Advice with breaking lease

I need some advice about whether I have the legal right to break lease (and thus not have to pay penalties for doing so). The brief version of this is as follows:

1. The landlord did not deliver the apartment to me in the condition they promised: The real estate broker had told me they would professionally clean the apartment the morning I was going to move in. Instead, the apartment was filthy upon my arrival to the degree that I had to chip dried fecal matter out of the toilet my first night there.

2. The apartment's condition affected my health and safety.
a) Although I am on the first floor, facing out on to one of the busiest streets in Boston, the window locks didn't work for the first 2 weeks I lived in the apartment.
b) I have chronic asthma and the window sill in my apartment was covered in mold. The management company did not fix the situation and instead simply painted over the mold 2-3 weeks after I notified them of the problem.
c) I had sewage come up through my toilet and tub and on to my bathroom floor 9 days ago. The management company refused to come remediate the situation that night, despite repeated calls to the maintenance department, and didn't even send cleaners until nearly a week later. I had to leave the country on business, so wasn't able to follow up on this sooner. Upon my return yesterday, evidence of the sewage spillage was still there (it appears the "cleaners" simply swept my floors).

What makes this complicated is that the management company does eventually respond to these problems, albeit minimally or insufficiently. The Boston Inspectory Department sent someone over today who appears to be friendly with the management company, and instead of helping me, she spent her time here yelling at me -- in front of a member of the management company she brought with her.

I am feeling like my hands are tied and I do not know what would be the next plan of action. My questions are as follows:

1. Based on what I've written above, do I potentially have enough reason to legally break my lease?

and

2. If so, do you think getting a letter drafted to the management company by a lawyer may be the best (cheapest, potentially effective) first step?

Thank you!!

[OHlandlord]

Duplicate

[OHlandlord]

1. Did you have it in writing that they would send a cleaning company to clean thoroughly before you rented? Unless you had this in writing, there is no way to prove that they promised this. Was the unit in the same shape as when you first viewed it and signed the lease? They will claim that you viewed the unit in that condition and agreed to accept it as is. Did you have a pre-move-in inspection or checksheet that stated the condition of your unit when you took possession? If not, did you take pictures to prove the condition of the unit as you received it? You need to leave the unit in the same condition as you found it. If you can prove the condition of the unit at move-in, you can leave it just as dirty when you move out. If you have no proof, they will claim that it was clean when you moved in, and you will be required to clean it when you leave.

2.a) They should have fixed the locks very quickly. However, since these are already fixed, it will do you no good to complain about them now. Any judge will say the point is moot since it is already fixed.
b) One windowsill with mold or mildew isn't that big of a deal for most people. (The LL isn't responsible for your medical condition.) Repairing this isn't an emergency and can be done within 30 days. A little bleach water would have cleaned it up to stop any breathing problems until it was fixed. Painting over it wasn't an ideal solution, unless they cleaned it up first. But at least it sealed the mildew in. If it returns, report it to management again. See my note below about requesting repairs.
c) Why did sewage come into the unit? Was it a main line backup / blockage? Did this happen in other units? No plumber is going to come at night to work on the drain lines. The best you could have hoped for is that the plumber would come to fix the drains the next morning. If the backup wasn't the complex's fault (ie, if it was a failed main line) there could be many tenants that were affected by this. You need to clean it up, just like any other tenant after they fix the line. Why would you just let that lay on the floor for 9 days?!?!?!

I don't see enough evidence in your post to break a lease. They have attempted to address every problem within a reasonable amount of time. If you have nothing in writing that they would further clean your unit after you viewed it and signed a lease, you cannot prove they said they would do this. Maintenance on one mildewed windowsill within 2-3 weeks is reasonable. This is not an emergency repair. The window locks should have been fixed much quicker. This would constitute an emergency repair. However, since they have already been fixed, it is not an issue you could now break a lease over. I assume they fixed the drain line problem in a reasonable amount of time. (The next day or two?) Since this problem was not forseable and since they got a plumber in to fix it quickly, they took care of the problem. Cleaning is your problem.

The main problem I see with your post is that you are not documenting these problems in a way that would stand up in court. Do not call maintenance to simply report problems unless those things are emergency repairs. (Dozens of other tenants are calling them too. There is no evidence with a phone call.) Send a written repair request saying what is wrong and what needs done. Send it to them certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a copy for yourself. Note on your copy when they actually do the repairs. This way you have proof that you requested those repairs, proof that they got your request, and a notation on how long it took them to do the job. This documentation will stand up in court. If it is truely an emergency request, they should handle it within 72 hours. If it is a simple repair, they can do them within 30 days. A cosmetic repair does not necessarily have to be fixed during your tenancy. Your state may have different timelimits.

I'm afraid an attorney letter would be a waste of your time and money. You would likely get a letter back from their attorney (that is probably on retainer for the company) stating that they have handled your repairs in a timely manner. Start documenting repair requests so you can prove your case. If they fail to repair within a certain amount of time, you still cannot break your lease. There are legal remedies available to you to ensure they will comply with the law. You may be able to rent withhold (only do this with court supervision and direction) or to repair and deduct. You would have to look up the law for your state to see which, if either of these legal remedies, are available to you. Good luck.

[msg]

Good answer above, with helpful info!

hi, good day! I hope you can help me with this problem.
I have a scenario at first I have told the Landlord that I will be staying for 3 to 4 months or more. He gave me a lease that indicating an Expiration date that is a day before the Commencement Date(Expiration Date: 03/15/08, Expiration Date: 03/14/08). Last week, I told him that I am going to move out for this month, which is my forth month but he told me that my lease is for a year and the Expiration Date is a mistake and it should be 03/14/09. But, he signed on the lease Expiration Date. He told me that he is going to report to credit bureau and hire a lawyer if I break my lease. The thing is, will I break my lease if the expiration date is below the Commencement date? Is it legal to claim that the expiration date is a mistake but he signed on it? Thanks, I hope you can help me..

If a simple error is made in a contract, and that error is obvious to all who sign it (as this one is), and you should be able to tell what the correct data would be (obviously it had to be for the next year since it is impossible to go backward in time), then the error is normally ignored in court and the known, implied data is correct. This would not be correct when the mistake wasn't obvious, or if the correct data wasn't obviously implied. You knew when you signed the lease that the date was incorrect. It probably says in the contract that it was for 12 months. It is standard to end the lease on the day before it starts the next year.

You failed to bring the error to their attention when you signed it. You failed to contest the year lease when you signed it knowing that you only wanted to stay 3-4 months (obviously, the contract was NOT written for 3-4 months - the month isn't even correct for that so you couldn't have mistaken it for such). Why didn't you? Surely you read what you were signing? Surely you noticed that it didn't read for 3 or 4 months in duration? Yet you signed it anyways? I see no way out of this for you. You should have insisted that it be written for the period you wanted or looked for another place. That lease obviously was written for a year's duration.