I moved into a "safe neighborhood" according to my landlord. There are prostitutes, drug dealers and there has been 2 separate nights where guns were fired very close to the house. One was a drive by shooting into the house next door in Oct. The house is 50 feet away and there were 6 or 7 shots. The second was tonight, 3 months later, and it was close enough to make me jump and the neighbor to run into his house. I was inside with the windows shut. There was about 6 or 7 shots fired this time as well. I called the landlord and they want me to find someone to live here if I leave and told me danger is everywhere (but said this was a safe place when we moved in!! ) Can I break my lease? Please help, I don't want to be shot doing homework in my own home.

Safe is a term with opinion. Perhaps for inner city, it has never been broke into and no resident there was ever raped and killed.

Next if there were hookers and drug dealers, they would or should have been visible when you toured the home.

Since these things are not under control of the landlord, no this is not reason to break a lease.

They are being fair in that they will allow you to sub lease or find someone to take over your lease.

So advertise and do so

Actually there have been more than one rape with in 1000 feet of the house. I looked at the police report and there is 8 pages of break ins, rapes, assaults, etc. The prostitutes aren't just standing there, they walk through at different times, I saw one get picked up at 8:30 am. This isn't the inner city, its far from it actually, just a rough section of an otherwise great city. There are also 42 sex offenders in the zip code...

Not wanting to sound "smart" but before you move is when you check the stats,

But nothing he said is part of the lease, you are bound by the terms of that lease as they are. So you can only break it for a reason allowed in the lease.

Ok well not the answer I wanted but it makes sense. I just hope no one gets hit by a stray bullet. And I realize I should have checked, the house is nice and I think I wanted it to be safe so... Lesson learned, at what cost though? Hopefully not more than the $1000 a month I already pay.

Thanks