looked at or performed any of the work.
Question is: 1) should I report this to the power and water company? 2) most importantly, is this a way to get out of our lease?
 
You might first tip off the local building inpectors, ANONYMOUSLY, of course.

Or, have a NEUTRAL 3rd party eat the cheese, drop the dime, rat out the cheater; then quietly sit back and wait for the fireworks.
 
Before we moved in, we walked through the place with the landlord, in an area the floor is very visibly rotting away. It was brought to our attention and we assumed it would be fixed. 4 months later it is not fixed. Our lease also specifies that they would have a pin lock in the sliding door, plus the cross arm on the sliding door. Neither are there. At the beginning, the sliding door wouldn't even lock, so my husband bought a lock and installed it when the landlord was present. They never reimbursed us. Our lease also says there would be keyless deadbolt locks on the doors, those were never installed. The lease makes mention that they would rekey the locks after the old tenant left, this did not happen, we watched the keys go from the old tenant, to them and then to us. There's waterstains on the ceiling in a few places, these were also pointed out during the walk through, those are not fixed and they never checked for mold. The place was never cleaned before we moved in, it was left up to us to clean carpets, clean up the cockroaches, mouse feces, rat poisoning and throw out all the items left by the old tenant. And no, we were never reimbursed for the cleaning. This might sound petty, but we're in month 4 of a 12 month lease and need to move out because our income has drastically changed (something we didn't see coming when we signed the lease) so we couldn't make rent and utility payments even if we stayed.
Thank you in advance!
 
This might sound petty, but we're in month 4 of a 12 month lease and need to move out because our income has drastically changed (something we didn't see coming when we signed the lease) so we couldn't make rent and utility payments even if we stayed.


You recited several items never repaired, yet you moved into the dilapidated, decrepit premise.

You also started your questioning with a post about the landlord stealing from you.

Our landlord has decided to create an RV pad area so he can rent out those spaces as well. Problem is, he has ran plumbing from the RV pad area into our septic tank. He has ran other water lines from our main line in to the RV area as well. Plus he's tying in to our electricity, it's in our name and it comes from our personal bank account, none of it is paid by him. We were not notified before moving in that he was going to be making such changes. Also he has not pulled any permits or notified the power company or the water company.No licensed plumbers or electricians have looked at or performed any of the work.
Question is: 1) should I report this to the power and water company? 2) most importantly, is this a way to get out of our lease?


Then you reveal the reason you want out of the lease is because your income has decreased.

It is very hard to get out of a lease, especially if you don't recite the "magic words" and then effect the "magic steps" to freedom.

I suggest you start a discussion with your landlord about the broken promises.

During that discussion, ask your landlord what it would cost you to break the lease legally.

If she/he agrees, make sure you get the terms in writing and signed by both you and the landlord.

I'm guessing this landlord might want at least one, maybe two months rent, and will want to retain your deposit.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Good luck.
 
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