Do I have right to terminate my one year apartment lease early after 2 months for the reason of constant disturbance?

The problem is: we recently moved to this furnished condo which is in a vacation community. The master bedroom is next to the stairs which makes noise especially in the night. Worse than that is the walls and ceiling that are very loose. When someone walks in the top floor, our walls and the ceiling start shaking and makes a lot of noise. Very similar to those small rooms in movies that when a subway train passes, everything starts vibrating. The problem is that those people are short term guests. They come and go every week/day. They usually come/leave in very early morning. It is so bad that my wife and I cannot sleep. In the beginning we could ignore it but now every small noise wakes us up. It is a terrible situation. My wife is diagnosed with depression and takes medicine and this is making our life more difficult. I decided to move out, because it is affecting my personal and professional life very negatively.

The property manager is saying that there is no option for me to terminate the contract and I should live there for entire the year. I also suggested her to pay some penalty or any other reasonable option but she is not accepting it and not giving me any way to move out.

Please, advice what I should do in this situation

I found this web site when I saw a similar post in here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/real-estate-law/early-lease-termination-florida-166849.html

I wish I could find either LisaB4657 or amyxa813.

I'm here.

You have to start creating some paper. Send a letter to your landlord with a copy to the property manager. Send them both by certified mail, return receipt requested. Also send a copy to each by regular mail. In the letter tell them everything that you've said here. Tell them that the noise is preventing your quiet enjoyment of the property. Then say that they must remedy this situation within the next 10 days and if they fail to do so then you will consider this a violation of the lease and you will have no choice but to move out and find a new place to live.

It may be difficult but try to make a recording of the noise.

If they don't make any effort to fix things, and if you really can't live there, then you're going to have to move out. If they try to sue you for the balance of the rent, or if they don't return your deposit and you file a lawsuit, then bring your copy of the letter to court to show the judge that you tried. It could go either way. Good luck.

Even in vacation rentals, there is a quiet time. Guests should be informed that the overnight hours are quiet time and every effort should be made to keep quiet.

Lisa gave you great advice. I would add that you should keep a journal of all the times you have been disturbed.

But I have to also warn you, that a judge may not see things the same way. And Florida is the worst state in which to break a lease, because the landlord is not required to make an effort to rent the property.

Because of this, if you want to try and break the lease, I would recommend hiring an attorney. A local attorney can give you better advice on what the local courts might do and how to secure sufficeint documentation to win your release.

Thank you so very much to both of you. You have been a great help to me. I have already recorded the noise along with a video in my digital camera(fortunately some moments of that was captured clearly).

There are three layers involved in this:

1- The community management: who is only responsible for the cleaning, gardening, swimming pool, etc.

2- The Lessor (the real estate): is managing the property. They made a false promise of letting me terminate the contract in 30 days but the document said it was only "at Lessor's option". Unfortunately, I was not carefult enough to catch this error and signed it. Now they are denying it. They are not cooperating in any ways. She doesn't want penalty, she only wants to force us stay in here.

3- The property owner: I have not talked to the landlord yet because I thought he would not be able to cancel the lease even if he really wanted to personally help me. Am I right in assuming this?

If the landlord is willing to cancel the lease then the property manager has no say in the matter.

Send the letters.

Thank you very much for your quick replies. Two more questions:

1- You said that I should send a letter by certified mail and again the same letter with regular post. Did I get it correctly? If yes, is there a reason behind it?

2- You said that "It could go either way". What is the worst case scenario in this case? Would they be able to make a bad credit history or background for me? Or it is only matter of money? And how much bad it could go?

Thank you very much for your quick replies. Two more questions:

1- You said that I should send a letter by certified mail and again the same letter with regular post. Did I get it correctly? If yes, is there a reason behind it?
Absolutely. If they refuse to accept delivery of the certified letter then there's no way to prove they received it. But they can't refuse a letter by regular mail. If your letter states at the bottom that it was sent by certified and regular mail, and if they refused the certified but the regular mail was not returned to you as undeliverable, then a court will assume that delivery was made.


2- You said that "It could go either way". What is the worst case scenario in this case? Would they be able to make a bad credit history or background for me? Or it is only matter of money? And how much bad it could go?
Florida is one of the worst states in the country for tenants. It's the only state I know of where the landlord is not required to try and re-rent the property when a tenant breaks a lease. By law they have the right to sit back and do nothing until the end of the term and sue you for the entire balance. If you don't pay them or work something out with them they will win a judgment against you and it will go on your credit report. The maximum amount would be the remaining rent for the lease term plus the cost of repairing any damage. So when you move out make sure you take pictures.

The first step is to send the letters. If the landlord finds out then they may be willing to work something out with you.

