[TLB16]

My mother and I currently live in a two-story townhouse and there are two reasons as to why we need to break our lease:
a) (the biggest reason) My mother has just found out in the past two weeks that she needs surgery on her back and should NOT be climbing stairs. She was already given a perminant handicap letter from her doctor. The doctor also told her she needs aquatherapy. My mother can no longer go up and down the stairs and it visibly hurts her when she does.
b) Our energy bill is WAY too high. On average in Florida, the energy bill for a place like ours should be about 200 dollars. Our bill is over double that every month since our landlord "fixed" the air conditioner.
What can we do? We need to deposit back to help our move. Do we have any hope? The doctor wants her to move as quickly as possible. We can't wait 3 months. (Please note that we are in a yearly lease that expires 7 months from now on May 30, 2009) (Also note that I have spoken with my landlord two days ago about this and he says he will get back with me but has not yet done so. He only asked me when the real estate agent that he hired prior to this notification can come take pictures of the house)
PLEASE HELP!:confused:

[ScottGem]

Sorry, but neither are grounds to break the lease.

Taking the utilitiy bill first, if you feel the AC was not correctly fixed, then you complain to the landlord and demand it be looked at.

As for your mom's medical condition, move her into a room on the first level.

Now, if the landlord is apprasied of the utility issue and does not repair it, you might have grounds to break the lease.

You would probsably be better off negotiating a buyout with the landlord.

[rockinmommy]

I just wanted to second what Scott told you.

Unfortunately, you have the obligation to fulfill your lease unless you and the landlord can reach an agreement. Make sure that any agreement you do reach is in writing and signed by both parties. Florida is the most landlord friendly state in this regard. It allows the landlord to not even attempt to re-rent the property until your lease is up, and he/she can just charge you rent that whole time - even if you move out.

You do have a valid complaint about the AC needing some attention. Send a written maintenance request to the landlord. That way you have proof. Read your lease, as well as the Florida landlord / tenant property code to see exactly how long you must give the landlord to address your request before you make a second demand or take further action. There's a link to each state's laws in a "sticky" at the top of this forum.

Back to the issue of needing to move... find out if your landlord will let you find a replacement tenant. If you're willing to advertise, put up signs, show the place, etc he might be more willing to work with you.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, and making it three of a kind, the medical is not a reason, even if you have to put a hospital bed into the living room ( often a requirement for medicare if they can not get back to a bedroom area) you have to merely move the bed to where she can get to.

Also you are not going to get a deposit back to after you move out, so for any move you will have to get the down payment money saved up to even move at all.

[froggy7]

The utilities may not be a reason to break the lease, either. Yes, the average may be $200/month for a an apartment like yours, but it is possible that your unit has some reason for it being higher (thermostat settings, building orientation, amount of insulation, etc.) When I was going to school in Austin, I lived in equivalently-sized units and had bills that ranged from 28/month (south-facing ground floor unit, units on both sides, only two windows and a patio door) to 150/month (ground floor unit, patio doors and windows on both the east and west sides, and a fireplace). There wasn't anything "wrong" with the second spot that the landlord could fix, it was just a difference in how the units were designed.

Now, if your bills used to be lower, and they went up after the "fix", then you have grounds for getting someone out there to look at the unit again.

[twinkiedooter]

Since he fixed your a/c you should have lower bills, not higher if it was improperly working and just wasting power by not cooling properly and having to run much longer. But you didn't say if it was working or not prior to the fix. If it was not working at all, then of course your bill went up as you consumed electricity running the a/c. What temperature have you been keeping the unit at also makes a huge difference in the bill. Had you lived there for several years and know that say, the bill for August should be $180 and the bill for August is now $250 - that's a huge difference. I don't think you can use the higher utility bill scenerio.

Also the medical scenerio won't work either. Your only hope is to keep asking the landlord to let you out of your lease and hope that he will. As far as getting your deposit back - I don't think so.