Hi, I have recently rented a home in Cape Coral with my boyfriend. My lease started on the 1st of July through Remax. While living there for 3 days I have experienced that something was wrong with the plumbing system. All the fecal material came up in the toilets, showers, even in the sinks. The smell was repulsive. Therefore, I contacted my property manager Sandie Gamiel from Remax. That same evening she sent out help to the septic tank. Although, he did not find what the problem was and didn't fix anything. We have informed her about that and we specifically told her we need to take emergency procedures and send a plumber to solve this critical situation. I was unable to use any utilities. Sandie automatically said that she can't do anything else, and that she has already spent about 300 dollars and can't call anyone else for help. She said that she will call us tomorrow morning and try to get help. Next day, being Saturday morning we did not receive a phone call. By noon we tried calling her until she answered. We asked her if she is sending us help because we cannot stay in this smelly, unsanitary atmosphere, or travel to a public restroom,or go to the beach to take a shower. All she had to say was use the bathrooms and don't flush the toilets. She wanted us to leave it there in the unlivable conditions. We kept expressing our concern about our mental state and physical state of being unable to live there. Sandie told us to wait till Monday. It was very hard communicating with her rude behavior. Therefore, I asked my mom to give her a call, so that they can have an adult to adult conversation. Although, Sandie continued with her rude behavior, blamed things on my boyfriend and I and hong up the telephone. We immediately took of and went to a hotel because we did not want to risk any health issues as well as the unbelievable smell. Saturday evening we contacted the owner John Simpson via email. We had the email from previous contact with his before we decided to rent the house. We wrote to him that Sandie did not want to take emergency procedures and that at this point it is very critical, and that he needs to contact us by phone because we won't have internet service . He called us from an unknown number that Saturday evening. As we explained the situation and what the property manager has said to us he was shocked. We requested our money back in full for the rent and hotel and told him that we are unable to live in that house any longer. He quickly agreed and reassured us that he will give us the money back in full. Sunday he kept us posted and told us that it was the builders fault, and that Sandie will be keeping in touch of what happens. On Monday morning we have contacted Sandie and told her that we will no longer be living in the house and that as the owner said we will get our money back. Her behavior kept getting worse as she said "get your to the office". We did not go. She called us a couple hours later telling us that the problem in the house is fixed and that we will be moving back there Tuesday morning. We kept telling her that we will not go back there and that the owner said that he will give us the money back. At that point John denied that that's what he said. He has mislead my boyfriend and I because we are young adults. Mentally and physically we are unable to live in that house. because every time that I will go and take a shower I will have the site of what I saw Friday evening. They do not want to give us our money back, although it is impossible for us to stay there. We really do need professional help. We need to break that lease through implied warranty of habitability.

It does sound like you were not treated fairly and may be entitled to a weeks worth of rent. Since the problem has now been fixed you can't really use the past experience to break your lease. How much have you paid in rent and security? You could try to walk away but you'd probably loose that money. That may be enough to satisfy them and cause them to not go after you in court.

Hello mag:

I agree with ballenger. You wouldn't win on the habitability issue, because they fixed it. I believe you are entitled to a rent abatement for the time you were in the hotel, though, and maybe the cost of the hotel too.

It really depends on what you plan to DO about it, though. If you're definitely NOT going back, you're going to lose some rent, and the rent abatement isn't an issue. If you go back, you may lose some dinner..

So, your choice is between the better of two evils. Living there, or losing money.

excon