Hi,

I've been having landlord and roommate issues since I moved into my apartment on August 1, 2008,(in Michigan). Here's what's been going on:

Roommate:
1) Roommate has a dog (brown lab) who she was supposed to take to puppy school in August for potty training. Needless to say, that didn't happen and he pees EVERYWHERE! I have been telling the landlord consistently since November, but he hasn't done anything.

2) The roommate also lets the dog poop in the area near our front porch and doesn't clean it up. So when you stand on the porch, it smells like dog poop. This has become even more of an issue since it has started snowing. She lets him pee down the front stairs, which means that she and the dog tracks dog pee into our apartment.

3) The dog barks continuously because she leaves it in the cage for hours a day, and when it gets out of the cage, he pees all over the apartment.

4) Roommate refuses to clean up after herself. There is dog hair all over the apartment because she won't vacuum and stains in the carpet from where she used the wrong cleaning products when the dog peed on the carpet.

Landlord:
1) There have been broken light bulbs in both front and back stairwells since December. It's to the point that I have to use a flashlight at night to get up the stairs safely. I've informed the landlord numerous times but he has not fixed them. This is really dangerous because most tenants don't lock the front door, which makes it a cake walk for anyone to come into the building.

2) Everyone's cars have gotten stuck in the parking area because it's Michigan and winter, and the landlord hasn't had the driveways plowed or our stairs and sidewalk shoveled.

3) The laundry room and stairwells are dirty and full of pet hair. I have allergies, and have requested that the landlord have them cleaned. He had the stairs swept, and the washing machines wiped down once (in 6 months).


Misc.:
The downstairs neighbors play loud music, and have their television playing loudly all day, which constantly interrupts my studying.

* There are other things, but my main question is whether I can break my lease because of my roommate and the things that my landlord has not done. What do you think?

I've taken pictures of the grimy stuff that my roommate did, and the laundry room, but it's hard to capture the blown light bulbs and infrequency of general maintenance.

I don't know if you can just move out and not suffer any consequences. You may want to try to find someone to take your place.

As for the landlord, the only thing they've really done wrong is not shoveling. The light bulbs aren't a major issue and you can't hold the landlord liable if the other tenants aren't locking the door. The laundry room isn't a safety issue, so that's pointless to even bring up.

If I might ask, why did you choose a roommate with a puppy if you knew you had allergies? If you can't put up with the pet hair in the laundry room, how do you tolerate it in your apartment?

Thanks for answering my question. I agreed to move in the apartment with the girl and her puppy under the agreement that she would clean up after the dog (sweeping, vaccuming, and not letting him pee down the front stairs), and take him to puppy training school. I don't have a severe allergy to the dog, but I get irritated when there is hair everywhere.

The stairs and the laundry room were more requests for cleanliness of the areas that all tenants share. Here's how the conversation with the landlord went:

Me: "Are you going to have the stairs swept and the laundry room cleaned up?
Landlord: "Oh sure, I have a cleaning staff who makes rounds through all of my properties."
Me: "Can she come this month when she comes to clean our unit?"
Landlord: "No problem. It should only take her 15 minutes."

So, that's why I kind of wanted to add it in as another reason to leave.

So far I haven't seen any grounds to break your lease. But you have left out one of the most important aspects of this. Who is your lease with? You moved into an apartment already occupied by someone. Is your lease with the roommate? Did you sign a lease also signed by the roommate? Do you have a separate lease?

Did you get your agreement with the roommate to clean up after her dog in writing?

The only thing that comes close to creating an unsafe condition is the light bulbs. What I would do, is give the landlord notice to repair the condition in writing with a statement that if he doesn't fix it by x date, you will replace the bulbs yourself and deduct the cost from your rent.

But its not enough to get out of your lease.