breaking a apartment lease

We have been renting a apartment for over a year now and we recently decided after the signing of our second year that we want to move out. Our lease however has no early lease statement and when we kindly asked to be released they said we would need to pay the remaining rent (7 months). We want out because the apartment has become way to small for our family. The paint on the bathtub is chipping because the landlord use latex house paint to cover the stains and rust before we moved in. the lady downstairs controls our heat in the winter and our bedrooms receive none, last winter we had to run an electric heater which I do not want to do again for safety reasons. Also the apartment(house converted into two apartments) is not wired to handle all our things if we run our airconditions and vaccum it blows the fuses, if we run our air conditioner and the lady down stairs makes coffee it blows the fuse. We have come to find out the lady downstairs who is realted to the landlord but is not in anyway shape or form on our lease has a working key to our apartment. We do not pay for our utilites because the house only has one of everything so the lady downstairs pays the utilities and we pay a set monthly rent. We have not tried talking to the real estate company that handles our place about our concerns yet because we just want out. So I am looking for help form any one who can give me advice. Thanks

First, what state are you in? This will determine how much of the lease you would be responsible for if you broke it.

Second, the problems you need to address (the wiring and heat) should be covered by writing a letter to the LL and mailing it certified, RRR, and keeping a copy. That is the correct way to ask for repairs. You should have adequate heat, especially since you pay a set rate for this. The tub paint chipping is only cosmetic and is not a hazard if it is latex. It is just unsightly. You should also address the fact that the other tenant has a key to your place and she is not an owner of the house. (She could possess a key if she was part owner, even if she didn't sign the lease.)

Finally, you signed a new lease. That obligates you to that period. The fact that your family has gotten larger is not an adequate reason to break a lease. Lack of heat or insufficent electric service may be.

Please list your state for more info.