Because of this, if you want to try and break the lease, I would recommend hiring an attorney. A local attorney can give you better advice on what the local courts might do and how to secure sufficeint documentation to win your release.

I could do this. I am not a citizen nor am I a permanent resident in this country but the most important matter to me is that everything could go quietly without making a bad record for my future.

In other hand, it is impossible for us to stay in here. My wife has H-4 visa which does not give her permission to work. So, it is about two years that she only stays at home. I try my best to make her happy because she is sacrificing her for me. I cannot see her unhappy for such reasons.

Right now when I am writing this letter, it is 10:28pm in Florida and the top floor actually started walking which simply amplifies the noise to our home. I cannot ask them not to walk! And I would have very little chance to complain about the quality of construction of these condos. Probably, I am the only long term tenant in this community and others don't care if there is some noise in the night. Something like a hotel that one would say lets ignore it and never come back to here.

Sorry for the long story, but with all that said, do you think there is a very good chance to win the case in the court?

Thank you again!

Your chance of winning depends on 2 things:

1. How strong is your evidence? If you have video of the walls shaking that will be pretty strong.

2. What kind of mood is the judge in? If he's also a landlord who happens to have a really bad tenant at the moment then you may not have much luck.

The first step is to send the letters. If the landlord finds out then they may be willing to work something out with you.

I was watching a video in the Internet about how a person should try to talk less when there is a lawsuit or investigation going on. Because anything that you say, even if not bad, could later be against you. In this case, do you think it would be better to wait and ask the attorney to write a letter for me?

I am worried about paying money for the attorney and losing everything, the case, the money, and the credit.

It's always better to speak to an attorney when you're facing a legal situation like this. You should be able to find one who will give you a free consultation. Sit down with them, explain everything and see where it goes from there. Please come back and let us know what happens.

Your chance of winning depends on 2 things:

1. How strong is your evidence? If you have video of the walls shaking that will be pretty strong.

2. What kind of mood is the judge in? If he's also a landlord who happens to have a really bad tenant at the moment then you may not have much luck.

Thank you very much Lisa. You are really good in your job.

I understand what you are saying: It is always a risk even if you have a strong evidence. Of course I cannot capture a video of the walls being shaking like real visible shaking. This is a new and good community but by shaking I meant real vibration (sorry for my poor English). First it starts with a low frequency sound. Something like hoom boom hoom boom and then it gets more as they walk (or children run) causes loose joints of the walls, ceiling, and probably some loose metal items left between our ceiling and the floor of the top unit, make this noise. Something like diling diling diling... (it may sound funny but believe me it is not!)

As you said, I am planning to talk to an attorney and see what options I have. I have been living in several countries but I have to tell you, in this country you have to be really really careful about documents. This is the lesson that I learned: do not listen, read!

I will definitely share the progress with you.

Thanks again.

Hi again,

I prepared an email and sent it to several attorneys. I am waiting for their response.

Meanwhile, I found a handbook which seems to be very helpful. Here you can find it:

http://www.floridapirg.org/uploads/Le/Mr/LeMrpgDx23ksuwsXJvUavw/Renters-Rights-2.1.pdf

At the end of page 20 there is part that says:

1. Tenancy of Nonspecific Duration:
A tenancy of nonspecific duration may be either written or oral. Either you or your landlord can terminate such an arrangement upon the following notices:

Rent pay period ....................... Necessary Notice
week to week ..............................seven days notice
month to month .........................fi fteen days notice
quarter to quarter ........................thirty days notice
year to year ..................................sixty days notice

(Fla. Stat. § 83.57).
Either party must provide notice at least this far in advance of the next rent payment date in order to terminate the lease. Th is means that with a month to month lease, if either party wants to end the lease October 1st, they must notify the other party on or before September 15th. If one party gives notice on September 17th, that party cannot end the lease, without the other party's agreement, before November 1st.


Where as the actual chapter says:

83.57 Termination of tenancy without specific term. --A tenancy without a specific duration, as defined in s. 83.46(2) or (3), may be terminated by either party giving written notice in the manner provided in s. 83.56(4), as follows:

(1) When the tenancy is from year to year, by giving not less than 60 days' notice prior to the end of any annual period;

(2) When the tenancy is from quarter to quarter, by giving not less than 30 days' notice prior to the end of any quarterly period;

(3) When the tenancy is from month to month, by giving not less than 15 days' notice prior to the end of any monthly period; and

(4) When the tenancy is from week to week, by giving not less than 7 days' notice prior to the end of any weekly period.


Refrence: Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes :->2008->Ch0083->Section 57 : Online Sunshine (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0083/SEC57.HTM&Title=-%3E2008-%3ECh0083-%3ESection%2057#0083.57)


Now, there is something that I don't understand. I have a "one year" lease but I pay my rent "monthly". And my lease doesn't mention anything about termination of the contract from the tenant side.

