I am having some pretty major problems in my apartment complex and with the management of my apartment complex and would like some expert advise. The first year and a half I lived there, everything was fine, minus a couple minor maintenance issues. However, since new management took over in February 2007, things have gone down hill very quickly. I have had several issues with a few neighbors regarding noise pollution and have had to call the cops numerous times. Every time I try and get something done about it with the apartment manager it takes forever and he acts like he can't do anything about it, or just doesn't want to cause he can't deal with conflict. Noise issues aside, the crime in my apartment complex has risen considerably since his takeover of the place. On August 31, 2007 my apartment was broken into, and all my electronics were stolen to include; TV, dvd player, cd player, brand new laptop, printer, and digital camera. At that time, after having the cops do their end, I began trying to get out of my lease. I filled out the break lease form and was told by the manager, he didn't see it being a problem under the circumstances and he would forward it to his boss immediately. Well immediately for him is obviously 5 weeks, when its only suppose to be a 30 day notice, however, I chose to give 60 days, since he stated in 60 days he could DEFINITELY have my apt rerented and I wouldn't have to worry about paying extra money. I went through several unreturned calls with his boss and when I was finally able to speak to this man he told me what my break lease terms would be. Now, mind you, there are no lease termination rules set out in the actual lease except for when you have a job transfer of more than 35 miles from the residence. This man informed me he would be able to approve my break lease in Jan 2008 (it was Nov 2007 at the time) and that I had one of two options, money wise. Option one was pay 1 months rent, forfeit the security deposit and pay for any damages out of pocket. Option two was pay 2 months rent, have sec. dep. Used for damages and get a refund of the remaining amount. He also told me all the maintenance issues I had laid out in the letter I had written would be taken care of. He stated he was treating it as a written request for maintenance which requires a 21-30 day turnaround. After the manager received a copy of this letter he stated things would be repaired. After 4 weeks went by I finally had to start calling the office everyday to see what was going to get done and when. He even had the audacity to ask me what needed to be fixed when he had a 4 1/2 page letter detailed it for him. So come the end of December I called the Property Manager who had given me the options to discuss the possibility of getting out of my lease again. He states to me he doesn't recall ever seeing my break lease form or speaking to and he assured me he would not have given me those option cause they don't have a break lease policy, yet they have a form. I'm still trying to get the repair done on my patio door frame. The entire door frame, inside and out, is nothing but rotting wood. This has been ongoing for months. More recently there have been two drive/run by shootings in the past couple months. One of which was literally right outside my apartment building, right near my car. This happened this past Friday night. Luckily the guy wasn't killed but someone else could've been. I apologize for the length of this question, but I wanted to provide all the facts. I need to know if there is anything I can do in order to get out of my lease without have to pay thousands of dollars. I fear for the safety of myself and my daughter. It has affected our quality of life seeing as she has become increasingly violent by hitting me and others and screaming for no good reason and I cannot sleep for fear of something bad happening. Any advice or resources anyone could provide me would be greatly appreciated.

Ok so I can see people are reading my issue, but the problem is nobody is responding. This site is suppose to be for getting advice and yet I can't seem to get any. Would someone please take the time to respond.

Hello melissa:

Try using paragraphs. It makes your question MUCH more understandable. It's very hard to read. That may be why your question has gone unanswered.

Apparently you don't have a copy of the letter where the deal to break your lease was accepted previously. That would be the thing to have.

Therefore, since you can't prove they ever offered you the deal, and because you have so many problems layered upon so many other problems, that I think the only thing for you to do is move. The grounds you should use are the “implied warranty of habitability”.

Don't worry about convincing your landlord that you have grounds. That will not happen. All you have to do is convince a judge IF they sue you for breaking the lease. From what you've said about them, I don't think they will.

Of course, if you dump on them, they surly will. In order for your grounds to be sustained in court, you need to move NOW. Not on the 1st - NOW. Send your landlord a letter giving them ALL the reasons you stated in your question, and tell them that the total of the problem results in your unit being "uninhabitable". Offer to let them keep your security deposit and your last month rent if they agree not to sue you for the balance of the lease.

Then clean the place up beautifully. Call the landlord for a walkthrough. Take pictures, even if the landlord doesn't come.

You're not going to be able to get out scott free.

excon

If a lease doesn't have a early termination clause then you are subject to the whims of the landlord. They can hold you to the terms of your lease. A 2 month buyout (which is what you were offered) is pretty standard.

When does your lease expire?

excon--No I don't have a copy because I have been refused one. However, I'm going in to the office and demanding a copy of everything in my file. Hopefully the break lease letter is in there. Although no I don't have anything in writing depicting the terms the property manager told me, even though I did ask for it in writing, just never got it. Unfortunately I cannot just pick up and move with a small child without a place to live. That is very unrealistic. However I am looking for places as we speak. I sent them a 4 page letter outlining all the problems in my apartment. The minor stuff was fixed but the major damage has not been. The entire framing of my patio door is rotted really badly and water comes under my door and gets about an inch of the carpet there wet.

Scott--My lease isn't up until August. The only lease termination clause in my lease is for someone who's current job transfers them more than 35 miles away from their residence. I never got the two months rent terms in writing although it was requested as stated above. They just like jerking people around and I've caught the landlord lying to people several times. But again, I can't prove it.

As excon said, if you can document the uninhabitable conditions like the patio door, you can let them take you to court and you will probably win.

Oh I can definitely take pictures and I have ever conversation, incident, and action or lack thereof documented in a notebook. I'm also getting a mold test and if that's positive I'll have that too.

Hello again, melissa:

In terms of the "uninhabitable" defense, the law looks at it one way. If it's UN-inhabitable, then it is. That means you can't live there. If you CAN live there until you find a new residence, then it really isn't UN-inhabitable, is it? It's just uncomfortable. That's why I said you have to leave NOW.

You can't break your lease because you're uncomfortable - at least you can't use the grounds I gave you. Yes, you have a bad business relationship with them. But, that doesn't entitle you to break the lease.

So, you need to make your mind up. Are you leaving? Or are you staying? If you're leaving, what do you care if they fix anything or not? If you're staying, documenting how bad they are isn't going to get anything fixed.

Tell us what you're going to do, and we'll tell you how to proceed.

excon

As I said previously I am moving as soon as I find a place, which I am in the process of doing. It's not something that happens over night. And I stated this previously so for you to say I need to make up my mind simply shows how little you are paying attention. They are breaking building code violations with the rotting wood, mold, and termites from what I understand. And I don't care if they fix it or not, but if they don't it is a violation of their part of the lease terms since in the state of Virginia and in the lease terms, it states the landlord is responsible for any and all repairs regarding the condition of the premises. So my plan is to move as soon as I find a place and get approved. I will send them a noterized 30 day letter as notice of termination and whatever happens from there I will just deal with it. If I have to get an attorney and go to court, then so be it. The letter I sent was sent months ago before I had the additional problems and decided to try and move out. So any LEGAL information or advice you can provide regarding this matter is appreciated.