[iasam]

Hi, I live in South Carolina. I have a 12 month lease agreement and am 4 months into it. The second month into the lease we began to complain about plumbing issues in the bathroom. It appeared that the base of the toilet was leaking. They sent a plumber out a few times and that was all. Some times it would leak and some times it wouldn't. A few months later water began to seep from the base of the sink where it connects to the floor and then running out to the hall carpet. We called them multiple times and they have taken their sweet time and were unable to find the problem. The plumber cut a whole in the wall and did not see any moisture there. He went into the attic and there was no leak there. He concluded that he thought because of the old construction there could be a pipe under a slab beneath the floor which would require opening up the floor. I got tired of them taking their precious time and gave them a 14 day notice to terminate the lease in 14 days. So they sent a roofer out which the roofer stated that it is obvious it has nothing to do with a roof leak and he had no idea why they called him out for it. They sent a leak detector and he said the tub was leaking and he thinks that was the cause and the tub handles and tiles needed to be replaced. The plumber came back out and replaced the handles and not the broken/open tiles. My question is when the 14 days has expired can I move out if it is still leaking and they have not repaired the damages to the carpet from the water that has been soaking in it for two weeks? If I can and the lease is terminated how long do I have to move out? Can the property manager say that they have made a substantial effort to remedy and in return can make me obligated to stay?

[smoothy]

Hi, I live in South Carolina. I have a 12 month lease agreement and am 4 months into it. The second month into the lease we began to complain about plumbing issues in the bathroom. It appeared that the base of the toilet was leaking. They sent a plumber out a few times and that was all. Some times it would leak and some times it wouldn't. A few months later water began to seep from the base of the sink where it connects to the floor and then running out to the hall carpet. We called them multiple times and they have taken their sweet time and were unable to find the problem. The plumber cut a whole in the wall and did not see any moisture there. He went into the attic and there was no leak there. He concluded that he thought because of the old construction there could be a pipe under a slab beneath the floor which would require opening up the floor. I got tired of them taking their precious time and gave them a 14 day notice to terminate the lease in 14 days. So they sent a roofer out which the roofer stated that it is obvious it has nothing to do with a roof leak and he had no idea why they called him out for it. They sent a leak detector and he said the tub was leaking and he thinks that was the cause and the the tub handles and tiles needed to be replaced. The plumber came back out and replaced the handles and not the broken/open tiles. My question is when the 14 days has expired can I move out if it is still leaking and they have not repaired the damages to the carpet from the water that has been soaking in it for two weeks? If I can and the lease is terminated how long do I have to move out? Can the property manager say that they have made a substantial effort to remedy and in return can make me obligated to stay?

You can move out anytime you want... they can in turn sue you for the remaining period of the lease and ruin your credit...

Substantial effort is based on industry average... not what you decide arbitrarily... thats how a court will view it. SO tread carefully before you do anything...

Hopefully someone familiar with the intricacies of South Carolinas tenant-landlord laws will answer soon.