Now which one is correct?

1- I can terminate my contract with a written notice in 15 days

2- I can terminate my contract with a written notice in 60 days

3- I can't terminate the lease earlier than 1 year

It would make me really happy if I could use this chapter and terminate the lease in even 60 days!

Thanks.

The chapters you quoted are for a periodic tenancy, meaning the lease has expired and has not been renewed for a full term or the original lease stated it was periodic. So they do not apply to you. As long as your lease has a future expiration date or specifies a term of 1 year, notne of that applies to you.

Thank you Scott. How about this one?

83.03 Termination of tenancy at will; length of notice.--A tenancy at will may be terminated by either party giving notice as follows:

(1) Where the tenancy is from year to year, by giving not less than 3 months' notice prior to the end of any annual period;

(2) Where the tenancy is from quarter to quarter, by giving not less than 45 days' notice prior to the end of any quarter;

(3) Where the tenancy is from month to month, by giving not less than 15 days' notice prior to the end of any monthly period; and

(4) Where the tenancy is from week to week, by giving not less than 7 days' notice prior to the end of any weekly period.

Reference: Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes :->2008->Ch0083->Section 03 : Online Sunshine (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0083/SEC03.HTM&Title=-%3E2008-%3ECh0083-%3ESection%2003#0083.03)

Does the first item mean that if my contract is from 1/1/2009 to 12/31/2009, then I can only give the notice after 9/1/2009? Or at any time I could give a notice and 3 months later I can move out?

Again, you don't have a tenancy at will. So this doesn't apply.

Thank you very much Scott.

A friend of mine told me that if I have to relocate to a new place, another state or another city in more than 70 miles, then I can terminate the contract. Do you have any clue if there is such a thing?

Thanks.

There is no such thing unless you're in the military.

Generally relocation is not grounds for early termination. Some leases might have that written in but only the military have laws to back up that ability.

I promised to update you with the progress. So, here you go:

After searching in Florida Bar web site (http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/MESearch?OpenForm) I found a few attorneys who were in Real Estate - Tenant/Landlord section and started sending them this email:


Dear Madam/Sir,

Recently my wife and I moved to a furnished condo in a vacation community. There is a constant noise disturbance which doesn't let us have proper sleep and peaceful enjoyment at home. Do I have the right to terminate my one year condo lease after 5 weeks for the reason of constant disturbance? The guests check in / check out any time during the day and night and they don't let us sleep. I would like to terminate this contract and move out ASAP

Please advise, how good is my chance to win this case and terminate the contract and move out? And approximately, how much time and money would it probably need?

My phone number is: xxx-xxx-xxxx

Thank you very much in advance.


I received a couple of emails back saying that I would have a little chance to win the case. I also received a call from a young attorney named Michael. He had about 30 minutes of talk (free of charge). His rate was $250 for an hour and he required 1 hour of work and explained for me that how tough Florida law is. He said he would call the owner and the agent and try to convince them that it would be better for both the parties that I give up my security deposit and they let me go. Otherwise it will go to the court and will be more expensive for both of us.

Today he called me and told me that they have agreed to have a "lease modification" which terminates the lease by the end of March 31st. He then sent me the lease modification, I signed it and faxed it to the property manager and they signed it immediately and sent it back to us.

I am sure that nobody could sleep under such an annoying noise in that unit, not the judge, nor the property manager, nor the owner. But it is sad that I couldn't complain and I should live for entire the year. That is indeed a torture but I am glad that although I lost a lot of money but I can finally get back my freedom.

Thanks again to both of you. You are amazing and I am sure without your help I would make many mistakes.

God bless you.

Often a letter from an attorney will intimidate enough to get what you wantl It shows your willingness to go to court which most people want to avoid.

Sounds like Michael will go far.

Congratulations. I think this was the best possible resolution for you.

Hi Again,

So today is my last day and I am going to handover the keys to the landlord. If you remember this case, I had forfeited my security deposit (=one month rent) to the property manager.
here are my new questions:

1- I assume I still need to take pictures and record video from the unit. So, how should this be done? And what parts/items are the most important things to be in the pictures?

2- I read some where that I have to take pictures of a newspaper of the day. Do you advise me to have the newspaper in all my frames? Otherwise one can attach an old picture to a set of the day's pictures.

3- Is it important to have the property manager walk through the unit? Do I need to get a checklist paper signed by her?

Thanks!

If you do 3, than 1 and 2 are less required.

The proof of date should be in some shots, especially those showing damage.

If the PM won't do a walk through, then see if you can get an imaprtial 3rd party to do it with you.