Jurisdiction: Beaverton, Oregon
I found an apartment at the beginning of the month and was approved. I was asked to put down a $200.00 deposit, to hold the apartment, which would then be put toward the first month's rent. This was a written agreement, an Agreement to Execute Lease. The agreement stated the monthly rent, along with the start and end dates of the lease, which was 12 months in duration. Last week, a few days before I was to move-in, the apartment complex called and said they didn't have anymore 12 month leases to offer, only a 10 or 13 month lease was available. I advised them that our agreement was in writing, and that they needed to honor that, which they did. I was told my apartment would be ready on 12/19. I went in to sign the lease and performed a walk through of the unit. This place was disgusting as there was dog hair around various areas of the apartment, a dirty toilet, which included urine stains, and dirty shower caulking that had not been replaced. These were the major issues, but the apartment had other things wrong with it. I took detailed pictures of the unit as well and have not been back, since the unit was not ready. After going through this, I do not want to relocate to the apartment complex. In your opinion, is there any way to terminate the lease without penalty? If so, could I also get all of the money that I put toward the transaction back? I plan on talking to the apartment manager about this tomorrow, but I wanted a heads up. Thanks for your time!
