Florida Unsanitary Roach Problem & Terminating Lease

[brzlcutie]

Hello. I live in Leon County and go to school at FSU. On Sunday 08/23/09 I moved into my new apartment. My friend and I walked in and checked it out. It appeared to be clean and in move in condition. After signing the lease and a few hours later we started to move in and once being in the apartment for a little while, we noticed roaches. The more we cleaned and opened cabinets, the more came out. We called our landlord and notified him and he sent someone in right away to spray the place. The first 3 or 4 nights were so bad, that we dicided to sleep at a motel. They have professionally sprayed and I have bought roach bait, as well as fogged the whole apartment 2 x's.
Our apartment is comparable to other student apartments in the area. This is not a run down place. The Landlord told us he knew of a roach problem but wasn't aware it was so bad. We have what is called german cochroaches. Nasty! They have come by and sprayed the apt everyday this week, yet the problem has not stopped. Seems as if the more they spray, the more they show up. None of our neighbors have roach problems. We sleep with the lights on, are afraid to buy food because we even found 2 roaches inside of the refrigerator.
I would like to 1) break our lease and 2) get my deposit back and part of my monthly rent if not all of it. What am I entitled to in this situation as far as money or who can I turn to in case my landlord is does not agree w/ me requesting to move out?
I am a college student and cannot afford an attorney. Please help.
Thank you.

One reason the spray doesn't seem to be working is that the other units in the building aren't being sprayed. They DO have roaches. They are in the walls. When they kill the ones in your unit with the spray, others just move right in to fill the vacancy. All of the units in the building need to be sprayed at the same time to eliminate these. And warm weather states like FL are well known for this problem.

The LL has taken prompt steps to correct this situation. He is continuing treatments. As long as he is doing all he can to correct the problem, you cannot terminate the lease. He is working to correct the problem. It will take a few weeks before you notice improvement in this problem. It doesn't work overnight.

You also need to do your part. Go ahead and buy food, but keep it in tightly sealed plastic containers. (Not Ziploc bags, but actual plastic containers with tight lids.) Get some boric acid or MAX gel bait and line the baseboards, inside cabinets, and any openings (like around pipes). Remove cover plates and put a square of this bait behind them and replace them. Ask the LL and he may buy this for you. Bug bombs are useless against pests that hide inside the walls. The fog can't reach inside walls. You need to kill these pests as they come out. Also, caulk or spray expanding foam into cracks around pipes.

Sorry about the inconvenience, but there is little else you can do. You could report it to the health department, but they would just tell the LL to do what he is already doing.

Good advice!

[brzlcutie]

Thank you for help. Just as you've said, today has been my first day w/o seeing a roach. I'm sure I'll see them again, but it is nice to know that the treatments are working. Also, my landlord had been w/ the same bug company for over 10 yrs. We advised him to maybe give another company a try which he did and maybe that also has something to do with it.
We did buy the caulk and expanding foam and the landlord will work with us on all of the out of cost pocket for having to stay at a motels.
Things are looking up :-)

Glad t hear it. Hope the problem is abated quickly and does not recur.